I’ve pined away the last few years for the time to make a trailer so I can pull my canoe behind my bike. I’ve seen a few attempts to do this, but they don’t seem effective or lean enough—they’re too Rube Goldbergy—and that’s saying a lot, coming from me. I saw a guy with a clumsy set-up doing it last week—but at least he was doing it! It worked.
I’m thinking all you need is a couple wheels, blocks and straps to get wheels onto a boat-hull near the rear. Then all you need is a yoke of some kind to attach to a bike seatpost.
My ultimate scheme has been to use this rig with a folding bike, so that one could ride/tour with a one-man canoe (that holds luggage if need be) and put the folder in the boat when it’s time to paddle. Sweet.
Sometimes I think a canoe might catch too much wind from the side for this to be much fun for distances, so a rounder, smoother kayak would be better. But it would need to be one with a big enough cockpit to stash the folder or a hatched-compartment big enough. But whatever, anything woulda been cool, the darn idea has been birlin’ in me head long enough.
OK, I finally googled the subject and low’n’behold there are a BUNCH of folks out there thinking the same thing. There are several solutions out there to this problem now. Some look pretty good. None seem to involve quicky sketches for the home-handyguy. Some are pretty pricey. But even when it’s pricey, bike stuff is pretty cheap.
Anyway, here are the links to the Bike-Boat Trailer Resources I just dug up…
Brent & Gary’s Big Adventure — these two nuts did what I’ve been dreaming of—a big tour on a folding tandem while pulling a canoe that held their luggage—too bad they didn’t know how to canoe. (BIKE FOREST ROCKS!!! In so many ways! Check out their Homebuilders Bike Gallery!)
Wike Trailers — offhand, seems like the best production solution.
Tony’s Trailers — looks good!
PB Flyer — nice!
Bikes At Work — BAW ROCKS!!!
Equinox Tourlite — crazy website, but worth a look
A guy’s project — a homebrew project, looks dandy, who needs plans anyway.
