Stand-up paddleboarding is an exciting sport that gives you a unique blend of calm and excitement as you glide over calm water. But as any paddleboarder who does it often knows, getting to the water can sometimes be challenging in and of itself. It can be scary to think about carrying heavy boards, sometimes more than one, over different terrains and long distances. This is precisely where the simple cart comes into its own as a game-changing tool for fans. A paddleboard cart is more than just a handy thing to have. It’s a reliable friend that makes moving your boards from one place to another easier. Whether on a sandy beach, a rocky shore, or a road in the city, a well-designed SUP cart can make what could have been a difficult task easy and quick so you can focus your energy and excitement on the water ahead.
How to Load SUPs onto a Cart
At first glance, loading your SUPs onto a cart looks like a simple job. Still, it’s an essential one that ensures the safety of your equipment and the efficiency of your transport. Each step in this process is significant for ensuring that your paddleboards are safe and stable in the water. Every detail is essential, from putting the boards in the right places to ensuring their weight is evenly spread. Attaching the ankle leash to the center pole of the cart may seem like a small step, but it’s the key that keeps the cart from moving or falling on its own. These careful steps are necessary to keep your paddleboards in good shape and ensure they arrive at their destination undamaged, ready for your next exciting stand-up paddleboarding journey.
Insert Paddleboards into Slots
The first step is significant when putting your paddleboards on a cart because it sets the tone for a safe and smooth ride. Start by placing your paddleboards carefully on the cart’s frame, ensuring they fit precisely into the holes. These slots are cleverly made to support your boards, giving them a snug and stable fit, like a tailor-made hug. This snug fit isn’t just for ease of use; it’s also the key to keeping your boards balanced while transporting them. By putting your paddleboards in these slots, you’re distributing their weight correctly and stopping them from wobbling or shifting, which could make them unstable and lead to accidents while you’re moving. It seems like a simple step, but it is the key to loading a paddleboard cart well and ensuring your boards are ready for a safe trip to your favorite surfing spot.
More of the back end should be sticking out than the front
Putting your paddleboards on the cart is more than just putting them where you want them. You have to think about how the weight will be distributed and how the boards will stay balanced. As you carefully put your paddleboards on the cart’s frame, it’s important to remember the rule that more of the back end should stick out than the front. This seemingly minor change in orientation is the key to ensuring that not only is the load balanced, but it can also be moved around easily during transport. By letting the back ends of your paddleboards stick out a little past the cart, you move their center of gravity closer to the cart’s center. This makes it easier to move your loaded cart over different terrains. This intelligent move reduces the chance of tipping and keeps the paddleboards stable and in control, as you move them. This lets you move your paddleboards quickly and gracefully, no matter how difficult the way to the water is.
Strap Ankle Leash to Center Pole
It’s essential to keep your paddleboards safe while you move them, and attaching the ankle leash to the center pole of the cart is a great way to do this. This is a small but significant step protecting you from sudden changes or dangerous situations on your way to the water’s edge. By securing the ankle leash to the center pole of the cart, you can keep your paddleboards from moving. This means that even when you’re going over uneven ground or small bumps in the road, your boards will stay safely attached. This makes it much less likely that you’ll fall or move without meaning to. This extra layer of stability protects your valuable gear. It gives you peace of mind as you move your paddleboards, so you can focus on the fun of your upcoming stand-up paddleboarding trip instead of worrying about the safety of your gear.
If loading multiple boards, squish them together
When you have to move more than one paddleboard on the same cart, you need a plan to do it quickly and safely. The most important thing here is to ensure the boards are close to each other. This was done on purpose to make the most of the room on the cart and make it less likely to move around or become unstable while being moved. Keeping the boards close together makes a single load that spreads the weight evenly over the cart’s body. This even weight division is the key to keeping a stable and balanced load. This reduces the chance of swaying or wobbling, which could cause accidents or damage to your paddleboards if it happens too much. Whether moving paddleboards for a group trip or having a few of your own, this systematic approach will make the process safer and more efficient. It will also make sure that all of your paddleboards arrive at their destination in perfect shape and ready for your next SUP adventure.
Deck pads should be facing in, so fins face out
How your paddleboards are placed on the cart is a small detail that is more important than it may initially seem. When you load your boards, it’s essential to put them on the cart so that the deck pads face inward and the fins face outward. This particular arrangement serves two purposes that go beyond how it looks. First, it makes the load more stable by making it narrower, which makes it easier to move the cart through small areas or along narrow paths. Second, and just as important, this setup protects the deck pads, which are easier to break than the rigid fins. By ensuring the deck pads face each other, you protect them from any scrapes or abrasions that could happen during shipping. It’s a simple but effective method that keeps your paddleboards looking good and makes them last longer, ensuring they’re in great shape for many more paddleboarding experiences to come.
Strapping the Boards
After putting your paddleboards on the cart in the best way possible, the next important step is to lock them well. This step protects your boards while you move them and gives you peace of mind as you walk to the water’s edge. Strapping down your SUPs is a simple but important job that helps keep them stable and stops them from moving when you don’t want them to. With these straps, your loaded cart becomes a safe, compact unit that can handle any ground between you and where you want to paddle. By carefully following the steps below, you will not only protect your expensive paddleboards, but you will also be able to confidently start your stand-up paddleboarding adventure, knowing that your boards will arrive safely and in great shape.
Throw buckle over the top and thread it beneath the sides
Putting your paddleboards on the cart with straps requires careful steps to ensure they stay in place. To start, take one of your straps and throw the end with the buckle over the top of the boards. Be careful to make sure it falls evenly and smoothly over both paddleboards. This step is essential because it makes a solid link between the boards and the strap, which sets the stage for the next steps of securing. The strap is spread evenly so that each board is placed well. This makes it less likely that the boards will move or wobble during transport. By doing this first step carefully, you set up a strong foundation for safely transporting your paddleboards. This makes for a safe and stress-free trip to your favorite paddleboarding spot.
Repeat with the strap and then thread it underneath the buckle, then tighten
Once the strap buckle is in the right place over the top of your paddleboards, you can secure them to the cart by threading the free end of the strap under the sides of the cart and under the paddleboards. This move makes a strong anchor point for the strap, holding your boards firmly in place while you carry them. Carefully threading the rope under the paddleboards and cart sides is crucial to avoid unwanted movement or shifts. This is especially important when going over uneven terrain or hitting small bumps. It ties your boards to the cart so nicely that they move as a single unit, reducing the chance of shaking or instability. By doing this step carefully, you not only improve the safety of your paddleboards but also ensure that your loaded cart is balanced and stable.
By following these simple steps, you’ll be able to quickly load your SUPs onto a cart and secure them, making it easy to get from your car to the water’s edge. Now that you know your boards are safe, you can focus on what you love most: stand-up paddleboarding in your best water paradise.