Talking About Adventure In Small Boats
LeatherLungs
Member
Decided to go for the new 6.5 Derby points for those in the UF (towing your loaded boat for roughly one hour, no SPOT).
Over all it was a good test of equipment and configuration, but it was not without it's problems. Better now than in March!
Check it out here:
LeatherLungs Preps for UF-2014, Part IV
As always, questions, comments and advice are welcome!
LL
LeatherLungs
Member
feralcat wrote:
Coterpin the joints on your cart
Good idea.
I'll have to rebuild it, but the cart you see in the vid is only glued in a few key spots to allow for breakdown and stowage. The unglued sections did move around a little, but I thought that might be a good thing so as to allow it to twist while on uneven surfaces.
feralcat wrote:
Find more efficient wheels, thinner and larger diameter.
I may look around before I rebuild, but honestly the wheels you see in the vid worked pretty well. I'm not talking major grades, but today's hike had both up & downhill and I did not feel they were slowing me down any.
Thanx fc!
LL
OneEyedJake
Member
LL,
I know that you're happy with your wheels, but you may want to check these out. They are taller than yours, will roll easier and only weigh 9.5 ounces each. I got a pair and was impressed by the light weight. I believe that they are the same wheels that FeralCat used on his cart. I saw his cart at Flamingo and was so impressed that I had to make one just like it.
The wheels that I use are the spoked ones in the first column.
http://www.wheeleez.com/utility-wheels.php
OEJ
riverslayer
Member
Leather Lungs,
I used the cart from paddlecart.com on the 40 mile portage when I did the Ultimate. This is a heavy duty cart that quickly assembles and weighs 9.4 lbs. The cost is $140. and worth every penny. I would not risk my race on PVC pipes.
I plan to do the 2014 EC, so hopefully I'll see you at Ft. DeSoto.
Riverslayer
LeatherLungs
Member
LOL!
I like your logic RS, that's a nice cart and it was just a few bucks more than the wheels alone after shipping, etc.
I canceled the wheel order and ordered the Paddle Cart.
I'm itching to get back on the road while the weather is good up here!
Thanks all,
LL
LeatherLungs
Member
Thanks FC, but I wasn't comfortable with the 77 lb payload on the 15/pr set. They'd probably be OK, but RS and several others have a good point in that I'd hate to get that far and not finish. That Paddle Cart looks like a heavy duty, light weight cart that can be easily stowed and I know it has made it thru the UF's portage. This will also be the quickest way for me to keep the training going!
Thanks!
LL
danceswithmullet
Member
Looking at those wheels I have to wonder the bushed hubs verses bearings for a long haul. Bearings would need care so as not to corrode before the portage unless using sealed bearings. Are bushings up for the miles over the road? I do like the idea of being able not to worry about bearings and these would be great for a portage cart at flamingo. Maybe swap the bushing for sealed bearings? Didn't say if bushings are replacable. Sealed bearings are available in all different inside and outside diameters SAE and metric, so now you have the gears turning in my head for the perfect wheel. Thanks for the link.DWM
DonKeyHoTey
Member
Hi Puma -- glad you survived your trip in that crazy pocket-rocket. Sorry that our beer-pickled bodge didn't quite do the trick, but I'm not surprised that we didn't quite get it right the first time, for a boat that's wider than it is long, with oarlocks probably lower than even a rowing scull's. Can you provide more specifics on what problems you're still having? Height of the oarlocks relative to your knees, and/or the water? Or fore-'n-aft, relative to your body? Just last night I made a pair of oarlock risers -- what the cajuns call "jougs" -- from aluminum tubing, which might be part of a solution (for picture of jougs, see woman stand-up rowing at http://www.louisianafolklife.org/lt/virtual_books/guide_to_state/comeaux.html). Contact me off-line at lorentzenp@(eh?oh-ell).com if you want.
Per (DKHT)
LeatherLungs
Member
Puma, you are true Triber!
Nothing was going to stop you in NC, it was in your eyes the whole time.
I've read it several times from other tribers, but it's true. The down time in NC afforded some of us to get to know each other better than if we were caught up in the pre-race hustle of previous challenges, so it wasn't a total loss.
You and Mike are my idols!!
LL
Puma
Member
The Issue with the oars was that we still did not have them high enough . Reworking the moth have it all apart will address the oar lock issue next . As well rethinking the cross beam attachments . Sailing two or three times a week it seems that I spend an a great deal of time repairing the moth. Great fun . Everglades Challenge back to a Prindle found a 18.2 .
Saving the moth for Palimico next year .
See you on the beach
Puma
BeastOarman
Member
Puma, for what it's worth here are some measurements based on an Alden rowing shell, which might be useful for relative placement of oarlocks on your moth if it can be done.
Oarlocks 6 1/4" or a bit more above the low point of the seat, and 62-64" apart, and about 12" off the water.
http://rowalden.com/live/images/stories/AldenOwnersManual.pdf
BustedRudder
Member
Reviving an old thread for 2016 UF.
I have a working prototype cart that weighs in at 5.2 lbs, using 8" pneumatic wheels. The 10" wheels mentioned in this thread sound attractive as they are taller and lighter. I have a pair of 12" pneumatics that come with the cart from padllecart.com but they are simply too large/heavy to lug around the state.
Has anyone used bushed hubs for a UF? My default value is to bring a spare set of bearings for the 40 mile portage assumming the salt water will chew them up between Flamingo and St George. If bushing would last 40 miles it could simplify things.
I have used 10" wheels with bushings for quite a few years doing week end tours of the lake erie islands. I have done nothing anywhere near 40 miles, but they last through a lot of abuse anyway. The one thing I have learned they will not last through, is when a friendly golf cart driver suggests I sit on the back of the cart and hold the bow of my kayak as they tow me at a "reasonable speed". 2 out of 2 times it melted the bushings in about 1 mile of towing.
I would love to see a picture of BustedRudders cart. It has to be at least cart versoin 3.0.
BustedRudder
Member
Assuming the UF, disqualify the CTUG immediatly. Hard plastis overly wide bushed wheels on 40 miles of concrete BAD. It is designed for sand, It also seems to have poor load distribution which would be bad for a composite kayak.
The paddlecart is a good product, 12" pneumatics with bearings, much better suited to the portage.
Storage is the only downside I see....
JoeWildlife
Member
Bob can you confirm the Paddlecart actually has bearings and not bushings?
I built Plan A but used a solid aluminum 5/8" axle, with plastic hubbed pneumatic wheels with sealed bearings held in place with a linch pin, not the axle system shown...
I plan to throw and slam it around and do everything I can imagine to it to make sure it ain't gonna break on me, before the UF. If it breaks, I will look at Plan B...or C.
Plan A I built: http://palmettokayakfishing.blogspot.com/2011/04/diy-bulletproof-kayak-cart-build.html with the mods I mention.
Plan B: http://www.palmettokayakfishing.blogspot.com/2012/02/build-strong-diy-kayak-cart.html with the solid aluminum axle. I think the wheels shown on this build ARE the ones from Northerntool, that I got. I punched out the plastic bushings and will use sealed bearings instead. Using the bushings at Flamingo and exposing the bearings only at St. George, might be a good idea.
Plan C: paddlecart?
Joe
JoeWildlife
Member
Well hell, I had seen Leatherlungs videos, I THOUGHT, but I hadn't seen the one with the failure of the PVC cart. That has me totally rethinking my home built cart. I'm making sure the PaddleCart has bearings...or that I can get bearings for it and will probably get one. I do know that the PaddleCart has been used on the UF by both Sharkchow and Riverslayer.... There goes another $150.
Joe
BustedRudder
Member
Joe, Those links seem dead.
Friends who own the cart confirm and I was able to buy the same wheels from Northern Tool
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_13794_13794
Nice wheel, but bearings are not sealed, even if they were they would probably get nasty between Flamingo and the portage. Like your idea of bushings for the 300' at Flamingo!
JoeWildlife
Member
Try these links again:
PVC cart with Harbor freight wheels: http://palmettokayakfishing.blogspot.com/2011/04/diy-bulletproof-kayak-cart-build.html
This is the cart LL broke.
Another cart with Northern wheels (I built the PVC cart, but with these wheels with bearings on a solid 5/8" aluminum axle) http://palmettokayakfishing.blogspot.com/2012/02/build-strong-diy-kayak-cart.html
JoeWildlife
Member
I think the Northerntools wheels, the same ones that are on the Paddlecart, have cheap bearings that can be replaced with a better set like these:
These bearings have an O.D. of 1 3/8 at the flange and can be had with different I.D. for different axles. I bought these 10", fatter wheels from Northern and can confirm the plastic bushings pop out and these bearings pop right in. Just another option if you are trying to find the right set of wheels and bearings for your cart.
BustedRudder
Member
I looked at LeatherLungs video again. Where it broke shows that the wheels encountered a curb or hole and stopped. The torsion at the carrier was to great because of the length of the uprights. If they were shorter, just keeping the wheels clear of the hull it might fly. PVC is not an optimal material. I would go aluminum.
Those look like heavy wheels compared to the ones in the link I sent. Big fat tires are overkill on pavement.
Agreed on bearings!
JoeWildlife
Member
Hmm, some reviews of the PaddleCart on paddling.net state the 1/2" axle on the cart tends to bend. I already have a 5/8" solid 6061 aluminum axle, bearings, and wheels. Maybe I should just take it and some pics of the PaddleCart down to a local machine shop and say "build me one"... I wasn't nervous about PVC before, but now I am. The uprights on my cart I did build ARE shorter...but hell the portage around Big Shoals might be/is rough should you choose to use a cart on it... I'm thinking tougher is better. The 10" Northerntools wheels have twice the capacity of the 12" spoked wheels. I suggest you guys use the 12" spoked wheels. I could easily throw a stick into the spoked wheel while you blow by me on a portage and take you out :)
BustedRudder
Member
The problem with the Paddlecart is coal barge drivers packing coolers, bicycles and kitchen sinks. Yeah I'll get some flack for that.
:)
Your cart is disposable by big shoals. I've done that portage 3 times. First you have to go up 5 feet before you could cart, then go 100 yards before you have to go down 4 feet to go 300 more feet before launching. I will bring a lightweight carry bag and move gear then boat.
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