the oft' forgotten carrying yoke

[canid]

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show of hands, how many of you have used one for one reason or another. the concept is ancient and they arestill used by people the world over.

many people use one made for kayaks or canoes.

ever want to take a deer on terrain to rough for a drag when it's not practical to make seperate trips for quarters, don't have a packframe, etc?

i have gone so far as to make one from nearby tree prunings on my way home from the supermarket to assist with the carriage of heavy groceries whoe's bags where cutting into my hands on the walk home.

they are a pain in the neck i know but i'm hoping this would spark for somebody some time who hadn't thought of such a simple solution.

[Rick]

I've used this a time or two. Mostly to carry water. You're right, they literally are a pain the neck.

[canid]

yeah but in the case of the groceries, it sure beat 80lb of groceries in plastic bags biting into my hands, or a similar situation. it did solicit some funny looks from passers by.

[Jay]

A very efficient way to carry heavy loads. I've used it several times. once to carry two gas cylinders in adition to my back pack. and I fully sympathise with mules, camels and other such beasts of burden! It is still commonly used in SL to carry heavy loads.

[Tony uk]

I use a large wood stick and put on the carrying end any fish, game or heavy items i need to take with me, Its painfull in your neck so get a soft car sponge and tape it on to the part of the stick that takes the weight into your body and it will provide some cousioning

[Rick]

Jay - I posted a thread a week or so ago that shows how to carry an injured man. One of those used a "stick" slung behind the back and over the waist belt of the pack. If the load were short enough (doesn't drag the ground) you could probably slide the stick between you and the pack and let the waist belt carry the load rather than your neck or shoulders.

[carcajou garou]

You can get a canoe yoke and use/modify it for transportation of many things.
We inlet the backs of these yokes if they are not already notched so that the spinal "hump" at the base of the neck and shoulders is not stressed, padding is also a help. At camp we have one dedicated for water bucket detail.

[RBB]

You can get a canoe yoke and use/modify it for transportation of many things.
We inlet the backs of these yokes if they are not already notched so that the spinal "hump" at the base of the neck and shoulders is not stressed, padding is also a help. At camp we have one dedicated for water bucket detail.

Good point! Use one all the time - to carry a canoe. Also in the spring for collection pails - two five gallon pails - to empty the maple sap into for boiling maple syrup.

There are a number of canoe yoke pads, available commercially, to make the yoke ride more comfortably. Or you can carve the yoke out to fit your shoulders. The yoke pads work better as a yoke carved for one person's shoulders may not ride so well on someone else's shoulders.

Hand Carved Yoke:

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[Rick]

I was in Gander Mountain this morning and they have a carrying yoke for portage of your canoe. Sweet little stick of wood with rubber pads for a mere $150.00. I'll be taking orders.

They also had a 35mm film can with a hole punched through it and a clip attached. Inside was 13 feet of nylon cord for hanging your wet clothes on to dry. $9.99.

Who buys this stuff?

[RBB]

Who buys this stuff?

City people. At least the clothesline thing.

[RBB]

These might be what you saw. They clamp on to the yoke (wood part). I've heard them described as a "Minnesota Yoke," but I've never heard of that kind of price tag.

http://www.boundarywaterscatalog.com...cfm/4,3875.htm

There are numerous types of yoke pads. One of the most comfortable is the "horse collar," but it is bulky and gets in the way:

http://www.boundarywaterscatalog.com...e.cfm/4,95.htm

The best all around, to my way of thinking, are these:

http://www.boundarywaterscatalog.com...e.cfm/4,98.htm

Another photo (13th and 14th item down):

http://www.oakorchardcanoe.com/outfitting.php

As to who would buy them - you would, if you had to carry a canoe far enough.

[Rick]

Not for a 150.00 bucks I won't. I'd make one. It looked a lot like that 3rd link. Just a small pad on each side.

[RBB]

Not for a 150.00 bucks I won't. I'd make one. It looked a lot like that 3rd link. Just a small pad on each side.

On each one of those there are "slings," kind of a mini hammock, of fabric between two aluminum rods. Extremely comfortable, yet they don't take up much room.


...and, you never know. You maybe wouldn't - but someone might. I've had people so pooped they offered me $50 to carry their canoe across a fairly short portage (I did it for nothing - how I was raised).

$150 is high dollar for that setup though. The yoke pads run about $55, a pair, new (and worth every penny), and it sure isn't that hard to cut out a simple wooden yoke.

Cliff Jacobson has come up with a good simple (and cheap) tump for carrying canoes, but you have to do it just the way he's set it up. A normal tump won't work worth beans.