: Hi Dominic,

: I'll tell you first that I have built several versions of the ‘worlds best
: kayak cart’ so I know from experience what doesn’t work well. ;-)

: At first glance I can tell that this cart has not been made yet or if it has
: it is not like the view in the ‘sales sheet’ in the link. That model has
: no means of lateral support and the three hinged cross members will let it
: fall to either side as soon as it is assembled. I suppose it is possible
: the make the ends of the cross members have stops so that they can not
: rotate past 90 degrees but the view doesn’t show that. Those types of
: stops are also not particularly durable either. You could also add a
: diagonal brace that has to be removed before it is colapsed.

: Given that you have that problem solved I once made a cart that had the
: wheels directly under the center of the platform like this design. It was
: at best difficult to load the kayak onto the platform without help because
: you have to hold the kayak up and the cart vertical all while strapping
: the cart to the kayak.

: My cart also had a problem that the cart would try to twist every time one of
: the wheels hit a bump when the other didn’t. The best carts are set up so
: that the wheels are offset well behind the centerline of the cart.

: Stainless steel would probably a lot heavier than what I would find
: acceptable also.

: I hope this helps but I guess this is more than you asked for. You know what
: they say about opinions and you did ask.

: Kyle T

Kyle,

Thank you for your response. I appreciate it.

1) The cart has been made and yes, there have been some revisions since the engineering cad drawings that address strength issues.

2)Actually, there is lateral support. I am not sure where you think there is not.

3)Further, the center stops are all that are needed to prevent the tubes from over extending. I tested in aluminum first, but the tube actually failed before the stops did. Thus, the decision to go to stainless.

4) Acceptable weight is alway subjective. When I bought one of the Paddleboy designs it claimed to weight 6 lbs, but actually weighed in at 11 lbs. This was because of the changes in tires I would imagine over the years. So while the frame might be light, the tires can be heavy. Also, in a previous life I spent 12 months working on tire weights to reduce overall weight of several finished goods.

5) Offset tires is a nice idea and I can incorporate that into my design. I suppose you are familiar with the bump test designed by Sears/Craftsman to test tire wear, axle wear, and rigidity of design?

Thanks,
Dominic