I have just gone through this exercise. I bought a 12 foot rec boat last
year and am looking to pick up a 13 foot necky manitou this year. I
upgraded my CRV factory rack to a Yakima with control towers for space and
weight reasons. I found the 48" bar was technically wide enough but the
position of the control towers did not leave enough room to mount my Mako
saddle in the needed spot. I have swapped for the 58" bars (same price).
My rec boat is 28" wide and the manitou (which I hope to have soon) is
nearly 25". Even if your two kayaks are 24" you may have difficulty with a
48" bar (unless you go with a carrier that holds the kayak on its side which
may be best for your vehicle). I considered some of the sideways systems
like the kayak stacker or hull raiser so I could stick with the 48" bars,
but read some not so favorable reviews of those products online. They may
be solid solutions, but most folks seem to agree the easiest/safest way to
mount/carry 2 rec kayaks is flat on saddles. Others may have positive
experiences with side cradling systems. I'm just going by what I could find
online. I'm certainly no expert as I'm still learning all this, but hope
this helps.

Dan


wrote in message
ups.com...
Hello all,

I've searched and searched but nothing seems to hit my questions
exactly. I currently drive a Scion xA and am looking to install a
Yakima roof rack. I am also in the market for two single person kayaks.
The crossbars for the Yakima rack are 48", is that enough room for two
kayaks? I believe the carrying capacity is 168lbs.

If not, my next option would be inflatables or folding kayaks. Could
anyone offer any insight to a fairly inexpensive decent inflatable? I'm
not looking to cover more than class1-2 rapids, and most likely just
paddling around flat water. I had seen a Coleman Sport 1-person, and a
Challenger K-1 inflatable, but folks on another kayaking website said
they were garbage. Any ideas? I caught the bug after renting some
kayaks and doing about 8 miles down the Shenendoah, and I'd love to own
my own even with my diminutive automobile.

Thanks a million!
Dominic