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PostPosted: Mon Dec 31, 2012 7:59 am 
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Joined: Mon Dec 31, 2012 7:36 am
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First, I'm happy to say I had a Revo 11 under the Christmas tree... well actually in the basement. I did a lot of research on kayaks before I decided to have my wife decide on this one for me :D One of my concerns was the size of the boat since I am a true 6' in stocking feet (32" inseam) and I was not able to test fit a boat. Right now I've got the pedals set at 6 and they seem to be the right length for almost full extension without lockout. I may try seven at some point just to see how much difference it makes but my guess is that six is perfect since full lock on the knees is not a good thing, especially with my knees. I've only gone out a couple of times but I am really pleased so far and not regretting getting the 11 over the 13 (I know I like not having that extra two feet of length).
In any case, my question is about carts. I put into water from the back of my house. It is a pretty steep slope for much of it. However, the slope is covered with a thick mulch and leaf litter making it pretty soft. It's not like sand that moves out of the way but more spongy. I do not care about the carrying capacity of the cart as I will always be well under 100lbs. What I'm hoping you can help with is the type of cart and wheel I should get to facilitate dragging it up the back yard over the soft mulch. I see Hobie carts, carts on ebay, and others with a variety of wheels. I don't think I need balloons but small hard ones are also probably not the answer. What do you think?


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PostPosted: Tue Jan 01, 2013 6:53 pm 
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Joined: Sun Aug 12, 2007 5:17 pm
Posts: 679
Location: Auckland NZ
I am very chuffed with my c-tug. Plastic (no rust). Breaks down in seconds (stow in front hatch). Mine has inflatable tyres but at least two types of broad hard wheels/tyres are now available. Best of all it has broad pads to support the boat so i can leave the kayak on the cart semi-permanently in my hot garage without denting the plastic. Made in NZ (no relationship) but available in many other kayaking countries.


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PostPosted: Tue Jan 01, 2013 7:18 pm 
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Joined: Mon Apr 26, 2010 6:06 am
Posts: 734
Location: Amelia Island, FL
Anytime you are pulling your kayak cart through soft sand/mud you should be using the balloon tires. I have them on my cart and use them in sand and even on hard surfaces. Wouldn't be able to use on multi surfaces if I had the hard wheels.


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PostPosted: Wed Jan 02, 2013 6:41 am 
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Joined: Mon Dec 31, 2012 7:36 am
Posts: 5
Thanks

Stubbo -with respect to the c-tug, when you store it on the cart do you raise the front end to keep it level. If so, what do you use?

Islandspeed -How well do they roll over hard ground and what cart do you use?


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PostPosted: Wed Jan 02, 2013 9:33 am 
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Joined: Mon Jul 16, 2012 9:27 pm
Posts: 731
Congrats on your new Revo11!
For the first couple of months I simply dragged my revo11 on the sand/launch ramps, so I've got a fair amount of scratches on the hull. I wish I had made my first priority a cart like you. In the end I made one out of PVC and a set of recycled wheels from a fellow forum member. any wheels are better than none, but the tires with air in them are worlds apart from the hard plastic ones, trust me on that!


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PostPosted: Thu Jan 03, 2013 12:08 am 
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Location: Auckland NZ
Nah, just roll the yak into the garage & leave it there til the next time. Having it on the slope is useful for sponging out any bilge water that may have got in. I do usually loosen the c-tug strap a bit but even that is not necessary.

... has worked for me for 6 or 7 years.


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PostPosted: Sat Jan 05, 2013 11:30 am 
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Posts: 465
Thanks to Stobbo's shared use of his C-Tug, I bought the hard wheel C-Tug for my FH Pathfinder and Hobie Oasis.

Once you figure out the strap fitting on the C-tug, it is a very handy and useful cart. There are a lot of how to videos on UTube showing how well it works in sometimes harsh conditions.

There is no having to lift a heavy yak to insert the stick in tubes in the holes in the bottom of your yak or to turn it sideways to get the cart fitted.

You just lift the rear of the yak and set it on the C-Tug and strap it on. Then you take it to the water. Put the bow in, unstrap it and pull it off the C-Tug.

This works with a fully loaded Pathfinder with a heavy battery, motor and a lot of gear. My Camel Back Cart failed with the Pathfinder and our Oasis, as it was overwhelmed with the weight that should have been under its so called weight limit.

The one drawback is with a couple of launch areas with sand and seaweed to get through to the bays to launch a yak.

That will be solved with the new add on wheel wideners, which should be available early this year.

The link below shows the addon wheel wideners being put on and used in heavy sand with heavy yaks.

http://www.paddlerzone.co.nz/products/t ... _trolleys/

Don't buy the soft tires with a tube as they don't work well. Get the new hard wheels and try them in your launch area. If the wheels need to be wider buy the new wheel widener attachments when they come on the market.

_________________
2009 Oasis
2012 Freedom Hawk Pathfinder


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PostPosted: Wed Jan 16, 2013 11:52 am 
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Joined: Mon Dec 31, 2012 7:36 am
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OK just to close this out and provide info for others. The place where I bought the Kayak (Appomattox- highly recommend) suggested a cart similar to the C-tug, which has a strap to hold it in place. After one trial run, I realized it would not work for my needs. My problem is a fairly steep slope on soft ground which results in the boat pitching. That in turn causes it to rotate on the rack rendering it useless. No amount of strap tightening reduced the problem to an acceptable level. When I got on leveler ground with a harder surface, it worked fine. I think that a good bit of the problem was the fact that there was very little contact area between the cart frame and the boat. It was clear that the cart was not optimized for the unique hull shape of the Revo. I can't speak for the c-tug; however, it certainly appears that there is the potential for a lot more contact between the c-tug cart and the boat, which may eliminate the problems I had. In addition, the wheels (although large and tubeless) were not ideal for the surface. So, I called Appomattox to return the cart and try something else. This time I went with the hobie with the big tires as recommended by IslandSpeed.

Per my original post, I don't have any need to carry lots of equipment and the Revo 11 is very light to begin with so putting it on the cart takes minimal effort (in fact, I found it easier than positioning it on the other cart and ratcheting down the strap). I also found the balloon tires to be much more effective on my surface. I may get a flat tomorrow and regret my decision but for my situation this was the way to go. Of course YMMV.

Thanks everyone for the input


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PostPosted: Thu Jan 17, 2013 11:34 am 
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Joined: Thu Dec 10, 2009 2:40 pm
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I have a C-Tug and like it much better than the Hobie cart as my Outback is a pain to rotate 90 degrees to insert the Hobie cart.
The only change I made to my C-tug was to replace the strap with a 1 1/2" wide NRS heavy duty tie down strap($10.00)....the quick release strap lock does not slip.
I feel the key to using a C-tug cart is to loop the strap through the kayak carrying handles on the side of the kayak......the cart will not move/slide beyond this point regardless of the incline angle you are moving over. :wink:

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Hood River, OR


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PostPosted: Thu Jan 17, 2013 2:02 pm 
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Joined: Wed Oct 10, 2012 11:20 pm
Posts: 273
Location: London UK
the c tug will fit into the front hatch as well.

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PostPosted: Thu Jan 31, 2013 4:30 pm 
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Joined: Thu Jun 14, 2012 6:18 am
Posts: 224
Location: Boynton Beach, FL
Many thanks to Stobbo for your reviews on the C-Tug. I have been frustrated with the scupper hole mount carts as they are difficult to put in place with a fully loaded kayak, particularly when you are trying to do it in the water. The c-tugs eliminate this problem. They don't float and can be placed in the water next to the kayak which you just then lift or slide it on. I also like that they are plastic and break down nicely.

I got the hard wheel version and I plan on purchasing the wheel wideners for more difficult terrain.

I do find that the straps can slip on a fully loaded kayak but my solution is to move my YakAttack Screwballs just behind the straps so they don't slip. Really, you can use any obstacle but screwballs are so easy to move around.

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PostPosted: Thu Jan 31, 2013 7:14 pm 
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Joined: Thu Aug 16, 2007 2:25 pm
Posts: 2863
Location: Central Coast NSW Australia
I'd love to see an honest review of the new sidewinder/hard wheels performance in soft sand. In the clip from GS's link above, the sand didn't seem very soft.
From what I've read of other hard wheels supposedly designed for sand, they can't compete with a balloon tyre.


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PostPosted: Fri Feb 01, 2013 12:10 am 
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Joined: Wed Oct 10, 2012 11:20 pm
Posts: 273
Location: London UK
oldgoat01 wrote:
OK just to close this out and provide info for others. The place where I bought the Kayak (Appomattox- highly recommend) suggested a cart similar to the C-tug, which has a strap to hold it in place. After one trial run, I realized it would not work for my needs. My problem is a fairly steep slope on soft ground which results in the boat pitching. That in turn causes it to rotate on the rack rendering it useless. No amount of strap tightening reduced the problem to an acceptable level. When I got on leveler ground with a harder surface, it worked fine. I think that a good bit of the problem was the fact that there was very little contact area between the cart frame and the boat. It was clear that the cart was not optimized for the unique hull shape of the Revo. I can't speak for the c-tug; however, it certainly appears that there is the potential for a lot more contact between the c-tug cart and the boat, which may eliminate the problems I had. In addition, the wheels (although large and tubeless) were not ideal for the surface. So, I called Appomattox to return the cart and try something else. This time I went with the hobie with the big tires as recommended by IslandSpeed.

Per my original post, I don't have any need to carry lots of equipment and the Revo 11 is very light to begin with so putting it on the cart takes minimal effort (in fact, I found it easier than positioning it on the other cart and ratcheting down the strap). I also found the balloon tires to be much more effective on my surface. I may get a flat tomorrow and regret my decision but for my situation this was the way to go. Of course YMMV.

Thanks everyone for the input



Answer = foam rubber.
More contact
More friction
Still have a practical cart you can stow in the hatch
Cheap fix

Cc

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