BWCA Yoke for Wenonah Prism Boundary Waters Gear Forum
Chat Rooms (0 Chatting)  |  Search  |   Login/Join
* For the benefit of the community, commercial posting is not allowed.
Boundary Waters Quetico Forum
   Gear Forum
      Yoke for Wenonah Prism     
 Forum Sponsor

Author

Text

grumple4
member (13)member
  
02/17/2019 06:48PM   (Thread Older Than 3 Years)
Hi friends,

I recently purchased a Wenonah Prism solo canoe with a tractor bucket seat and need to figure out what kind of yoke to get in order to portage throughout the BWCA. I know there is the Wenonah "Removable Solo Yoke and Pads" for $170, also think there is "Solo Yoke and Pads" from Chosen Valley for $170. Do people have a preference between these two? Or a less expensive option that also gives the necessary height above the tractor seat? I have been using a 75 lb aluminum canoe for many years and am excited to go a little lighter, any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks!

 
      Print Top Bottom Previous Next
MidwestFirecraft
distinguished member(918)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
  
02/17/2019 09:36PM  
I ran into the same thing with my solo. I didn't want to spend the money or carry all that weight. I bought a cedar 5/4 deck board for $10 and two heavy duty plastic 90's that I screwed on and used hockey tape for grip. Cut out the cedar board with a jig saw. It's not perfectly symmetrical, but is light, cheap, and works. The key is to attach the 90's close enough so they squeeze the gunwales tight.

 
MagicPaddler
distinguished member(1495)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
  
02/18/2019 05:07AM  
MidwestFirecraft: " "

Simplicity is a virtue. Do you know what it weighs? I hate paying all that money to get a light canoe to put a portage yoke on it that weighs 20% the weight of the canoe.
 
MidwestFirecraft
distinguished member(918)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
  
02/18/2019 07:17AM  
17.4 ounces.
 
MagicPaddler
distinguished member(1495)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
  
02/18/2019 08:40AM  
MidwestFirecraft: "17.4 ounces."

Nice
 
mjmkjun
distinguished member(2885)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
  
02/18/2019 08:44AM  
Wenonah clamp-on yoke is the one I use on my UL Prism w/tractor seat. Pricey, yes. So very nice! Flip it upside down and strap on the seat braces behind the seat. Easy, lightweight, durable and positions the canoe high-enough above your head for visual clearance.
You might be asked "What the heck is that?" on portages and at landings. :-)
 
02/18/2019 09:11AM  
I rented a Prism last year. Pretty sure they supplied the Chosen Valley version.

Used to portaging tandem canoes, I found it "really" tall.

I bought a Prism myself recently, and understand you need some height to give your head room from the pedestal. The purchase included a yoke that clamps to the gunwales. Leather padded to treat the wood gunwales nicely. I am going to mount pads to this trying to create a happy medium. Leave room between my head and the seat pedestal, but maybe a few inches lower than the fancy pedestal mount models.

There are a few threads on this if you search above for Prism Yoke. For inspiration, I think I may use the yoke photos from butthead in this thread, as the thick portage pads provide more mid-portage shifting than the sling style:

Prism Yoke Thread
 
02/18/2019 12:32PM  
MidwestFirecraft: "I ran into the same thing with my solo. I didn't want to spend the money or carry all that weight. I bought a cedar 5/4 deck board for $10 and two heavy duty plastic 90's that I screwed on and used hockey tape for grip. Cut out the cedar board with a jig saw. It's not perfectly symmetrical, but is light, cheap, and works. The key is to attach the 90's close enough so they squeeze the gunwales tight.

"


Love it - also want a light yoke...nice work!
 
MidwestFirecraft
distinguished member(918)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
  
02/18/2019 02:29PM  
sns: "
Love it - also want a light yoke...nice work!"

Thanks!
 
02/18/2019 03:45PM  
I highly recommend the removable solo yoke that mjmkjun recommended. This is the one I have. I've tried the more traditional cross bar yoke and it doesn't work well since it's nearly impossible to get the yoke on correctly; I always had problems making sure it was perpendicular to the gunwales, not too far forward, not too far back etc. The removable solo yoke that Wenonah makes take only a few seconds to attached / remove and does not cause centering problems.
 
02/18/2019 08:42PM  
Pretty sure the Wenonah yoke is the Chosen Valley yoke. I bought the yoke through Wenonah and I believe I removed a Chosen Valley tag from it. It works great! I was advised by one or two smart people on this web site to tie a paracord or nylon rope to it so you don't lose it when paddling. I found this to be sound advise on my first solo.
 
02/19/2019 01:20AM  
The Wenonah Yoke is made by Chosen Valley. They are the same.

Folks swear by this yoke but I hate it. Find it uncomfortable and poorly designed. I've bought one and am on my third(all replaced by Chosen Valley free of charge). All failed on Quetico trips within a year of purchase (I do paddle a fair amount and often carry on marginal or worse portage trails). I found a way to replace the worn parts of my old yoke that has only failed once since I bought my Advantage in 86. Wish they still made it.

 
mjmkjun
distinguished member(2885)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
  
02/19/2019 06:04AM  
Banksiana: "The Wenonah Yoke is made by Chosen Valley. They are the same.


Folks swear by this yoke but I hate it. Find it uncomfortable and poorly designed. I've bought one and am on my third(all replaced by Chosen Valley free of charge). All failed on Quetico trips within a year of purchase (I do paddle a fair amount and often carry on marginal or worse portage trails). I found a way to replace the worn parts of my old yoke that has only failed once since I bought my Advantage in 86. Wish they still made it.


"

Had exact yoke attached to my '86 Advantage too and had not seen another like it. Assembly is simple & construction is solid. (which may explain why it is no longer made.) LindenTree3 now has it if ya want to try to finagle it from him. :D
 
02/19/2019 10:16AM  
mjmkjun: "
Had exact yoke attached to my '86 Advantage too and had not seen another like it. Assembly is simple & construction is solid. (which may explain why it is no longer made.) LindenTree3 now has it if ya want to try to finagle it from him. :D"


I followed bread crumbs and discovered the guy who had bought out the manufacturer of the yoke (Hidden River I think) and bought enough spare metal to keep my yoke going until my time is up.

It is a simple and quick light solution and I've only ever experienced one failure in thirty years of extensive tripping with the boat. I've since replaced the insufferable sling pads with a set of Bourquin pads.
 
grumple4
member (13)member
  
02/19/2019 02:40PM  
2 quick follow up questions:

1) Has anyone used or would they recommend the Hidden Rivers "Universal Solo Yoke" at Piragis for the Prism?

https://www.boundarywaterscatalog.com/hidden-river-yoke-shop/universal-solo-yoke-6724

2) It sounds like the raised yoke that Banksiana posted a picture of is no longer available, is that correct? If so, does anybody know where a guy could get those metal raisers that clamp on to the gunnels and connect to the yoke? That looks like a great setup.

https://photos.bwca.com/b/BANKSIANA-230811-221826.JPG
 
02/19/2019 04:31PM  
Grumple4-

I got the raised metal pieces (it was a fatigued riser that caused my yoke to fold) from the guy that bought the stockpile of parts from the Hidden River Yoke Company. I contacted Wenonah and they got me his name and number. They were selling a removable yoke kit that looked the same as the one I had (still are offering it removable yoke kit ), but when the kit arrived it was not as shown in the photo. Wenonah gave me the guys number and he had the parts.

 
02/19/2019 10:19PM  
The sling pads I found were not a problem with a thirty pound boat. But my spirit ll... we’ll not an issue either. If you don’t spread them and tighten good then they are a problem. If you are finding them uncomfortable try adjusting them. I was slow to do this, but finally figured it out.
 
andym
distinguished member(5340)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberpower member
  
02/19/2019 11:37PM  
1) Has anyone used or would they recommend the Hidden Rivers "Universal Solo Yoke" at Piragis for the Prism?

I’ve got one and it works fine on my Sawyer Summersong. I haven’t done anything extreme with it but it seems fine on 30 to 40 rods from our cabin to the water and back.

The clamps are a little more complicated than some other clamp on yokes but work well on curved gunwale profiles such as the summersong.

BTW, I saved some bucks by buying it used from Piragis.
 
02/20/2019 04:09PM  
nctry: "The sling pads I found were not a problem with a thirty pound boat. But my spirit ll... we’ll not an issue either. If you don’t spread them and tighten good then they are a problem. If you are finding them uncomfortable try adjusting them. I was slow to do this, but finally figured it out."


The metal on the sling pads dig into my shoulders. Also have a problem with the pads stretching and sliding around the "corners". The big vinyl covered foam pads are much more comfortable for my shoulders.
 
GraniteCliffs
distinguished member(1981)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
  
02/20/2019 09:03PM  
Like Banks, I also dislike the yoke described. It never seems to sit right on my shoulders. Awkward to flip. Uncomfortable.
But the other yoke I have weighs more and my head hits the top of the canoe on portages.
 
      Print Top Bottom Previous Next
Gear Sponsor:
Portage North