How to Make Your Own Canoe Trolley

Canoeing is a recreational activity that provides practitioners with an upper body workout while enjoying a day out on a river or lake. However, a day of canoeing can be quickly spoiled by a hole in the bottom of your canoe sinking the ship. When moving your canoe from a rack or truck into the water, a canoe trolley supports the weight of the back of the canoe. This means you can simply carry the front end to prevent the bottom of the canoe from dragging. If you have handyman skills, you can make your own trolley in a series of straightforward steps.

Things You'll Need

  • 6 PVC T-couplings
  • Power drill
  • 1/2 inch bit
  • 2 PVC 1-inch to 1/2-inch reducers
  • 16 PVC pipes, 3 inches long
  • 8 PVC 45-degree couplings
  • 2 PVC pipes, 18 inches long
  • 4 PVC elbow couplings
  • 2 PVC pipes, 12 inches long
  • 4 washers, 1/2 inch
  • 3/16 inch drill bit
  • Steel rod, 2 feet long, 1/2 inch diameter
  • 2 lawnmower wheels
  • 2 cotter pins
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Instructions

    • 1

      Drill a 1/2-inch diameter hole in the center of two of the T-couplings. The hole will be in the middle of the top-of-the-T section of the coupling, directly opposite the bottom opening.

    • 2

      Place a reducer on the bottom opening of both drilled couplings. The hole in the reducer aligns with the drilled hole.

    • 3

      Insert a 3-inch pipe into the remaining openings on one drilled T-coupling, then place a 45-degree coupling on the end of both pipes. Rotate the couplings so that the T-coupling lies flat on the ground and each angled coupling's open end points up at an angle.

    • 4

      Insert a 3-inch pipe into the remaining opening on both 45-degree couplings, then place a T-coupling on the open end of each pipe. Rotate the two new T-couplings so their bottom-of-the-T openings point directly in the opposite direction as the drilled coupling's bottom-of-the-T opening.

    • 5

      Insert a 3-inch coupling into the remaining top-of-the-T opening of both non-drilled couplings in the current assembly, then place a 45-degree coupling on each pipe.

    • 6

      Put an elbow on both ends of an 18-inch coupling and a 3-inch coupling in the remaining opening of both elbows.

    • 7

      Press the open end of the 3-inch pipes attached to the elbows into the remaining openings on the last two 45-degree couplings put on the current assemble. The pipes will now be joined to make an angular-D shape.

    • 8

      Build a matching assembly with the remaining couplings, 3-inch pipes and 18-inch pipes.

    • 9

      Connect the two assemblies together by inserting a 12-inch pipe into the bottom openings of the two non-drilled T-couplings on one assembly, then pressing the matching openings of the second assembly over the other ends of the two pipes. The two D-shapes now sit 1 foot apart, with their 18-inch tops aligned.

    • 10

      Drill a 3/16 inch diameter hole through the steel rod approximately 1/4 inches from one end of the rod, and a second hole approximately 1/4 inch from the other end of the rod.

    • 11

      Thread the rod through one reducer and out the T-coupling it is attached to. Then thread across the gap between the two sides and through the other T-coupling and reducer.

    • 12

      Place a washer, a lawnmower wheel and a second washer on both ends of the rod.

    • 13

      Insert the cotter pins through the holes in the rod to hold the wheels in place.