Boat Axle
- This topic has 11 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated Jul 19, 2011 at 5:20 pm by
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This is kind of a DIY project I have going; I like to fish in my canoe alone. Once I’m in it, it’s no problem to stand and maneuver it all by myself. But I can’t drag it to the shore and if I shoulder it, I have to make multiple trips for all my gear, plus one of my favorite put-ins is almost a quarter mile walk, which is a bit much.
So I made this axle. I took a wooden dowel rod and drilled out the ends, then inserted threaded rod in both ends to make a spindle. I epoxied them in deep, like six inches, so they won’t work loose. The wheels I have are from Northern Tool and Equipment and they’re just yard cart tires, but these have a hub build into them so they will turn independently of the axle itself (that way it doesn’t have to spin).
Initially I was just strapping my canoe or pontoon directly to that dowel rod, but with the canoe especially it flexed alarmingly. So I had this old pipe sitting around from when I had made an umbrella support. Turns out it fit the dowel perfectly, and now I’ve armored my axle so it can’t flex. Essentially the wood is just a solid core for this steel axle now; the whole thing weighs about 10 lbs. and with my boat on it I can control everything with just a finger’s amount of pressure. You just balance the canoe on the axle and steer it along. You can even break it down and stow the axle in the bottom of the canoe if need be so you’ll have a way to carry it out. The steel axle should take a fully loaded canoe, with ice chest, etc. I weigh 165 lbs. and it supported all my weight with just some flexing of the tires themselves.
Zach
Nice job Zach. Do you turn the canoe upside down so it rides flat on the axle? If not….could you build some type of cradle that fits the contour of the hull…and bungee the canoe to it.
One slight critique….is the axle a little wider than need be? I know some trails to the river may not be too wide.
Again….great idea!
I agree with shortening the axle length for skinny trails. Have you thought of looking on EBay for a used Yakima kayak saddle, like is mounted on roof racks, to carry and secure the boat?
D.It’s built that wide so it can also accommodate the pontoon boat, Steve, but even for the canoe it’s only maybe 18″ wider than absolute minimum. This wouldn’t get you down a forest trail but it will take you down a cart path, which is about what we have here.
And no, I’m not turning the canoe over; the point is to be able to carry everything at once (including a cooler), so it needs to ride rightside up. I just use the same strap I use to secure it to my roof to bind it tight to the bar; my Old Town Guide is flat enough on the bottom to ride just fine that way.
The problem with a saddle is that then there’s a “rightside” up for the axle itself, meaning it would somehow have to be held in that position while loading the boat.
Sounds like with your relatively flat bottom canoe….the cradle is unecessary. If a canoe (or kayak) had a considerable “V” shape profile…or a skeg, the cradle might help. I’m thinking when you unload the canoe from the vehicle….lay it upside down on the ground….strap the axle/cradle to the bottom….and then flip over. This would keep the axle from moving while securing the canoe.
Excellent idea though….I need one. Dusty…I may “steal” your Ebay/craigslist idea!
That’s what it looks like all loaded up. I think what I am going to do, though, is make a separate axle for the canoe alone, and pull the metal sleeve back off and size it for that. You don’t need the weight support for the pontoon boat, which is much lighter.
The axle itself is easy to build and cheap to make; dowel + threaded rod + epoxy. That way I can get both the weight and the profile down a little bit.
But you get the idea.
Zach
Nice work Zach. I’m building one for my beast canoe this weekend. That thing is about 150 pounds loaded, and it wears me out.
Fun anecdote, three summers ago I was fishing below where that bridge you are walking on leads to. There was a honda accord in the river. Someone stole it and drove it across that bridge joy riding. As that bridge is too light and narrow for large vehicles, the tow truck had to drag across the entire river to get it out.
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