On Wed, 31 Dec 2003 23:22:50 GMT, "Rick" wrote:


wrote in message
. com...
I have a 54 lbs, 12 foot tandom kayak I'd like rack on top of my 19
foot power boat (a 1999 bayliner Capri cuddy).

I'm looking into having a custom t-top type rack built for the boat.

Is this nuts? Will it work? What problems can I expect to run into.
I'm thinking of bolting the 1.5" supports (with washer plates
underneith) to the back and the front (maybe clamp onto the front
rails).

My thinking is the that kayak will make a excellent hard top for shade
and racked won't consume much needed real-estate on the boat. I'm
expect some loss of stability, fuel efficiency and speed of course...
as well as a few weird stares.

Jason,

It would seem that mounting the kayak is possible, but the how would be a
result of your Bayliner design (which I can't comment on). I looked at some
pictures of same and think that it might be better to mount the kayak on its
side along the outside edge of your boat.

The concern I have is that the sun will degrade the kayak (most plastics and
sun don't go well together). I don't think carrying a kayak would seriously
degrade the performace of the bayliner as much as you might think, though
the effect would be non-zero (after all, the boat weighs considerably less
than a person and the hull is reasonably efficient).

I kept a Wilderness Systems Manteo (a Tupperware one-seater) on the top of
a pickup truck for over a year (southern Mississippi, lots of sun, little
in the way of freezing temperatures) and although the straps faded and
needed replacement, and I wore out cockpit covers, the boat survived quite
well. It lives in a van currently, out of the sun, but gets handled rather
roughly, and didn't sink in some 13 miles on the water today, so I think
the sun degradation may be not be as much of a concern as you might think.
I used those yellow (high price, but they don't leave marks like the black
ones) "v" shaped rollers to keep it in and a winch (like on a boat trailer)
to horse it up and down. I did notice a small change in stability (I know
it is a small amount of weight, but it is quite high) but virtually nothing
in performance or fuel consumption (except on interstates, but I don't
think you'll be on those in a boat much).

Galen Hekhuis NpD, JFR, GWA
Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups