Rooftop car options for yak transport without rack

[dsiekman]

My father in law is about to buy his first yak and will need to transport it on top of their Mazda CX9. It will go from Michigan to Florida once a year and probably from Michigan out here once a year. The Mazda does not have rails of any kind. Has anyone had luck with the temporary options, either the foam or the inflatable? I'm a little concerned about what that might do to the roof of the car after that many miles...thoughts?

[jet]

Pads will work, but they will scratch your car. buy a rack

[DOGFISH]

The foam works. However, a lot of vehicle roof tops will buckle when you tighten the straps down. These will also eventually scratch the roof. Using foam blocks, while trying to load a 15' Trident and while trying to lift the bow to reposition the block, I ruptured my bicep tendon and tore my rotator cuff. All in all, a roof top rack would have been the better route and less painful.

[dsiekman]

Thanks, guys, that's pretty much what I was assuming. I guess I've gotten spoiled just tossing mine in the back of the pickup.

[mapmakr]

Here is something I found, I have not seen this in person but it seems to be in between the foam blocks and a full rack setup

http://www.seasucker.com/shop/paddle-board-rack/

[toyomo]

I would recommend a Thule rack or similar. I installed one today and it takes about 10 minutes. It doesnt require drilling or anything like that and there are multiple accessories that can allow it to hold different things like kayaks/bikes/luggage etc. and also to hold them in different positions in case you wanted to carry multiple yaks.
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