"MM, I assume you've got some gear in your frame pack as well, otherwise seems bulky for just a portage yoke IMO. And does your pack frame's top brackets nest into the gunnels?"

Jim,
in a solo boat, you have to deal with a removeable portage yoke, no matter what kind.  I don't find the packframe to be any problem - it goes back into the boat last, just laying flat atop a pack, and the yoke/hooks a the top fit under a thwart - I do always tie it with a short tether - not sure how long it would float if at all -I'd guess most wooden yokes would float, even with all the hardware - though that might be worth testing if you have one.

I don't keep a pack bag on the frame (though we used to years ago, but only carried very light stuff in it) - I have used the frame to carry my gear as well as the boat (seperate trips), but usually only for very long portages - I normally just put my one pack on, then "toss" my duffle atop that.  I added a "shelf" to the bottom of the frame - really just a cloth piece that wraps around the bottom of a pack to help support the weight and keep it from slipping down - the pack usually, I just loop the shoulder straps over the tops of the frame - a quick tie with an attached piece of cord and its ready to carry the gear in about a minute or two - for the times I carry gear.  I use the same method when backpack hunting with one of my freighter frame packs - just put a big dufle on the shelf, a quick tie, and off I go - quick and easy.

Oh, and no, the top brackets don't attach at the gunnels - the fromt cross piece of the seat sits in those brackets - never slips around - I have some shrink tubing on the bracket and around the seat frame at the two points the brackets go, I put a piece of pipe insulation, wrapped tight with electrical tape - so a customized fit.  The fram is not attached to the boat in any way, the boat just sits on the frame in the brackets -  the "hook" that I formed is 2" deep, which is plenty to hold the seat frame - other rigs I have for other boats are customized as well - for tandems, to fit the carry thwart for example.

I'd say at least on a dozen occasions over the years, passing people on trials, I've gotten comments about how easy I was making the portage look, how comfortable I looked carrying the canoe (even with the 70# Grumman).  A solo boat does balance well at that front seat frame, for 2 of my boats - that's a part of the problem with the seat mounted yoke on the Rendezvous - I moved the seat back about 8", which messes up the balance making the boat bow heavy - I should try carying the boat stern first, which might improve the balance.

I've used several different kinds of solo portage yokes.  The one I like best is the one I made last year.

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If it interests you, note the position of the screws in the very last picture.  They bent from the torque applied to the pads.  When I put them into the other holes they were more secure because the force on them was vertical rather than angled.

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I bought a "Knupac" many years ago.  The company is now out of business, but it was a frame and bag with u-shaped cradles at the top for portaging a canoe.  I loved the bag that it had, one big compartment that opens from the side so it is a big opening and which is waterproof. Great for transporting all those "soft" things you want to keep dry.

I never got comfortable managing a canoe on the system.  It certainly alleviated the pain of portage pads digging into my shoulders. But I find the canoe riding so high a bit awkward. If I had used it more, who knows.

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