Just a quick update on the kayak cart:
After messing around a bit with the ideas from the last kayak cart post I was never satisfied. It either didn’t work well as was the case with the double wheels; or it was too finicky (the homemade inflatables). I had largely put the project off to the side when the old man came home with a great score: the wheels off an old Power Wheels.
The wheels are nothing special. They are somewhere between 8-10” in diameter and about 6-7” wide. In fact when I compare them to newer models they don’t even look as nice or as big. Nonetheless, with some Yankee ingenuity we had them attached to our carts fairly quickly and they rolled. On a side note, it just so happens that the scupper spacing on my old boat was identical to the spacing on my new Hobie and only some very minor tweaking was needed to reuse the cart in the new boat.
I’d say I’m still in the testing stage but so far it has been pretty successful. I’ve never used the real deal wheel-eez so I really can’t compare these wheels to them. If I had to hazard a guess I’m sure my home brews pale in comparison to them. I can , however, make the following observations:
1. They are lighter than the old Hazard Fraught wheels I was using before.
2. They absolutely float over sand better. My old wheels really dug in, these new wheels still require a decent pulling effort but it is works better.
3. The hard plastic is loud on pavement-think any Fisher-Price cart or cooler with plastic wheels.
All in all I’d say these wheels are probably the best I’m going to get until I can find some sort of cheaper but effective pneumatic wheel. I’ll never be able to compete with full squish tires but these are a nice alternative for the moment. After all, I would say that 75% I don’t even need the cart.
One last thing, I finally got a handheld marine radio. I should’ve bought one years ago. It is crucial for the obvious safety reasons but it is also great being able to talk with whoever else I may be out with as well as listen to boat chatter from the area. The Standard Horizon HX40 model I bought will also do NOAA weather radio and FM radio. I love it so far and enjoy the noise when I’m on the water even if it is only some low volume FM tunes. I find myself turning it on in my truck as soon as I get near the water, even on my commutes to work. I love hearing the canal patrol yell at boats. Over and out.
Hook & Spoke 