A La Cart 2a

O.K. this is it - the most simple, cheap, small, flexible, fixable, skookum cart that you can make in 20 minutes or less. When I thought of it on the bus ride home after work, I just couldn't help chuckling. ( In fact it's so good, deja vu is playing tricks on me - has anyone else seen this?) Anyway, later that nite when I was working on surfyak, I finally couldn't contain myself and at about 10 p.m. I got 2 hunks of 1/2" x 2" scrap and put it together in about 1/2 hr, spent about 45 min. rigging it - with a neighbor rushing over to help me with my problem. I also used the pull setup (dwg Pa - 11/13) - took another 10 minutes, and then went for a run. Had it jumping curbs, rolled it twice going around corners when only one wheel was on the curb, gravel, pavement, long grass, mulch, etc. Had to stop once and redo all the rigging - that's when I learned about keeping all the lines separate. And then took off again. Picture my poor neighborhood at close to midnite - with a scared rabbit rushing down the street being pursued by a long rumbling monster beast! All in all, worked like a hot damn.

It is also easily repaired in the outback. Get out yer swiss army knife and replace a leg w/ that pc of branch over there. Clamp breaks - use some rope w/ a packing hitch. Wheel breaks - tie on a bushy branch and make it 1/2 cart 1/2 sled. Because it's all made w/ rope and webbing it is as strong or weak as the rope and webbing you use. Lots of give, too.

However, I advise you NOT to build it. The person who is best suited to make this is your young 6 yr old son or daughter, or grandkid, or brother/sister. Help w/ the drilling and have the axle already set up, and in an evening's work beside you, he or she can construct something that is out of all proportion to the work she puts in. Give him a rasp to shape the legs - the shape doesn't really matter. S/he can clamp the clamp and help tie the rigging and I bet there will be smiles of pride in the work.

Obviously, also works for canoes.

Once you have the rigging set and tested, I would put hooks, loops or knots or whatever in place so you can instantly set it up next time. The first setup is: lay the cart down, put on the yak, clamp up, roll it upside down, rig it and turn it back. The second time you won't have to turn it over, just have your partner lift the rear up (or hook the rear over something - log, mound, etc), so you can rig the front, the rear rig is now easy.

So as you can guess, this one is my favorite. It's so minimal that it's a no-brainer to take along wherever you go. But if you think this is minimal, stay tuned!