# Kayak Carts



## Rockntroll (Oct 2, 2007)

Well after toting my Outback over the sand dunes at Navarre beach the last several weeks, I have come to the conclusion the Hobie beach wheels are pretty much worthless in soft sand. After I'm done pulling the yak all loaded with gear, I feel like I just pulled a 2 ton truck in a strongman competition. Can anyone recommend anything better? I think the Hobie wheels are the 8" Wheeleez. Would upgrading to a cart with the 12' Wheeleez wheels make that much of a difference to be worth the cost?


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## PBTH (Oct 1, 2007)

From what I've heard the newer Hobie wheels are much better than the standard ones and should make the difference your looking for. I'm still in strapping young lad mode and drag my yak everywhere.


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## choppedliver (Apr 4, 2009)

> *Rockntroll (10/12/2009)*Well after toting my Outback over the sand dunes at Navarre beach the last several weeks, I have come to the conclusion the Hobie beach wheels are pretty much worthless in soft sand. After I'm done pulling the yak all loaded with gear, I feel like I just pulled a 2 ton truck in a strongman competition. Can anyone recommend anything better? I think the Hobie wheels are the 8" Wheeleez. Would upgrading to a cart with the 12' Wheeleez wheels make that much of a difference to be worth the cost?


are yours the pneumatic wheeleez? or the spoked plastic ones? They are both made by wheeleez

http://www.hobiecat.com/kayaking/accessory_details/accessory_cart.html


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## Rockntroll (Oct 2, 2007)

I have the gray wheeled Hobie Trax cart. The ad says it is good for sand, but they must be talking hard packed sand. Either that, or I am now an "over the hill" girlie man.


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## choppedliver (Apr 4, 2009)

> *Rockntroll (10/12/2009)*I have the gray wheeled Hobie Trax cart. The ad says it is good for sand, but they must be talking hard packed sand. Either that, or I am now an "over the hill" girlie man.


well those are the deluxe ones, I guess the standard ones must be total crap! lol


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## choppedliver (Apr 4, 2009)

and to answer your question, the 12 inch would definitely give you a larger contact patch, which means less weight per square inch, so I dont know if it would be worth it, but it would definitely help with your situation!


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## Brandonshobie (Aug 10, 2009)

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Have you tried letting some air out of the tires? Hobie says that it is easier to pull the kayak in the sand with flatter tires I think it helps some.


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## BloodyWaters (Nov 22, 2008)

i have the two solutions ! im calling Hobie this week to thank them for making a great livewell and do propose 2 stystem for toting yaks. as soon as i get in touch with them, i will post a Q&A pro and con thread.


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## BloodyWaters (Nov 22, 2008)

i have the two solutions ! im calling Hobie this week to thank them for making a great livewell and do propose 2 stystem for toting yaks. as soon as i get in touch with them, i will post a Q&A pro and con thread.


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## Pourman1 (Oct 4, 2007)

I have the newer Hobie wheels and they work pretty good , and I carry alot of stuff on my Yak !! ... Navarre is the longest place I have to drag it to the water :banghead


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## Rockntroll (Oct 2, 2007)

> *Pourman1 (10/12/2009)*I have the newer Hobie wheels and they work pretty good , and I carry alot of stuff on my Yak !! ... Navarre is the longest place I have to drag it to the water :banghead




Pourman, that is the dreaded dune I'm referring to. :hotsun. I guess I'll let some more air out of the tires and see how that works


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## Herculined (Apr 27, 2008)

I drag mine over those dunes, and cussthe yak,gear, and duneevery step of the way.


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## eodryan (Mar 4, 2009)

Those wheels suck. I had my for like a week and a little piece of shell got between the wheel and hub and poked a hole in the tire. Bam, 40 dollars out like a week after shelling out 100 bucks for the whole set up. I switched to the tough tires, but they pretty much suck. i would really like to see a fat tough tire. Right now, the thickest tough tire bogs down in sand because it's two thin, and I can't afford to replace the inflatable tires every other outing. I might try a pvc patch, but the hot knife to plug the hole doesn't work at all.


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## [email protected] (Mar 20, 2008)

I think this is supposed to be the answer to everyone's problems and I have heard great things about this cart...drawback is the PRICE! http://www.kayakfishingstuff.com/store/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=KFS&Product_Code=KFS-cartbeach&Category_Code=kw

Honestly Tim and I dont use wheels at all. We sometimes use hard plastic wheels in places there are boardwalks but most places we launch we back the truck up offload the yaks on the sand and then just do the dreaded drag...funny how much harder it is to get back to the truck than to get to the water! Still much easier than launching a boat! And it is just labor instead of money and labor.


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## why1504 (Jul 10, 2009)

> *[email protected] (10/13/2009)*I think this is supposed to be the answer to everyone's problems and I have heard great things about this cart...drawback is the PRICE! http://www.kayakfishingstuff.com/store/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=KFS&Product_Code=KFS-cartbeach&Category_Code=kw
> 
> 
> 
> Honestly Tim and I dont use wheels at all. We sometimes use hard plastic wheels in places there are boardwalks but most places we launch we back the truck up offload the yaks on the sand and then just do the dreaded drag...funny how much harder it is to get back to the truck than to get to the water! Still much easier than launching a boat! And it is just labor instead of money and labor.




These are the wheels I purchased for my PA. I bought them based on the recommendation that these were the wheels the Hobie rep up there was using. I only used them in Navarre back in August when I was down. The worked good but as a fat old guy it was still a load going over the big dune. On flat sand they were a dream. I have lost an additional 25 pounds since then and should be able to give a better review when we head down for the week of Thanksgiving. BTW you need 2 tennis balls on each side to keep the PA from rubbing on the wheels.


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## Yaksquatch (Mar 23, 2009)

Hey, I just take it as equalizing the workout since we crank in big fish all day using our arm muscles. We gotta make sure our legs get a bit of tough workout so we don't look like the stereotype superhero with really big arms and itty-bitty legs.



In all seriousness, when I was in highschool, I built a cart for my canoe with some oversized wheelbarrow wheels and scrap parts that were lying around my dad's shop. I'm thinking about doing the same sort of thing for my WS Tarpon 160. The frame for my canoe cart is wood but I'll probably try to put an "H" shaped PVC frame together that will fit through the rear scupper holes of the yak. I just need to set aside some time to do it.



Good luck working something out,

Alex


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## Pourman1 (Oct 4, 2007)

I'm trying to get something fabricated at work that I can put small ATV wheels and tires on , already have the wheels and tires , just waiting on the welder ... I'll take pics of it when we get it together , hopefully sometime soon :letsdrink


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## captken (Feb 24, 2008)

I know that sliding friction is greater than rolling friction but I don't think that law takes sugar sand into account.

I wouldn't suggest sliding your yak very far but why not try sliding it a few feet to see if it is any easier. It will "float" on the sand. If it is a bunch easier, try to find a piece of the polymer used on airboat bottoms.

Just a suggestion. I haven't fished of Navarre Pier since 1964 but I darn sure remember how hard walking any distance in sugar sand can be.

Another brainfart. 4-wheel cart. I just looked at a yak and cart in this thread and noticed that the wheels are put in the rear scuppers. Why not put some in the front scuppers too? This would give you twice the load bearing surface. Yeah, more crap. You could borrow your buddies cart just for a test.

It is mighty easy to diagonse somebody else's problem from 500 miles away. These are just suggestions that come to mind.


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## Rockntroll (Oct 2, 2007)

> *Yaksquatch (10/13/2009)*Hey, I just take it as equalizing the workout since we crank in big fish all day using our arm muscles. We gotta make sure our legs get a bit of tough workout so we don't look like the stereotype superhero with really big arms and itty-bitty legs.
> 
> 
> 
> ...






With a name like Yaksquatch, I can picture you caring a yak over the dune propped up on one shoulder 



Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I also look forward to seeing some of your cart projects when they are built


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## captken (Feb 24, 2008)

I just "Built" a launch site that is 2 miles closer to fish than a much easier place to launch. The drawback, however is a 45 degree bank about 8 feet tall with nasty rocks imbedded.(Can't be moved because it is on state land)

I am going to try to find an old yak that I can pick up for free to make sort of a shell I can pop my yak into to slide back up the hill.

If I still lived in NW Florida, I would really work on a solution for hauling my cart across sand. 

Do you break your cart down and take it fishing or take it back to your car/truck? 

Here is the trailer I pull by hand to launch my yak way back off the beaten path. My yak stays on the cart in my shed and I just slide the cart and yak into the back of my little Nissan PU. I've hauled the yak close to a mile down a walking path a few times.








These wheels won't work on the beach, though.


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## chaps (Aug 31, 2009)

I bought a dolly from lowes and did a little cutting and welding and came up with a pretty inexpensive cart that goes through the scupper holes. The tires work pretty good on firm surfaces but I haven't tried it on soft sand.


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## NICHOLAS (Oct 18, 2007)

If you tie a rope to the front of your yak then drag with the whole kayak flat on the sand, it is easier than holding the front handle and having the back dig in the whole way! Still no fun though.


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## captken (Feb 24, 2008)

Yeah, what Nicholas said! Unfortunately you can't do that with a 2 wheel cart. I have some 30mil PVC pond liner that would work to protecta yak bottom if you are going to drag it over sand. 

Before it is over with, some Greenpeace or other radical SOB will complain about wheel furrows on the beach and y'all will start taking flack.


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## Chris V (Oct 18, 2007)

It may sound like more work but I find myself a lot less tired on the long hikes ifI just take everything off the yak and carry it on my shoulder like a sheet of plywood. I just come back for everything else and usually can get it all in one trip.

Bear in mind I usually fish a O.K. Prowler Big Game and that thing isn't the lightest around but its still less work it seems.


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## Rockntroll (Oct 2, 2007)

Maybe since our sand looks like snow we should treat it like snow and tryto pull akayak on a plastic tobaggan



















I believe I seen this mentioned on the main forum before for dragging coolers on the beach for surf fishing. I should work for kayaks. However, may have trouble finding one in the local Wally World around here


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## eodryan (Mar 4, 2009)

Is there any chance we could work with some officials and get a ramp put in somewhere on Navarre? Like a little walkway to the gulf? I have no idea as to what all is required in that, but it seems like quite a few people go there, and with that giant hill in the way, either that, or convert on of the ramps already there from stairs to a ramp? ... Just thinking out loud. Lately I go to the sea shore, where it's only like 100 yards to the beach from the parking lot w/ no dunes, and then just drag my yak. The wheels don't really make it any better, and it's faster to just drag the yak, then drag the yak on wheels, get the wheels off, and then store them. I really wish wheelez wasn't the only people making decent beach wheels, they have the market cornered, and charge a lot for what they give you.


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