carrying a kayak

[mary and bob]

Now I'm looking at the Yakima Mako Aero kayak saddles as they will clamp directly onto my Honda's factory rack without using a rack/load bar set up. They sell for $99 a pair and you need two pair for one kayak. I've found them several places for $89.10 a pair. I prefer carrying a kayak in the upright position with a cockpit cover on it, they seem to set better and are easier to load.

[MCDenny]

Watch out for the cockpit covers blowing off at freeway speeds. Don't ask me how I know!

[mary and bob]

My cockpit covers have a strap that goes around the kayak, haven't lost one yet! Hope I didn't jinx myself by saying that. I got the covers because on one trip it rained while we were on the road and that made the kayaks real heavy to unload. Bob

[Roy in TO]

For years I've witnessed many a canoe tied onto a vehicle with it's "bottom" up. Is there any particular reason one does not do that with a Kayak?

[mary and bob]

I have always carried our canoe bottom up, but that's because of the foam blocks sit on the top rails of the canoe. I have a home made kayak rack that sits in the bed of my old full size pickup with the 8 foot box. I sometimes load the kayaks bottom up on that. I've wondered though if wind would more get into the kayak in that position and cause more of a lift effect. Just the hull shape of a kayak makes more of a tendency to load them upright, and the racks that are available seem to be designed to do that.

[John J. Norris]

Good Afternoon, This is your Lucky Day. I have a 1999 Dodge Grand Caravan, with two beautiful Kayaks sitting on top in their Yakima Saddled Kayak Carriers, one is a 16-17' QCC600XL Kevlar baby with a 21" beam, Turquoise and Creme and the Other is a wonderful Necky Zoar Sport 14' plastic kayak with a 27" beam. You can see them in the featured ads on Paddling.net all for $6.000. That is the Car, The Racks, the Kayaks, paddles and just about any thing else kayak I can find around the house. Just don't haggle about the price. Its fair for what you are getting. I live in Chesapeake Virginia, next to Virginia Beach to the east and North Carolina on the south.

[slowpat]

Originally Posted by Roy in TO

For years I've witnessed many a canoe tied onto a vehicle with it's "bottom" up. Is there any particular reason one does not do that with a Kayak?

Yes. The hull is stronger than the top side.

[lauramoncur]

We have been very happy with our Sea Eagle inflatable kayaks. Here is a link to the best one: Sea Eagle: FastTrack

There are cheaper inflatables out there, but these have the best seats and they're super tough.

Here's a YouTube video about them: Sea Eagle FastTrack paddling on Lake Tahoe - YouTube

I love that I can just throw them in the car and not have to worry about them.

[spfar]

We have two sets of J racks that we mount on top of hubby's Frontier. We are new to kayaking and have used them twice. They are great, except..... we aren't quite tall enough to push the kayaks up and over the bottom of the j. Last trip out I opened the door to get more height and before I could grab the front end, hubby gave it a shove and down it went taking the car window out in the process. Moral of the story - take two people and communicate!

[Mike Magee]

Laura, I looked hard at and strongly considered both the Sea Eagle and the Saturn KaBoat inflatables. They look pretty interesting.

In the end, I had to ask myself how I really preferred to move a small watercraft. And pedaling won out, with an electric trolling motor a close second (many inflatables can be had with a transom mount). I guess I prefer not to paddle all that much! But I still can paddle if I get the urge or if it's too shallow for the Mirage Drive flippers.

Slowpat, thanks for your comment about top vs bottom strength. Good to know.

Sue, good advice. Unfortunately for me, I'll be traveling alone most of the time.

[Mike Magee]

Now that I have a Hobie kayak on the way, I have been browsing the Hobie forum for tidbits. It turns out that the mfr actually recommends loading their kayaks with the bottom up, because the cockpit's side rails are very strong and should not deform when placed across cushioned roof rack crossrails. Now I'm thinking about trying some pool noodles on the crossrails.

[mary and bob]

On my home made racks I use the foam pipe insulation, but the pool noodles should work good too, they are thicker I think. There are roller setups for sliding a kayak onto the car roof, and some kind of mat to lay on the car and slide it up on. One of the used kayaks we bought, the lady was just using a blanket laid on the back of the car and slid the kayak up on that.Our kayaks weigh around 45 pounds so I can load them alone if I need to. Bob

[Mike Magee]

Originally Posted by mary and bob

On my home made racks I use the foam pipe insulation, but the pool noodles should work good too, they are thicker I think. There are roller setups for sliding a kayak onto the car roof, and some kind of mat to lay on the car and slide it up on. One of the used kayaks we bought, the lady was just using a blanket laid on the back of the car and slid the kayak up on that.Our kayaks weigh around 45 pounds so I can load them alone if I need to. Bob

Thanks for that. Yes, my hull will be 48 lbs, a big consideration for me since I'll have to load it myself. I think the larger noodles would act like rollers, too, at least until they get flattened too much.

[Carol H]

Mike have fun with your new toy! I have used the the foam pipe insulation without problem but the pool noodles as suggested may be even better.

There is one thing about securing your new toy that you may already be aware of but just in case your not, you need to use serious caution when securing a plastic based kayak in the hot sun. I have only used fiberglass kayaks so have never had to worry about it but I do travel to Vancouver Island a lot where you see a lot of kayaks secured in various ways to vehicles in the ferry line up. I have seen more than a couple of times plastic kayaks that are taking on a whole new shape in the hot sun due to how they are tied down......... often left to wonder if the kayak ever went back to its original shape...... might be worth reading up on a little if you havent already.

[Mike Magee]

Scary thought, Carol! I guess I'll have to google around and see what I can find. But so far it seems that putting straps across or around the middle should do a lot of the holding, but taut bow and stern lines to the bumper areas are still required.

Here's what I found from the Hobie forum:
Hobie Cat Forums • View topic - Transporting your Hobie Kayak

Seems like it will be an interesting balancing act between too tight and not tight enough!

[mary and bob]

I have been researching various racks the last couple days and have decided to rework my Thule crossbars with the saddles that hold the kayaks in an upright position. This is the rack that broke off, but at that time it had plastic clamps to hold the crossbars to the car factory rack. I found some metal clamps from Thule and am going to use them. Also I now have bow & stern lines and Thule straps.

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by Mike Magee

Seems like it will be an interesting balancing act between too tight and not tight enough!

Yup that seems to be the issue - my advise is to just watch it if you have them sitting out in the hot sun while strapped down. One of the worst cases I saw was as a result of the straps over the middle being to tight - the whole sitting area of the kayak had flattened. This may have been more of a problem with some of the early model plastics used and it may not be such a problem with newer products... not sure but worth checking around on it for sure.

[slowpat]

Originally Posted by Carol H

Mike have fun with your new toy! I have used the the foam pipe insulation without problem but the pool noodles as suggested may be even better.

There is one thing about securing your new toy that you may already be aware of but just in case your not, you need to use serious caution when securing a plastic based kayak in the hot sun. I have only used fiberglass kayaks so have never had to worry about it but I do travel to Vancouver Island a lot where you see a lot of kayaks secured in various ways to vehicles in the ferry line up. I have seen more than a couple of times plastic kayaks that are taking on a whole new shape in the hot sun due to how they are tied down......... often left to wonder if the kayak ever went back to its original shape...... might be worth reading up on a little if you havent already.

I could swear that my 17 foot plastic kayak was drooping on a 105 degree day. But, when morning came, it had gone back to the correct shape. I have what is probably really cheap plastic boats. They will dent or "oil can"
if I tighten down too much on the straps that hold them on the rack. They will dent when it is hot. They will pop back into shape and hold that shape in the cool water. Or, you can punch them out when still hot with your hand.

My boats are/were made by Precision Kayaks.

As for loading. I bought a two wheel cart (Paddleboy) and hook it on the end of the kayak. I cover the back of the car with a rug or pad, then lift the front up--the back rolls ahead on the wheels. Then, after I have the front up where it will pivot down on the rollers, I go back and lift the back of the kayak and slide it on.

Reverse that for unloading and the wheels will really make unloading easier.

I was able to load and unload a 75 pound tandem that way, by myself.

[john warren]

well, i like a canoe myself. after thinking and pondering long and hard. i decided i will rent one when we get there.

[Carol H]

John there is a lot to be said for that approach if you are only doing a couple of trips a year - especially if ocean kayaks are involved. It is a real pain to transport your own equipment into remote areas where a plane is involved. Not to mention due to the nature of the rocky shores there is usually maintenance of the bottoms required each year. If you rent you dont need to worry about fixing stuff, find a place at home to store them and the best part is you often get much newer models to rent. Have found a lot of companies sell off all their kayaks once they have been used for more than two years of rental.