New Kayaks & Portage System

It's been a while since I last posted.  I've done several wilderness trips since my last post, and have two new kayaks with another one that should be finished by year end. 

My 18 foot cedar strip kayaks weigh about 56 pounds.  This is heavier than I expected but lighter than my last ones.  They are also larger than my last ones, and lots of leg room and space for gear.  I'm 6' 3" tall so its really nice to have the extra room.  I can kayak for hours without my legs getting stiff, cramped, or falling asleep.  These are larger and lighter than any other 18 foot kayak I've found.

I also designed the cockpit to fit and balance on my shoulders.  I've been using small portage pads, which work well on short portages.  They begin to hurt on portages that exceed a half mile.  I have a full portage yoke that I use on my canoes.  I'm going to use it on future trips.  I expect to be able to portage a 56 pound boat at least one mile before needing a rest.  Of course, I'll use portage wheels when ever possible.

I'm currently building a 16 foot kayak of mostly my own design.  I just fiberglassed the hull this afternoon.  I should have it finished by year end.  I'm curious about how much it will weigh.  I'm hoping that it weighs less than 50 pounds, which I think it a reasonable assumption.  I've been planning on creating a list of material weights so that I can reasonably estimate the weight of a kayak before I build it.

One of my next projects will be to build portage wheels.  With about 50 miles of portages, it would be nice to have wheels that fit under the center and can carry the kayak and gear.  I'd like to be able to step out of the kayak, slip on the wheel, and go.  I have a few ideas to try.  I think the pull lines should be attached directly to the portage wheels to prevent the wheels becoming skewed when you hit a bump in the trail.