Towing A Canoe With A Bicycle

So I'm going to start doing this... does anyone have any pointers?

On 13 Jun 2003 23:16:12 -0800, "Garrison Hilliard" <garrison@efn.org> wrote:

>So I'm going to start doing this... does anyone have any pointers?

I've seen a recumbent tandem trike with an Indian-style canoe on a full-length roof rack, but
suspect that his might be nearer the mark:

<http://www.victoriabybike.com/trailers.htm>

Guy
===
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"Garrison Hilliard" <garrison@efn.org> wrote in message news:3eeabdac@news.victoria.tc.ca...
>
> So I'm going to start doing this... does anyone have any pointers?
>

Good luck. Use a stable trailer with a smart attachment. For example:
http://www.bikesatwork.com/bicycle-delivery-service/

--
Robin Hubert <cv2572@earthlink.net

On Sat, 14 Jun 2003, Just zis Guy, you know? wrote:

> On 13 Jun 2003 23:16:12 -0800, "Garrison Hilliard" <garrison@efn.org> wrote:
>
> >So I'm going to start doing this... does anyone have any pointers?
>
> I've seen a recumbent tandem trike with an Indian-style canoe on a full-length roof rack, but
> suspect that his might be nearer the mark:
>
> <http://www.victoriabybike.com/trailers.htm>

Well, Mark Freedman pointed out:

>I wonder how controllable it is going downhill. Unless you back down with the canoe in front of you
>:-)

I'm starting from scratch with one of these http://www.sportsmansguide.com/cb/cb.asp?p=WX2&i=70412
as my trailer base and hope to include some sort of GTFAFM* device when I make a linking arm to
prevent my being passed by a canoe the road and bike path!

> Re: Towing A Canoe With A Bicycle
>
> From: Garrison Hilliard <garrison@efn.org> Followup to: [3]newsgroup(s) References:
> [4]<3eeabdac@news.victoria.tc.ca>
> [5]<mpemevspkqppon0uf34raa93vbd095tb20@4ax.com>
>
>
>
>On Sat, 14 Jun 2003, Just zis Guy, you know? wrote:
>
>> On 13 Jun 2003 23:16:12 -0800, "Garrison Hilliard" <garrison@efn.org> wrote:
>>
>> >So I'm going to start doing this... does anyone have any pointers?
>>
>> I've seen a recumbent tandem trike with an Indian-style canoe on a full-length roof rack, but
>> suspect that his might be nearer the mark:
>>
>> <[6]http://www.victoriabybike.com/trailers.htm>
>
>Well, Mark Freedman pointed out:
>
>>I wonder how controllable it is going downhill. Unless you back down with the canoe in
>>front of you
>>:-)
>
>I'm starting from scratch with one of these
>[7]http://www.sportsmansguide.com/cb/cb.asp?p=WX2&i=70412 as my trailer base and hope to include
> some sort of GTFAFM* device when I make a linking arm to prevent my being passed by a canoe the
> road and bike path!
>
>
>

Also, a couple of BRIGHT flashers on the stern of the canoe are a must!

=v= BicycleR Evolution is working on a kayak trailer:

http://www.bikerev.com/

Dunno anything about it, except that it's in beta-test. <_Jym_

I've towed Kayaks on a series of bike trailers for 30 years. I've had no adverse experiences and
have only been harrassed by a cop one time. My wooden trailer hitch is attached in numerous places
on several parts of the rear frame to spead out the load. The hitching fixture is in a low position,
directly behind the rear wheel. This improves stability over hitches that attach on the rear axle or
around the seat post. It also puts the hitch's pivot farther back and this minimizes the degree that
the trailer will cut too tightly as it trails you around a corner. Be prepared to catch the
attention of everyone on the road and to have to tell the whole story of the trailer, everytime you
take it out.

As with any trailer, make sure that the load is balanced a few feet ahead of the trailer's
wheels. A center of balance behind the wheels can lead to fishtailing, especially when going
downhill. I had a very educational experience the first time I took out my streamlined, 6-foot
long cargo trailer. I had loaded the weight well behind the wheels and it went crazy down a
steep hill. It fishtailed so badly, that the trailer passed the bike, trashing one bike wheel
and one trailer wheel. I was lucky to survive unharmed. Now that I load it more heavily in
front of the axle, it behaves flawlessly. I recommend a good, unsuspended mountain bike with
smooth-tread tires as the tractor for any trailer, as a lot of extra stress will be placed on
it, especially on the rear wheel. I keep an extra bike with the hitch, just for towing. I have
a full set of side and rear reflectors on the trailer and at night, I have a blinking red light
mounted on the stern of the Kayak. I also use two safety chains. Discarded inner tubes make
good boat attachment cords.

Once, I hauled a girlfriend six miles across town, sitting in the Kayak. Another time, I
stopped for a hitchhiker, just as a joke, but to my amazement, she hopped in. I carried her to
the next town and you can imagine how amazed her family was when I pulled up in front of their
place. The exercise is great, especially when a good paddling workout is fitted in the middle
of the ride.

If you want some J-PEG pictures of these trailers, send me an E-Mail.

Steve McDonald

On Sat, 14 Jun 2003 13:03:40 -0700, Garrison Hilliard <garrison@efn.org> wrote:
>On Sat, 14 Jun 2003, Just zis Guy, you know? wrote:

>Well, Mark Freedman pointed out:
>
>>I wonder how controllable it is going downhill. Unless you back down with the canoe in
>>front of you
>>:-)

P'raps with a tandem style drag brake on the trailer?

Jasper

On Thu, 19 Jun 2003 02:47:47 +0100, FatBlokeOnBikepins@pinsmother-truckers.co.uk wrote:

>Bit OT coming up - I recall seeing such a use of inertia in the proposed design for a motorcycle
>tail/stop-lamp in the '60s, the movement medium being a small globule of mercury which braking
>caused to move forward into the gap between two prongs, thus completing an electrical circuit. I
>remember wondering just what the costing would look like.

Very, very little. Mercury switches are standard components that cost one or two quarters each.
Well, they were until they were banned for, well, containing mercury. You can still get real ones
for well under a dollar at salvage/surplus houses, and there are modern replacements available that
don't use mercury. There's one in every non-electronic room thermostat.

The main trick would be to mount it in such a way that bumps don't cause it to fire, but braking,
even fairly gentle, does.

Actually, it'd be trivial to modify a led rear light or something with one of these to get a battery
operated brake light on a bike.

Jasper

On Thu, 19 Jun 2003 13:31:56 GMT, Jasper Janssen <jasper@jjanssen.org> wrote:

>Mercury switches are standard components that cost one or two quarters each. Well, they were until
>they were banned for, well, containing mercury.

Still available in the UK: search on mercury switch at http://www.rswww.com - mercury and
non-mercury available at a variety of prices for a variety of applications.

>there are modern replacements available that don't use mercury. There's one in every non-electronic
>room thermostat.

No there isn't, that would be a plain old-fashioned bimetallic strip, but there is one in the
average car alarm motion sensor.

Guy
===
** WARNING ** This posting may contain traces of irony. http://www.chapmancentral.com Advance
notice: ADSL service in process of transfer to a new ISP. Obviously there will be a week of downtime
between the engineer removing the BT service and the same engineer connecting the same equipment on
the same line in the same exchange and billing it to the new ISP.

I used to tow my canoe behind my mountain bike. I went to Goodwill and bought a nice old golf cart--
the kind that you attach a bag of golf clubs to and then wheel around. Nice wide wheels on it.

I strap this to the bottom side of the canoe. I hitch the canoe gunwale to the bike by using a board
with a nail in it. This is also a nice self-defense weapon if needed. The board is tied tightly to a
rear rack.

I used my mountain bike because I live in Seattle and the hills from the water to my house are
significant enough to necessitate low gearing.

I would still be doing this all the time, but my canoe has fallen into disuse since the birth of our
first son three years ago. When he learns to swim, he an I will attach the canoe once again to a
bike and we will go float.

--Keven.

On Thu, 19 Jun 2003 17:03:55 +0100, "Just zis Guy, you know?" <guy.chapman@spamcop.net> wrote:
>On Thu, 19 Jun 2003 13:31:56 GMT, Jasper Janssen <jasper@jjanssen.org> wrote:

>>there are modern replacements available that don't use mercury. There's one in every
>>non-electronic room thermostat.
>
>No there isn't, that would be a plain old-fashioned bimetallic strip, but there is one in the
>average car alarm motion sensor.

It is indeed a bimetallic strip, fitted with a mercury sensor to determine when it's moved enough.
See http://home.howstuffworks.com/home-thermostat1.htm .

Jasper