Just as we thought . No reply equates to an epic blunder on your part. 

little cleo wrote:

 Just as we thought . No reply equates to an epic blunder on your part. 

not everyone reads every post daily...
Having known Martin for years as both a paddler and winter camper, He actually gifted me a homemade hot tent and 6' toboggan for my scouts years ago.
he's a guy that knows his stuff, and having worked in the lumber industry myself, don't underestimate clear heartwood pine, especially if it's mature red pine- it's actually harder than many hardwoods, enough so that it's used extensively for flooring, although I do suspect he's used 3/4x1 and mistook the thickness.
while it probably won't last forever it seems reasonable to get a single season out of it easily WITH the right wood

Last edited by scoutergriz (1/29/2026 10:29 am)

There is very little force pushing against the screw nail holding those components together and the wood was also glued so delamination and migration of the screw is possible, but not likely and quite simple to tap back into place, or replaced with a more aggressive screw if it starts to loosen.  The majority of the forces on those ends of the yoke, when the canoe is being carried, are between the end of the yoke itself and the gunwale.  In that situation, the little glued/screwed attachments should have little to no force exerted upon them since they are just sitting on top of the (inverted) gunwale.

The canoe in the example is also exceptionally light in weight compared to nearly all canoes, so the overall downward force of the canoe weight on the yoke span is relatively small.  The final aspect that might be surprising is the flexural strength (the resistance to bending or breaking) of natural wood.  Barry's comment of "seems skimpy" is likely a shared belief by most of us.  We all know that white pine from the big box hardware store is some of the softest and cheapest, but it is surprisingly strong for it's dimensional characteristics (if it isn't peppered with knots and cracks).  I also expect that someone crafting this for personal use would likely select a nice, straight-grained piece that would not have the inherent weakness associated with knots and other natural variations.  

Finally, the author states that it isn't a long span so it should not experience a substantial amount of flex compared to wider canoes...which indicates he has an sound understanding of the situation and has assessed his solution as adequate.  The real proof though?  He carries the canoe with it in the video.  All in all, it seems like a reasonable solution and not, as you claim, an "epic blunder".  

little cleo wrote:

     Maybe try using the shaft from a  wooden or carbon hockey stick instead .The paddle section of a carbon goalie stick migh work very well ?  Even spruce is better than  number one pine. Pine flooring will have some  sort of other wood  laid under the flooring for support. A pine canoe yoke has no additional support . The screw nails will pull out of the pine from the contact point clasps at the gunnwales in no time .  
     
   

you've obviously never worked with red pine, it, itself is often used for subfloors, and red pine heartwood is stronger than beech, yellow birch, basswood, and many other species- it's only slightly less strong than BC fir...
It's also used often tor trailer and truck beds (pressure treated of course) and the 6/4 and 8/4 T&G surpasses the national building code in both Canada and the US for unsupported flooring in both deflection and psi ratings. It rarely requires a subfloor and is substantially stronger than both black and white spruce.

I have to confess that my experiences with distinguishing the uses of pine is for the most part limited to using white pine for in-house furniture projects and to observing the milling of red pine utility poles at a McCray facility many years ago. In an effort to refresh my personal savvy of the two pines, I found the following online video ...
https://youtu.be/K5NRspa9RcM?si=n0O-rQOfdNWyQY3c