I recall there are a few kayakers on here, do any of you use trolleys for lugging them around? We have two sit on tops and it’s a nuisance carrying for more than a few tens of yards. Looking at the C Tug, but would like any comments on the benefits of the solid wheels over the inflatable ones. TIA

Depends where you do most of your trolleying I suppose. Inflatable wheels would be more useful I’d imagine.

How far do you want to carry it? Will you return to the same spot to get off the water? If not, how will you carry the trolley with you? I reckon a trolley will be a lot of hassle. Better with an open canoe that has the place to carry it.

TBH I’d just get on with carrying it. I’ve carried kayaks up many, many Scottish glens. It isn’t easy, painless or pretty, but I just got on with it. Sooner or later it’s over.

I’ve got one, it’s rubbish, on vauguely uneven ground the kayak falls off, or over, and what TroutWrestler says about lugging it round is true too,
I never use it now, its easier to carry it tbh,

OP has sit on tops, these are not easy to carry.
I have a sit on top, use a custom built trolley made from some golf trolley wheels. Basically two posts that fit into the sit on top drainage holes. It’s bomb proof and the kayak never falls off. Golf trolley wheels are good as they’re big enough and roll. I’ve used it on shingle and cross all sorts of terrain.

on vauguely uneven ground the kayak falls off,

That’s an ongoing problem with my sea-kayak trolley but I perservere. It’s better than carrying the thing 400 metres uphill back from the river. Although, if you strap it up properly it should stay in place. 😯
I really must learn how to do it right some day 🙂

If you’re handy with bits of old plastic then this might do….

Homemade SOT Kayak Trolley

BTW, IME, inflatable wheels roll better over bumpy ground (such as pebbly foreshore, etc.)

i made my own for my sit on top out of light weight alloy box section and golf trolly type wheels been using it for about 4 years dont know how i would manage without it.

I have a c tug – it’s not bad. You need a bit of technique to strap it on tight enough and at the right place(just before the widest point) for it not to fall off or loosen. It also needs a nice wideish path so maybe not great on fiddly footpaths. The c tug breaks down into 6 or 7 bits and I can just about fit all the bits in one of my seakayak hatches but it’s tight. The latest ones have an option of flat solid wheels which would fit better. It’s handy to take it with me to save leaving it on the beach for day paddles but could not justify the amount of space it takes for an overnight trip.

I used it yesterday to portage the boat on my own about 500m along the road and 300m across a pebbly beach from where I could park and I was in much better condition to enjoy my paddle than I would have been without it.

This might be worth a look

http://www.unsponsored.co.uk/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=5;t=3624;st=0;&#entry2

I was amazed the 1st time I learnt you could get wheels for your canoe. We did the Bowron Lake circuit Click here for details years ago as students and were too skint to rent the wheels. Carrying everything including the canoe on the portages was part of the experience but did limit the amount of beer we could carry compared to the locals. Whisky is much easier to carry.

I’ve been looking for a while, but the best i’ve found is these

We have two SoTs and use an Ekla trolley. The uprights go through drainage holes on the kayaks, so there’s no straps involved. Run at very low pressure, the tyres give quite a bit of cushioning and stop the kayak bounding around too much.

Home made FTW – look over on SoTP for some B&Q trolley conversions.