When Michael Quinn emailed us about this well-studied, slickly-engineered contraption, he admitted he was "not really sure if this is a 'hack' so much as a 'solution'"--but as big fans of over-built ways to make your rowing happen, we like this one either way. Folks, we give you Mr. Quinn and The Boat Cart: "We recently moved to a neighborhood with a private beach on a lake in Eastern Washington that is positively gagging to be rowed on. Our issue was how to transport a scull the 0.25 miles between our house and said beach." "The racks at the beach are exposed to the elements and full of $50 WalMart kayaks that would get dropped on the shell by nescient philistines; not an option. Using our roof rack would be clumsy, to say nothing of DRIVING A MERE QUARTER OF A MILE to row. Strike two. Lastly, it's too far to carry the boat on your head, especially since the beach has a locked gate that requires two free hands to open." Quinn's solution to take advantage of Liberty Lake's enticing environs? A veritable boathouse on wheels that he can easily roll from the garage to the water's edge, no car-topping--or driving--required. "Obviously you don't want the boat to be used as part of the stabilization structure, so what you see is the Mk3 design of attaching a rigid chassis to a pair of sturdy Burnham Boat slings. It rolls easily, has space for transporting the oars and various rowing accoutrements, and weighs about 50 pounds, providing a low center of gravity to prevent possible tipping." "The neighbors all stare as we walk down the street but that's probably just from seeing a middle-age "Dad Bod" wrapped in bright spandex; no police have been called as of this writing." Quinn has been tweaking the design as he goes along, inspired by sculling solutions like Tom Rose's Single Sculler Elevator--and he even gave the covered-up option of the Single Storer Hack a hard look before opting for this lighter weight design. He hopes it will inspire other scullers out there looking for ways to get out on great water. Well-hacked, Mike! The Boat Cart ranks right up there with Andy Gush's inflatable dock, Mark Underwood's foam roller hack, and David Toohey's Kettle Bell trick. Do you have a well-built solution that helps you get your strokes in when a boathouse and a dock isn't on offer? If so, share your tips--and hacks--in the comments below. If you have a great rowing hack to suggest for future inclusion, then please send it to us, like Mike did, and we will feature your idea in a future column. SUPPORT ROW2K If you enjoy and rely on row2k, we need your help to be able to keep doing all this. Though row2k sometimes looks like a big, outside-funded operation, it mainly runs on enthusiasm and grit. Help us keep it coming, thank you! Learn more. Related Stories Rowing Hack: The Single Sculler Elevator Rowing Hack: The Kettle Bell Mooring Buoy Rowing Hack: The Water Bottle Holder Hack CommentsLog in to comment Posting... Post Cancel There are no Comments yet Rowing Features Life is a Metaphor for Rowing, Ch. 15: Water Bugs June 17, 2022 Big Wins, Quick Naps, & Tiny Bells: The Week that Was in Rowing, 6/6-6/12 June 16, 2022 Tony Johnson: A Spring Back in the Launch at 81 June 15, 2022 R-E-S-P-E-C-T - Excerpt from 'The Hammers' by Hovey Kemp June 13, 2022 Rowing Headlines EARC Announces Major Awards for 2022 Season June 14, 2022 RankOAR's First Season on row2K May 27, 2022 Race Day Update (Updated): Six Squads Cancel Racing Due to Covid Protocols as Season End Nears April 29, 2022 Collegiate Polls Explainer April 21, 2022

When Michael Quinn emailed us about this well-studied, slickly-engineered contraption, he admitted he was "not really sure if this is a 'hack' so much as a 'solution'"--but as big fans of over-built ways to make your rowing happen, we like this one either way.

Folks, we give you Mr. Quinn and The Boat Cart:

"We recently moved to a neighborhood with a private beach on a lake in Eastern Washington that is positively gagging to be rowed on. Our issue was how to transport a scull the 0.25 miles between our house and said beach."

"The racks at the beach are exposed to the elements and full of $50 WalMart kayaks that would get dropped on the shell by nescient philistines; not an option. Using our roof rack would be clumsy, to say nothing of DRIVING A MERE QUARTER OF A MILE to row. Strike two. Lastly, it's too far to carry the boat on your head, especially since the beach has a locked gate that requires two free hands to open."

Quinn's solution to take advantage of Liberty Lake's enticing environs? A veritable boathouse on wheels that he can easily roll from the garage to the water's edge, no car-topping--or driving--required.

"Obviously you don't want the boat to be used as part of the stabilization structure, so what you see is the Mk3 design of attaching a rigid chassis to a pair of sturdy Burnham Boat slings. It rolls easily, has space for transporting the oars and various rowing accoutrements, and weighs about 50 pounds, providing a low center of gravity to prevent possible tipping."

"The neighbors all stare as we walk down the street but that's probably just from seeing a middle-age "Dad Bod" wrapped in bright spandex; no police have been called as of this writing."

Quinn has been tweaking the design as he goes along, inspired by sculling solutions like Tom Rose's Single Sculler Elevator--and he even gave the covered-up option of the Single Storer Hack a hard look before opting for this lighter weight design.

He hopes it will inspire other scullers out there looking for ways to get out on great water.

Well-hacked, Mike! The Boat Cart ranks right up there with Andy Gush's inflatable dock, Mark Underwood's foam roller hack, and David Toohey's Kettle Bell trick.

Do you have a well-built solution that helps you get your strokes in when a boathouse and a dock isn't on offer? If so, share your tips--and hacks--in the comments below.

If you have a great rowing hack to suggest for future inclusion, then please send it to us, like Mike did, and we will feature your idea in a future column.

Rowing Hack: The Single Sculler Elevator

Rowing Hack: The Kettle Bell Mooring Buoy

Rowing Hack: The Water Bottle Holder Hack