First Mate

Story Behind the Invention

Inventor Rodney R. Klein of Edgerton, WI has created a modular trailer for easily transporting small personal watercraft on your own!

Having owned fishing kayaks and canoes for a long time, Rodney knew how exhausting maneuvering them can be. Launching, portaging, and dragging his expensive watercraft across pavement and up and down gravel hills was far from easy. In turn, he decided to come up with a way to transport his watercraft without destroying himself or his boat. He wanted to be able to portage from one lake to another across the way without having to go to his vehicle, load his kayak, travel a short distance and unload. In turn, he was inspired to develop First Mate! Through a lot of trial and error, he came up with a plan and built a working prototype. Now the trailer has been further developed and is ready for market!

Once assembled, the invention forms a T-shaped frame with two pneumatic tires at the upper part of the T. This is used to support one end of the watercraft. The opposite end, or bottom, of the T extends the length of the kayak or canoe. At the end is an easy-to-maneuver handle. These features make the invention ideal for use on solo trips, such as when launching or retrieving watercraft, or when portage duties may be required. The invention only weighs 30 lbs. and collapses down to fit compactly in a small duffle bag that can be easily transported on the watercraft itself.

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