How to Build a Kayak Wheel

Homemade kayak carts have been built out of everything from PVC to wood to metal. Most kayaks are relatively light and if you can get one end up on wheels, it's easy to lift the other end and roll it wherever you'd like. Here's a quickie one-wheel kayak cart using an old bicycle fork and a little PVC.

Things You'll Need

  • Bicycle wheel
  • Salvage front bicycle fork (without handlebars)
  • Half-inch flat washer.
  • 1 PVC pipe, 2 inches by 5 feet long
  • 3 PVC T joints, 2 inch
  • 4 PVC end caps, 2 inches
  • Hacksaw
  • Carpet scraps
  • Duct tape
  • PVC cleaner and cement
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Instructions

    • 1

      Remove the front fork from the old bicycle frame by unscrewing the bolt sticking up between the handlebars. Remove the fork and mount the bicycle wheel. Screw the bolt back into the top of the fork assembly.

    • 2

      Measure from the top of the forks to the top of the center bolt with the bolt screwed in hand tight. Subtract two inches and cut a length of two-inch-diameter PVC pipe that long.

    • 3

      Clean the top of the pipe and cement the center hole of a PVC T joint in place. Drill a hole in center of the top of the T fitting large enough for the bolt to pass through.

    • 4

      Cut two six-inch-long, two-inch-diameter PVC pipes. Clean and cement the pipes to the joint openings to create a "T"-shaped assembly. Clean and cement the remaining T joints to the end of the arms at the center hole. Align the open ends of the joints parallel to the ground if the "T" assembly is standing vertical.

    • 5

      Cut two more six-inch-long, two-inch-diameter PVC pipes and cement into the ends of the T joints on the ends of the arms facing forward. Cut two 18-inch-long, two-inch-diameter pipes and cement into the arm end T joints facing toward the rear. Cement caps on the end of each of these support pipes. Wrap the arms in carpet strips and use zip-ties or duct tape to hold the padding in place.

    • 6

      Remove the center bolt on the bicycle fork and slip the upright post on the T assembly onto the fork center post. Slip the flat washer onto the fork bolt, slide the bolt into the hole in the top of the center PVC T joint and bolt into place securely. To attach to the kayak, clip bungee cords to the frame of the one-wheel kayak cart and wrap tightly over the top of one end of the hull. Add bungees till the wheel is attached firmly. Then lift the other end of the boat and roll it wherever you want it to go.