I built a press fit yoke.  I used car top pads to make a yoke that can be forced between the gunnels.  I saw another one that was solid and relied on being able to spread the gunnels enough to get it installed.
(You need to Login or Register to view media files and links) (You need to Login or Register to view media files and links) by (You need to Login or Register to view media files and links), on Flickr

I did not like the idea of their fabric yoke for the same reason you didn’t.  I did not know of any manufactured yoke that would clamp to those gunnels.  Some of the yoke pad combinations that were suggested to me were about 20% the weight of the canoe. 
My first yoke broke just as I was starting the south Cache Lake portage so I had to use the pads that came with the canoe.  By the time I finished the North Cache Lake portage both sholders and both hips were black and blue.

Just MacGyvering here, but why not try making your own yoke using some Schedule 40 pvc pipe?

Maybe some 1" to 1 1/2 " pipe with a thin notch get the same in both ends. A little trial and error would get the right wedge length.

You could clamp your yoke pads to that pipe.

Similar idea, except this guy, used a round aluminum pipe he flattened on each end and bolted in, NO portage pads, pipe rides on pack. With a light canoe that might be okay? If you went with aluminum pipe, you don't bolt in or wedge, you get some Clevis pins for a quick mount/detach option.

Few bucks and a little tinkering you'd have something special.

(You need to Login or Register to view media files and links)

Talk about perfect timing ....

I was on the Placid web site this morning checking out an order form so I could call them tomorrow and purchase a Rapidfire.

The portaging aspect never occurred to me. I just automatically assumed light weight equals no problems.

I am going to hold off on a purchase decision until I get more info about portaging the Rapidfire.

Thanks

Interesting; it doesn't seem to be at all the same as this: (You need to Login or Register to view media files and links)

Does the Mohawk web belt go around (under) the canoe or just between the gunwales?

Here's a look at my "uber tall" solo yoke.

I'm sure it could be doctored to fit. Not a clamp; the metal pieces mount (with cotter pins) to hinge-like attachments that are bolted to the hull. They flop down and out of the way when not in use. Yoke slides off and on metal via plates. At a portage I simply slide the yoke onto the metal pieces that remain attached to the canoe, using the give in the hull to allow for any slack I need.

That's impressive Solus.

I didn't know the gunnel was a carbon fiber tube.
I can see why you wouldn't want to drill into that too.

That glued on wood wedge doesn't look very nice either.

I would try to go a different route, same principal.
Instead of gluing wood block to gunnel, I would find some thick rubber, cut into a wedge and glue/screw it to the portage yoke clamp.

Rubber clamped tight gives your more friction than the wood and you don't have to worry about the wood splitting or ruining the looks of your canoe.

TomT wrote on Jan 30^th, 2018 at 6:38pm:

There is 2 options that do not work very well.

I didn't consider those 2 portaging options good either and had heard you couldn't use the ordinary clamp-on yoke, which I suppose is why they didn't recommend it.

I like Solus' idea, but . . .  from Placid website:

I don't see any screws or bolts holding parts in.  How do you attach your footpegs, seats and other parts?

Composites and drill holes don't mix.  When holes are drilled through a hull it: 1) creates a hole in a perfectly good boat (bad idea); and, 2) creates a stress riser that will inevitably begin to crack as the part bolted through the hull flexes and the bolt "works" the composite.  There are plenty of old composite boats out there with drilled and bolted outfitting to attest to this.  We use a special marine adhesive to hold all of our outfitting in the boat.  It keeps the lines clean and prevents stress cracks caused by hull flex at hole locations.  It also allows us to put in custom attachment points for gear at customer specified locations.  Our seats are also bonded in rather than sitting on top of the inner laminate.  When a plastic seat sits on top of laminate, sand WILL eventually get between the two and it WILL act as sandpaper.

From this I'd be concerned that drilling holes in it could impact the warranty.

I agree with the hesitation to drill holes in such a craft.

If I were to use a mount like i've posted I would sandwich the composite with a metal or engineered wood plates.

No definite plan to do so at the moment, but hopefully a canoe sometime in the not too distant future. A RapidFire is just one possibility, but I wanted to know the details on the question. It seems like even an unhandy guy like me could cobble together a workable solution if the fabric/web belt thing doesn't work well and I really wouldn't want my head stuck up inside the canoe.

I'd like to come to canoecopia, but my wife wouldn't and I have other commitments for those dates. I might make eit to the Western Pennsylvania Solo Canoe Rendezvous for a day, but still too early to know for sure.

Yes, I am, maybe an hour. If and when buying becomes an option, I do plan to check out Savage River. It's possible I may go close by there sometime in summer with time to stop.

Thanks for the information; it sounds like something it would be better to plan ahead rather than just stopping by . . .

PK
Are the bottom of your gunnels flat or sloped at about 45°?

PK
That tells me enough.  Most of the gunnels now oar a carbon fiber layup and standard portage yokes can’t get a grip on the bottom of them.

Sweet engineering MP.

pd

At Copia I was looking at Swift boats and they have the same gunnel as my Rapidfire.  They sell a portage yoke they say works fine.  It looks like the standard yoke with the knob to tighten the clamp.  Where the bolt passes through the yoke it is a hole and not a slot.  So the clamp cant slip off the gunnel. They say call them they will tell you how to measure your canoe and they will make one for you.

Tom,

Would you care to offer up what new solo you have, or will buying?  I found myself daydreaming this winter cruising through canoe manufacturers websites and related forums, looking at new, lighter weight solo's.

MossBack

Beautiful boats!

This is the lightweight hull I hope to paddle to the end of my days.
(You need to Login or Register to view media files and links)

I'm thinking the 23# carbon/kevlar package and the padded sliding seat (I already bought one to use in my Advantage, very comfy).

Solus, I really like the Triebold seat, it fits my bony butt nice. The standard tractor seat is kind of flatter, better for wider backsides.

Ask John to send you both and return the one you don't want.

Jim- Seat looks a little too form fitting.... What if the form it's fitted to is not mine. I'm not a very wide load  but the shape of the seat seems a little too intimate. The pedestal seat I have is fairly small.

Tom- no on the skid plates. I take some care with my boat and when the wear and tear accumulates I just add a bit of glass (a strip) and resin to set er right. Hate to ruin the exit and entry lines of a sweet hull.

Yeah- I got the foam seat to relieve the butt bones- Piragis gave me his seat to try on one trip (ZRE lays them up I think) and I then bought one. Added bonus is that it's warm in cold weather.