Anyone have a suggestion on a portage yoke for use with a solo canoe.  I have a home grown one that I built, but it is heavy and the clamps are not ideal.  I have looked at a couple from canoe manufacturers, but they are not much better than what I have.

I tried to search the QJ archives, but not much turned up.

Regards,

Mossback

Mossback,

The solution may depend upon the type of canoe & canoe seat that you have. 

For instance, I have a Wenonah Prism.  My yoke clamps to the bars that the seat slides/adjusts on.  It was the yoke Wenonah recommended years & years ago and, frankly, I have NOT been happy with it all.  In fact, I curse it regularly on portages as it FREQUENTLY loosens when you don't want it to.  The device they used at the time to screw down & tighten did not effectively lock it into position.

HOWEVER, Wenonah has since developed another mechanism to lock down the yoke on their new Prisms.  I got to see it in action this past summer as my brother used it on his vessel.  I can report that the NEW version of the yoke locks down easily & stays locked until you release it.  He was very happy with it & could install it on his Prism in less than half the time it took me to put my inferior one on.

Bottom line: if you have a Prism OR a vessel with a seat that slides on two bars, you might want to consider their new yoke designed for that purpose.  It seemed to work well for him.  The canoe rides high on your shoulders allowing good vision of what's coming at you on the portage path.  It's a bit pricey but sometimes good quality stuff is.  Here is what I can find on the Wenonah site:   (You need to Login or Register

Again, your solution will certainly depend on your style of canoe & seat.  This solution worked well for my brother with his Wenonah Prism.

FYI

Jimbo   8-)

Here is one I made that goes on and off real fast.  It holds well and has never sliped.
  (You need to Login or Register

I too had a disappointing experience with the 2nd generation Chosen Valley yoke that Mossback mentions. I purchased it after the yoke I used for 20 some years failed on a Q-trip. The company that made it was out of business so I replaced it with a Chosen Valley Pedestal yoke. The sling pads are uncomfortable for any portage beyond 40 rods and over time became more uncomfortable. As Mossback noted it was prone to coming lose. On the second Q trip I took it on it failed and I had to send it back for a replacement. The replacement failed on its first Q trip- replaced again and this one had a manufacturing defect that made it nearly impossible to secure. Not to mention that clamping the yoke firmly damages the sliding seat making it unworkable.

Luckily I happened upon someone who had bought out the manufacturer of my original yoke and was able to secure replacement parts. The Chosen Valley yoke gathers dust in the garage. The yoke I use is quick to attach [when tripping I leave the metal tabs on the canoe, they drop out of the way- attaching is just a matter of sliding the tabs into the slots of the yoke- takes seconds]. My head is clear of the canoe for good sight lines and no interference from the seat. The yoke accepts whatever pads are preferred- currently it has some big rectangular blocks like the ones on Magicpaddler's

---

Magicpaddler wrote on Oct 25^th, 2018 at 2:43am:

Here is one I made that goes on and off real fast.  It holds well and has never sliped.   (You need to Login or Register

Magic, your canoe needs to hand sideways on a wall of a tavern someday.  People will come from all over to see "The Frankenstein".   ;D

You will notice that both Solus’s and my yoke hold the canoe higher than a straight yoke.  That helps to get the thwart out of your vision path.  With a straight yoke your head may touch the bottom of the canoe. 
I have tried a lot of pads and have found the rectangular ones the most compfortable.  We pay a lot of money for light canoes and then find that most of the portage yokes weigh more than 10% of wha the canoe weighs.  The comercialy made rectangular pads are heavy.   

TomT  the PVC rod holders are gone and I have a comercialy mader rod holder mounted on the thwart.

I use the Spring Creek center seat/yoke on my three canoes.  Granted, they are tandem canoes but I solo them almost all the time.  I use a seat back on it as well, also from Spring Creek.  The only downside I see with the set up is that I have to remove the seat back while portaging.  Worked out great for me over the years.

Magicpaddler wrote on Oct 25^th, 2018 at 11:39am:

.    TomT  the PVC rod holders are gone and I have a comercialy mader rod holder mounted on the thwart.

Oh man. It looked like you were paddling a pipe organ. I hope you still have the holder for your pliers.

TomT wrote on Oct 25^th, 2018 at 6:50pm:

Magicpaddler wrote on Oct 25th, 2018 at 11:39am: .    TomT  the PVC rod holders are gone and I have a comercialy mader rod holder mounted on the thwart. Oh man. It looked like you were paddling a pipe organ. I hope you still have the holder for your pliers.

I do and the map holder and the GPS holder

Something like this?

Souris River Tranquility yoke.
Scroll to bottom of page.

  (You need to Login or Register

  (You need to Login or Register

I've always borrowed the solo canoes I've used and around 30# is a pleasant walk in the park no matter the yoke design. The most interesting one was not adjustable which was fine by me. The thing I liked about it was it was cut to size and the attachment was a half a hinge on both ends that corresponded to the other half of each hinge attached to the gunnels. Line 'em up and stick in the hinge pins. No guessing on placement. I found that the snaps from old metal stringers worked better and were not so easily lost. ;) No idea what the pads were like.

So many people I know tie in rods and thwart bags, finders and whatevers and also wear a pack when portaging their canoes. I've often considered just balancing the light ones on my head but then I'd have to hand carry the yoke plus my hair would get messed up so…

Quote:

plus my hair would get messed up so…

I HATE that when it happens.  ;) ;D ;D

I have the "half hinge attachment" on the yoke I referenced earlier. I leave the pins and hinge attached and simply use the flex of the hull to slide the wooden yoke into place.

---

I always tie something to my canoe like fishing poles or paddles or put the batteries in my fish detector and then the canoe is off balance.  To correct that I like to move the yoke forward or back that make a fixed position yoke a disadvantage.  Even my tandum canoe has a sliding mount for the yoke.

Solus wrote on Oct 26^th, 2018 at 3:15pm:

I have the "half hinge attachment" on the yoke I referenced earlier. I leave the pins and hinge attached and simply use the flex of the hull to slide the wooden yoke into place.

I like that set-up for a fixed removable yoke Solus.
I also think you could take a regular wooden yoke, set it where you want it and cut for a snug fit using the hull flex as you did.

The DIY part comes into NOT putting 2 bolts thru each side but a SINGLE clevis pin with a washer top and bottom and a clip like you used. Maybe wire the clip to the clevis pin so you don't lose parts? They also make clips with a wire hook to keep the pin secure.

The make ADJUSTABLE clevis pins, you just get one longer than you need and use stainless washers to make the fit tight when you put the clip on.

Something like this? You could make a few positions to account for gear weight once you have a system you like.

  (You need to Login or Register

Good idea for allowing adjustment. One of the advantages of owning your canoe is that you can fine tune your system and when it works; repeat. I basically attach the same stuff to my canoe (life vest through front thwart, paddles to seat pedestal, travel camera to thwart) over and over. [My rule of portage is to never carry anything in my hands.] I get an ever so slight bias to the stern for balance.

Solus wrote on Oct 26^th, 2018 at 3:15pm:

I have the "half hinge attachment" on the yoke I referenced earlier. I leave the pins and hinge attached and simply use the flex of the hull to slide the wooden yoke into place.

It's been four years but nothing like that. Flat rails, wooden yoke, 2x3 hinge. Really, really simple.

I wish I had a picture but I never even thought of taking one. Seriously simple. Like a small door jamb and a door.