Kayak Cart recommends with higher load limits? Am I carrying too much stuff?

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VanNimbus paddle

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Hello paddleheads.
I have a kayak cart question which is also a kayak camping question.
I’ve recently tried walking on BC ferries at Tsawwassen with my Amazon bought cheap foldable aluminum kayak cart. (See photo). Bad move as I didn’t make it to the door.. The straps on my overloaded cart gave out even though I had tested it and used it numerous times with and without loads.
Question # 1). Ive figured out I’m packing around 200lbs for a seven day trip into the gulf islands. Water being half of that weight. Is that crazy? Boat: 55lbs. Water: 25 ltrs @ 62lbs. Gear incl cooking tent and food :75 lbs. +\~.
Question #2). I know many many of you have done this having researched many forums. Does anyone have a cart they’re happy with to tackle this walk on/off loaded challenge.
Note: I’m not crazy about poly resin molded version with hard plastic wheels that don’t disassemble. (See photo).
 

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I've used the C-Tug cart many times for such things. It packs up small and has taken a lot of abuse.

I'd try to source water closer to the launch point, or consider a refill along the way somewhere. But I am a lazy boy. :)
 
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Another vote for the C-Tug cart. Its is simple, durable and reasonably compact.
 
Are you talking about the northern area, like around Pirate Cove, or the southern area west of Swartz Bay? In some of those places, you can make a short day run to a store/restaurant/spigot, to refill your water bags; no need to carry all the water for 7 days.

When I went to the Broughtons with Steve, we brought a large collapsible water container on the water taxi. We used it while doing day paddles around the area, then used our dromedary bags on the leg back to Alert Bay. But we could have also planned it (isn't hindsight wonderful) to stop by Echo Bay for water refills.

Maybe your area has a short-distance "water run" option. It's not like you are going to be "in the wilderness" in the Gulf Islands.

I have a foldable light aluminum cart. It has worked well. Sometimes I wish it had larger "sand" tires, but as it is, if necessary, the cart and tires would fit in the back hatch. I've never had to take it on a trip; I've only used it to get the kayak from the jeep to the water.
 
C-Tug for me as well. Went around Bowron Lakes Circuit twice with it. I have the hard plastic wheels instead of the older inflatable ones. I dont think I surpassed 50 pounds of gear so not tested at 200 pounds. The cart can be taken apart and stowed in compartments or if no room then what I did was strap it to the back deck upside down.
 
They can definitely be 'snug'. I usually snap it over my knee to get the main arms apart.
 
There's been good takes for the C-tug on other threads on this forum as well, so might be a reasonable option.

However, hauling a lot of weight thru more difficult territory by one person on a low cart causes the stern to drag - so a higher cart might be more helpful.
[for visualization - under heavy pulling: my shoulder, arm, longitudinal kayak axis all resolve to a straight line - so if the cart is low, and especially if non-uniform topography, the stern gets awfully close to dragging - so higher cart or multiple pple . . .
higher cart also helpful for easssy off-deck deployment - just slip off]

**
tinman - I'm interested the C-tug performed well on the Bowron circuit - how did [or did] you strap/clamp it down to minimize rotation? [it was cart armageddon for many when I went, heheh]
 
At some point it probably makes sense to take a page from canoe portaging and make a few trips if terrain is so bad.

That said I've taken my C-Tug down (and up) several different stairs with fully loaded kayaks over the year.

Is it a stupid idea? Yes.
Did it work? Yes.
Was it easier than unloading the gear? Maybe.
 
The Suspenz carts are rated for pretty heavy loads, and I've exceeded the load limit by 20 or 30 percent without any problems. Rolling a 200-pound load up and down stairs or steep, rocky banks is no problem. The downside is that the Suspenz carts are huge, especially if you (like me) get one with balloon tires for carriage across soft sand. Because of the size of the Suspenz carts, I wouldn't recommend them for your proposed use unless you are in a canoe, folding kayak, sit-on-top, or some other such boat with no bulkheads. Just flagging them as a possibility for any who may care more about a cart's weight capacity than its portability.

Alex
 
Another vote for the Suspenz—I've had one I've used on and off for years and it works great. Packs down pretty small too. I have this model...(it doesn't have the balloon tires for sand like Alex's so packs pretty flat).
suspenz.com

Small Kayak Carrier Cart | Stowable Kayak Airless Cart - Suspenz

This small kayak carrier cart is made of sturdy aluminum and has airless tires that won't go flat.
suspenz.com suspenz.com
 
Thanks for all your replies - I’ll look at all the options and reload at the CTug.
I did the Bowron Lakes a couple of years ago and their provided carts are beefy with larger bike wheels. I’m very interested someone dod it with a CTug. My issue with ocean kayaking is cluttering my aft restricts self rescue entry in case of flipping. The CTug made me nervous or any larger cart option. For Bowron we just flipped it around and let it live on top, but we were never that far from shore and on mostly flat water.
Water is definitely an issue. There are very very few places on the islands to fill.
I’ve now tried a second attempt after one cart failure. I upgraded to a beefier 240lb rated cart which has since buckled as I loaded onto the ferry. Which am on right now!! Wish me luck on the other side. Take 2 is so far a fail
 
> My issue with ocean kayaking is cluttering my aft restricts self rescue entry in case of flipping.
Good observation, but there are entry techniques that don't require moving across the rear deck. When I enter via the Heel Hook (my preferred) method, I pretty much load myself directly into the cockpit without having to scramble over anything on the back deck.
 
mick_allen said:
There's been good takes for the C-tug on other threads on this forum as well, so might be a reasonable option.

However, hauling a lot of weight thru more difficult territory by one person on a low cart causes the stern to drag - so a higher cart might be more helpful.
[for visualization - under heavy pulling: my shoulder, arm, longitudinal kayak axis all resolve to a straight line - so if the cart is low, and especially if non-uniform topography, the stern gets awfully close to dragging - so higher cart or multiple pple . . .
higher cart also helpful for easssy off-deck deployment - just slip off]

**
tinman - I'm interested the C-tug performed well on the Bowron circuit - how did [or did] you strap/clamp it down to minimize rotation? [it was cart armageddon for many when I went, heheh]
Click to expand...
Yes, I was very concerned 100 meters into the first portage when the kayak slid right off the C-Tug cart. I had visions of carrying all of my gear on every portage. But then I came up with an elegant solution to prevent the kayak from slipping off the cart or rotating very much. First I put the cart very near the center of the kayak so that it was not positioned on the tapering section that would induce sliding out the back. This then meant moving some of the weight to the front of the kayak to prevent the nose from wanting to go to the sky. Second I wrapped a rope from the cart body, up and over the front of the kayak up against the cockpit combing and then to the cart body on the other side. The rope acted like a shock absorber when hitting rocks. The cart could move an inch or two when hitting rocks but would return to position afterwards itself. I think I posted a photo of this on another thread.
 
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