wrote in message
ups.com...
16' kayak on a 12' car, as a regular thing. Crazy, impossible? Easy
as pie, safe as houses?

I welcome your opinion!

-ml


Safe as houses, and there is an additional benefit to having a boat longer
than your car. Many folks with boats shorter than their cars have to rely on
the belly straps (the ones across the boat) to hold it down, and have to
trust the roofracks to keep the boat on the car. End lines are pretty much
useless for them, because they both pull forward; the tip of the boat
doesn't extend beyond the front bumper, and the end of the boat extends out
beyond the back bumper.

But with a short car, both ends extend beyond the car, so the end lines pull
inward in opposite directions (you also get them both pulling outward if
your boat is WAY shorter than your car, but its not as good an arrangement).
So how well your roofracks are mounted is completely moot. The end lines
keep your boat locked down on your car (tie 'em tight), and the belly straps
just keep the boat from moving around a bit.

--riverman