Canoe loading apparatus

An apparatus to assist in loading and at least partially supporting a canoe for transport on an automotive type vehicle, including:

• a generally upright frame having a pair of horizontal, spaced apart side bars, a top cross bar disposed between and connected to the upper ends of the side bars, and an intermediate cross bar disposed between and connected at an intermediate location on said side bars;
• adustable clamp means on the frame to secure the frame to a bumper of an automotive type vehicle, said clamp means including first and second clamp assemblies, one of said clamp assemblies disposed at the lower end of each of said side bars of the frame, each said clamp assembly including upper and lower clips having reverse turn lips adapted to engage upper and lower edges of the bumper of an automotive type vehicle, bolt means assembling the clips to the side bars of the frame, each side bar being provided with a plurality of vertically aligned holes to accommodate the bolt means and permit adjustment of the location of the first and second clips of each clamp assembly;
• a hollow tubular member vertically mounted on said frame being connected to said top cross bar and said intermediate cross bar at a location approximately midway between the side bars;
• a carrier member for supporting an end section of a canoe, said carrier member having a normally vertical shaft with a lower end in telescopic engagement with said tubular member, said shaft end being axially rotatable in said tubular member and vertically movable therein;
• said carrier member having a fork portion for engagement of a canoe end section, said fork portion including a horizontal cross piece secured to the upper end of said shaft to engage and support a canoe gunnel, and a pair of parallel spaced apart arms extending generally upward from either end of said cross piece, said arms being disposed at an inclination relative to said vertical shaft and spaced apart a sufficient distance to intercept and accommodate diverging side walls of an end section of a canoe to snugly engage said side walls with the canoe gunnel resting on said cross piece;
• each of said arms and said cross piece of the carrier member being approximately the same length;
• said shaft being vertically movable in said hollow tubular member to move said fork portion of the carrier member between a first, lower canoe loading position and a second, elevated canoe transport position;
• releasable lock means to lock the carrier member in the elevated transport position, said lock means including a locking pin, a plurality of vertically spaced openings in the tubular member, said locking pin selectively engageable in one of said openings to support the end of said shaft with the carrier member in the elevated position, and removable from said opening to permit movement of the carrier member to the lower position;
• a pair of horizontally aligned bicycle tongs for transport of at least one bicycle, one of said tongs being assembled to the lower portion of each of said side bars, said bicycle tongs having aligned, upwardly open loops for receipt of the cross bar of at least one inverted bicycle to locate the bicycle sufficiently below the forked member of the carrier to avoid interference with a canoe loaded thereon;
• and
• a canoe loading handle usable by a canoeist to load an end section of a canoe in the fork of said carrier member when the carrier member is in the lower position, said handle having a curved body portion generally contoured to substantially conform to the side walls of a canoe, a hook portion at the lower end of the body portion for engagement of the gunnel of a canoe, and a grip member at the upper end of the body portion for gripping and lifting by a canoeist to lift said canoe end section and position it in engagement with the fork portion of the carrier member.