Canoe Trailer/Trunk

Nope, not something to carry a canoe, but something the canoe carries.

This weekend my family and I are going on a two day, one night camping trip down the Saco River. Mum was going to purchase an inflatable rowboat(~$30) and trail it behind the canoe for storage; Five of us in three kayaks and one canoe doesn't leave much room for supplies. As soon as i heard that I started thinking, and came up with a (in my opinion) much more functional and durable solution.

This was documented as I built but, as I said, the trip isn't until this weekend. So I'll post pictures of it in action Sunday or Monday.

Update: We're back from our trip, so check step 8 for pictures of the trunk in use.

Step 1 Plan It, Start It

Make a sketch, it helps. Obviously, I planned my trailer around the dimensions of the thirty gallon barrels I had.

First, I found the center of the ends; Conveniently there were lines in the plastic already. Draw an axis in the center, grab a protractor (or eyeball it, like me) and make lines from the center to the edges at a forty-five degree angle.
Then I drew the lines as straight as I could over all the bumps and lips of the end, over onto the sides. Do the same thing on both ends of both barrels. Pay attention to which direction you draw the lines so that they line up.

The whole angles bit isn't necessary, but it makes the two halves of the final result close to the same.

Comments

[thefabricator]

Great idea
  You might try looking for a style of plastic barrel that has tapered ends. ( I have one I use for hauling water to my garden.  It is dark gray in color.
   If none of the Garden center places near you, have barrels, there is one in Concord, that carries a pretty good assortment.
  From that you might be able to make a "bow" at least for the front of each barrel, and have enough to make your larger doors.

[clemsonguy1125]

 Where did you get the barrels from.

[rogers236]

 My dad got them from his work. They held liquid flavoring for drinks, the barrels were refuse.

[jongscx]

One solution would be to have the two barrels end-to-end, like a long sausage... that would cut down on the drag.  Unfortunately, you'd need some kind of outriggers to keep the barrels from tipping over/rolling...

[xd12c]

I really liked this idea and I have a pair of suggestions I hope will help.

1. You could get a piece of sheet plastic and form it to the barrel using a heat gun before cutting to get a door. Add neoprene to the edges & use a clamp system to hold it & you have a waterproofed, gasketed door. Just test prior to use ; )

2. Using similar plastic and a marine grade plastic epoxy, wouldn't be possible to create a V-hull front shape to attach to the barrel?

[diznee4me]

My husband had this same idea and was able to get 3 of these barrels from the shipyard he works for. We were not going to drag them (because it's way too much stress with all the paddling. As you discovered, the drag is horrible) but he wanted to use them as storage inside the canoe. They fit, but they really took up WAY too much room, so that idea went out the window. If you figure out a way to pull them behind the canoe so that gliding is optimal, please update this instructable. It really is a great idea. Thank you!

[Danish M1Garand]

If you were to ballast the trailing end (Stern?!)of this thing until the forward end (Bow?....LOL) was clear of the water I'd bet this would pull easier. Use a loose head drum. That's the proper term for one that the lid comes off. Then ballast the stern and it'd work like a charm. Get a cheap ahkio type sled. Ahkios are plastic sleds that is a bowl of plastic upswept on one end. These sell for 15 or 20 buck in the winter here. 3 bucks on clearance when it doesn't snow that year.

[booyah71]

Maybe you could pull it from the round side instead to create less drag...

[smithy813]

nah, I've pulled some barrels like this behind canoe's like that, it still is a LOT of drag, and it surges so you can't get the canoe to glide. it must be pretty hard to paddle with it like this too.

[rogers236]

Ya, it did end up creating quite a bit of drag the way we pulled it. A better way to pull it would have been backwards, but sideways would probably be best. But since we weren't in a hurry on our trip, it wasn't that big of an issue.

[evil_jweller]

You can save your self a lot of trouble if you cut out the side of the door the hinge will go on first, install the hinge, then cut the other 3 sides. Your door will be perfectly aligned then. In this case, you probably need to put them on with self tapping screws first, and then go back and swap out to nuts and bolts.

[maxstevenson]

Really like your canoe trailer/trunk. Have you used it yet this year?

[Bubbler]

Bolt some timber slats onto the cut edges to make sure they don't flex too much. I want to come along on your trip. What a pity I'm not in the USA. ;-)

[Kiteman]

If you made several of these, bolted together in a line, you wouldn't need the proper canoe or kayaks at all, just fill alternating barrels with people and luggage...

[Kiteman]

;-)

[Bubbler]

This is a good emergency improvisation. I once cut this same sort of barrel to make a pond, and cut it just how you have, but with a wider opening. From my experience with that, the long cut edges will in fact start to bend and go out of shape. Seeing as this is only a temporary measure to last for a short while, it should be fine. What if you cut yet another barrel to make a bow for each tub to help defeat drag. Like the front of a sled.

[rogers236]

I like that idea. Maybe I'll try it if we need to use it again. Thanks.