: I plan on taking this back in as much as 3 to 5 miles at
: times.

Charlie raised some good points. Also consider that for a portage of 3-5 miles you'll probably be much happier with a kayak cart than doing an actual "carry". If you search on this forum or on the net in general you can find plans for a build-it-yourself cart you can make with PVC tubing, etc. If you're not anxious to do that you can find some store-bought carts in various price ranges. Most of them break down to component parts for storage in the kayak while you are paddling.