The Kayak Trolley - a useful device !

Why carrying your loaded sea kayak, damaging your back, and getting longer and longer arms on each portage???

As I was not really actively advertising my cart so far, I guessed this might be a good idea for my first blog entrance...


I got the idea of reconstructing the cart from an old design of Gerald Maroske und Jochen Vetterlein, as those guys were not longer interested in making them.

I was urgently looking 3 years ago for a suitable, easy to handle cart for my sea kayak, and found it used by some of my first old kayaking friends, Matthias Panknin and Udo Beier.

Ok, the metalwork is done by a local shop, but I do all the strapping, knotting and fiddling...it takes a while for each cart and definitively gives you blisters if you try to do 10 sets in a row :-)


The cart is really hard to top!

For more pictures please click on the "kayak trolley" link in my menue.

It's all done in solid durable saltwater resistant V4-A steel, plus wheels 26 x 7,5 x 2 cm, bungees and strappings.
It’s a pop-up construction, folds down in ONE piece to a parcel of 67 x 8 x 12 cm, which I do strap down to the bottom of my cockpit between/ under my legs. For that I glued four pairs of D-rings to the bottom, connected by elastic straps.

The wheels are sitting upright to my bulkhead behind my foot pegs in my Explorer, held by another elastic strap.

In another kayak I strapped one wheel under the deck above my legs, the other went on top inside of a regular 24 cm hatch (the 26 cm wheel is fitting into it with the right air pressure) , or wherever you think you find room in your own kayak.

Stored there, the cart is always handy for packing out first and in last, if needed.

No fiddling together a frame with cold hands, no lost parts!
No bulky frame is sitting on the back deck…sometimes I saw that even with the wheels still attached, that somehow the thought was coming up if the paddler just wants to roll over close to shore and to wheel out of the water... :-))



Place the kayak cart shortly behind your cockpit, attach the straps around the cockpit, and off you go!

• 
  Loading it alone is just easy, too: let the frame fall FORWARD on the ground, lift the kayak on to, reach the cockpit behind the seat
  
  If things are getting tough on longer distances or sandy surface, an attached hip belt to the toggle or a thread through stick is helpful for towing. Sorry, no built in motor is coming with it... :-)
  
  Ok, sometimes it's a good idea to attach the cart already on the floating kayak in the water, and then to wheel out (for anti-scratch-freaks, or for those who are not able to lift the loaded kayak solo...)
  
  Here’s an (uncomplete) list of well-known kayakers allover the world who own one of my carts and might be happy to tell you about it:
  

1. Nigel Foster + Kristin Nelson
2. Shawna Franklin + Leon Sommé
3. Nigel Dennis + Tara
4. Jonathan + Kirti Walpole
5. Keirron Tastagh
6. Nico Middelkoop
7. Greg Stamer
8. Russel Farrow + Jean Trotz
9. Dale Williams
10. Michael Gray
11. Derrick Mayoleth
12. Wendy Killoran
13. Wenley Ignatio Palacios
14. Glenn McKay
15. Eiichi Ito
16. Carmen Adell
17. Peter Unold
18. Karen Darke
19. Udo Beier
20. Eckehard Schirmer
    
    The cart is 149 € / 190 $ / 100 £ plus shipping.