Roof loading options

[ronaultmtd]

I got mine from RackAttack.com- very satisfied with them- good service, fair price, good product-

[fjarhead]

roof rack

I bought 6 noodles from the dollar store and then used zip ties to hold them in. 3 apiece in a triangle. they work great and keep the yak from slipping about.
have a great day.

fjarhead

[DOGFISH]

Ahh yes, the poole noodle. What a wonderful innovation.

[jsquare]

thanks all for the information.

This kayak fishing thing has become a disorder. There's been a lot of "Oooo, look at that neat thing!" and "I could definitely use one of those!" and "It costs THAT much?!?!"

Oh well. I've been enjoying the new addiction and rigging my little yellow yak.

I should be getting the soft rack in the mail soon. Will post some info and first impressions.

[ronaultmtd]

Jsquare, trust me, we all know exactly where you are- we are all in the same place- it is an addiction...repeat after me- I am an addict....

[yovinnie22]

Loading Kayak on Del Sol

Del Sol.jpg For 3 years I used a very strong rack setup that consisted of good quality parts at an affordable price on my Honda Del Sol. I bought a car rack set up from Walmart for $29.95 that is over in the automobile/bicycle portion of the store. It has short black straps included that attach to the 4 hard plastic shells that have soft rubber pad attachments (feet) that go on the roof. The soft rubber pads slip over the hard plastic, but wouldn’t stay on well, so I glued them on + I bought Husky Multi-Purpose Garage liner at Lowes or Home Depot for $10 (Walmart’s $5 Easy Liner Select Grip for kitchen drawers is not as thick/cushiony) and placed under the feet of the car rack. Husky grips well and you do NOT want to over tighten the ratchets when attaching rack to car. Remember you are putting a heavy kayak that will help hold the rack down. When attaching the rack to the car, I would ratchet the excess slack and then once I felt resistance go 2 or 3 more clicks and call it good. To hook up the 2 racks, I would roll down both side windows and set the racks on top of the car and let the short black straps hang down and get in the car and attach 2 small ratcheting ‘S” hook cargo straps; one cargo strap for the front rack and one for the rear rack. The first time I hooked up the racks to the car and tightened them down I cut the cargo strap webbing so that only 8”-12” was left over and burned where I cut it so it wouldn’t fray/unravel. Also, I used red cargo straps for inside the car and orange straps on the outside of the car. Since the webbing length was different, color coding them made easier to know where they went. Cutting off the excess makes loading faster not having to tie off 3 or 4 feet of webbing. With the color coded straps I could hook up the rack and load the kayak in under 7 minutes. To help keep the kayak hull from bending I bought 2 large (3 ½” not the 2 ½”) pool noodles at Walmart, I took one of the end caps off the rack pole and twisted it back and forth cutting a hole down the center of the noodle. Then I slid the pool noodle over the pole and added a large chrome ring over the pole inside of each rack foot. The purpose of the ring was so that I didn't have to wrap the cargo “S” hook strap around the pole and hook it onto the strap to hold the Kayak to the rack. Now I can just hook the “S” hook directly to the large ring. To load the kayak on the Del Sol all I did was put a blanket over the trunk and tuck it under the rear pool noodle on the roof to keep the blanket from sliding. Then with my Hobie scupper cart I would roll my Hobie Outback (60+ lbs) to the trunk and set the kayak bow on the trunk; no heavy lifting as the wheels were still engaged with the ground when sitting it on the car. Then I would walk to the back of the kayak and lift the stern and walk it forward with bow pointed up until it got past the rear rack and that is where I would level out the kayak and push forward making sure not to trip over the Hobie scupper cart that fell out. The nice thing about the pool noodle rack is even if it is windy the kayak is heavy enough so that it is not slipping and sliding around and doesn’t try to fall of the car before you have a chance to get you straps. Once the kayak is centered on the car I hooked up 2 straps in the center of Kayak attaching Kayak to the rack system. I would also slide two pieces of 2 inch PVC pipe on both sides of the hull. The 2 PVC pipes need to be long enough that they rest on both the front and rear rack, Doing this helps the kayak remain level and not tilt left or right during transport. For the front of the Del Sol I cut 2 pieces of polypropylene rope which is soft like silk. When you cut this rope, the way I do it, is to wrap duct tape around the rope where I am going to cut. The reason you do this is so it does not fray. You can put a lighter to the end after you cut it and then remove the tape if you wish. So after cutting the rope I took one piece and took both ends and tied it together. After that I wrapped duct tape around the knot so it could not loosen and it was good for 3 years. I then made a second one. To both of the rope circles I made, I attached a carabiner to. Without looking, I could reach under the front bumper and hook each carabiner to one of the 2 tow circles. The soft rope would be the only thing touching the bumper and it never did scratch my car in 3 years time. Next I would attach a Malone ratchet style tie-downs that I got at Home Depot. I would completely take it apart and slide one end of the rope through the eye pad at the front of the kayak where the handle was and then slide the end of the rope into the ratchet. I would then take the 2 Malone hooks and connect it to each of the ropes and lightly snug it down. Then I would go to the back of the car and hook a ”S” hook to the single tow circle under the center of the bumper and wrap the other end of the cargo strap around the kayak frame where the rudder is and hook the “S” to the webbing. I did not use the rope for the rear bumper and I ended up putting to much force on the bumper causing the paint to chip off. Not sure if rope would have helped or not. Now I have a new car that is a hatchback and I am using the same basic set up. The only difference is since this car has a wind fairing on the hatchback I can't sit the kayak directly on it as it is not sturdy. So I am thinking of using a Sherpak Kayak Roller Suction Mount on my window to help load the kayak. Fingers crossed that mywindow never breaks. I have loaded my kayak on my new cart once. The way I did it was I attached a straight bar at the side of the car between the rear and front rack. I slide the kayak up on the bar over the passenger side doors. It slid up easy enough, but turning the kayak 90 degrees to get it facing forward was a little awkward and had a potential for disaster, especially if it was a windy day. So I would like to make it to where I push it up and forward like I did with my Del Sol. When I owned my Del Sol, I was initially worried the first time I loaded my kayak that my Hobie Outback was too heavy. After I got over hill, I am telling you there is no other car more suited for a kayak then that car. Easy to load and requires minimal accessories to make it happen safely. By the way, the Del Sol traveled 1325 miles on highway going the speed limit of 70 for many miles. Never once did I feel like the kayak was pushing me around with side winds. I have heard that with many other people who tow vs top racking their kayak this is possible. The Del Sol is small and light and had no problems going through the Ozarks or through the flat prairie land of Nebraska. I think people just like blowing smoke

[MOHAWK135]

YAKS.jpg

No problems with the foam blocks, just don't forget a bow and stern tiedown.

[imagine29028]

Ton of videos on Youtube....

[themigs]

Used the inflatable roof racks all last summer and didn't have any issues other than having to inflate them everytime i went out. Upgraded in December to a rhino rack complete with locks and kayak cradle, recieved 20% from autoanything.