A canoe cart is a handy addition to your kayaking equipment, as it allows you to transport the kayak to and from the water with ease. Depending on the type of kayak cart you make, it can also be folded or disassembled for storage in your hatch or deck while you are out on the water, so it’s always with you when you need it.
How to Make a Canoe Cart
The first step in making your own canoe cart is to gather all of the materials needed for construction. It can be daunting at first, but once you start looking around for the parts, you’ll soon realize that most of the items are pretty inexpensive.
Thankfully, you can find most of the materials you need at your local home improvement store. Once you’ve gathered the necessary parts, all you need to do is follow the directions in this easy-to-follow tutorial.
First, cut the 2″ PVC pipe into lengths that will fit together to form one side of the cart. You’ll need four pieces that are 20 inches long and two that are 14 inches long. Apply a small amount of PVC cement to both ends of each piece before putting them together. This will help to secure the pipes in place before you can continue to build.
Once you’ve completed assembling the sides, it’s time to assemble the frame. Once you’ve completed this task, your canoe cart is ready to use.
Next, you’ll need to add the wheels. This is a fairly simple process, but it’s important that you follow the instructions carefully to ensure that you don’t damage the frame of your canoe cart.
When securing the wheels to the frames, it’s recommended that you use a combination of washers and nuts. You can attach these using the same order on both sides of your cart (i.e., washer, nut, wheel, lock washer).
To help prevent the wheels from coming loose while you’re carrying the kayak, it’s also important to use a threaded rod on both ends of the cart. When you’re done, screw everything down tight so that there are at least two threads exposed on each end of the threaded rod.
This will help to keep the tires from rubbing on your boat’s frame and will allow the cart to roll over rough terrain with ease. This is particularly useful if you plan to use your canoe cart over wooded areas or hills.
After the wheels are firmly attached, you’ll need to assemble the cross bar. This will need to be a little longer than the width of your canoe so that it will fit over the top of your kayak. The cross bar will also need to be slightly shorter than the height of your canoe so that it won’t scratch the side of your kayak when you pull it over rough terrain.
If you’d prefer to have a little more space, you can cut an extra piece of the 2-by-4 board and add it to the center of the frame. This will give you a little more room to work with and allow the frame to be more square in shape. This is especially helpful if you plan to use the canoe cart with an inflatable kayak, as the extra space will allow you to keep the frame flat when you’re moving it over rough terrain.