Watch the weight. It's a challenge to build a boat light enough to lift on
and off the roof of a car yet large enough to be of much use. Canoes
and kayaks are popular because they are light. Decide before hand if you
will be doing the lifting yourself or have a helper. That will govern the
size and weight of boat you can practically carry on the roof of a car.
Some people make gin pole hoists so they can lift bigger boats solo.

Another scheme I saw written up was to have a trailer hitch sticking out the
back of the car and a length of pipe with a clamp arrangement which attached
to the boat's transom and pivoted on the hitch's ball. You only needed to
lift one end of the boat at a time. It helps if the boat is longer than the
car. (Leaning over the hood to lift the bow is murder on one's back.)

Dad rigged a set of pulleys to the garage rafters to lift boat and cartop
carriers up. The boat lived in the rafters on the carriers between sailing
trips. At the launch site there was usually someone to help.

Roger (I cartopped the Sunfish just once. Then I bought a trailer.)

http://home.insightbb.com/~derbyrm

"William R. Watt" wrote in message
...
Watch the weight. It's a challenge to build a boat light enough to lift on
and off the roof of a car yet large enough to be of much use. Canoes
and kayaks are popular because they are light. Decide before hand if you
will be doing the lifting yourself or have a helper. That will govern the
size and weight of boat you can practically carry on the roof of a car.
Some people make gin pole hoists so they can lift bigger boats solo.

I used to cartop a (fiberglass) Force 5 Sail boat, weighing 250 lbs.,
and 13 ft. long. Loading was easiest with 2 people, one in front and
one at the back of the boat, lift it up to roofrack height, and slide
it sideways, to center of car.

But there is an easier way. I attached a 2 x 4 frame to my roofrack. On
both sides I attached 2 ring screws (woodscrew with one end looped
around to form a ring, don't know the technical term for it). The screw
location was at the very front (approx. over the front door hinges),
and the other set of screws was screwed in on both sides at the very
end of the wooden frame (roughly at the rear end of the back door). It
was a 4 door full size car.

You then take two 8ft lenghts of 2 x 4 and screw in a hook on ONE end
of each of the 8ft lenght.

To make single handed loading possible, I hook the end of the two 8 ft
sections, into the ring (which stick out on the side of the roof rack,
one in the front and one in the back (on the same side of the car).

I then take the boat, and lean it with the open (top side of the boat)
side against these two poles, which basically form a 30 degree ramp, up
to the height of the roof rack.

It is then easy for one person, to stand between the 8 ft section, and
push the boat onto the roof.

I had padded the roof rack with indoor-outdoor carpet, to prevent
scratching. You can do the same with the ramp.

When tying down the boat, make sure you tie one set of straps to the
roof rack which holds the 2x4 frame, and another completely seperate
set of straps directly to the car (bypassing the roof rack), just in
case the roof rack comes loose, you then still have the whole assembly
anchored to the car, (i.e. front and reach bumpers).

For single handed unloading, the same in reverse. That's when its handy
to have the hooks on both sides of the car, gives you a choice on which
side you are going to load/unload the boat.

The two 8 ft sections of 2x4, the mast (which came apart into 3
sections), the dagger board, and the rudder, were slid under the boat,
into its own slots, which I made under the wooden frame/ between the
metal roof rack and the wooden boat rack.

Unless you really know how to tie knots, use ratchet straps. Faster,
easier, safer, and much more secure.

Depending on what kind of car you are driving, make sure, the gross
vehicle weight is not exceeded, and of course, with so much weight on
the top of the car, slow down, escpecially in corners :-)

Hope this helps.
B19

You're welcome to try any of the free tiny solo sail-and-paddle boats on
my website www.ncf.ca/~ag384/Boats.htm . They're all experimental light
weight cheap boats. I have a lot of fun with them. Of course short boats
are slow.

There are lots of links to free designs at www.boat-links.com.
Gavin Atkins has quite a few free small boat designs. Go to
www.duckworksmagazine.com and search on his name to link to his website.
lso search Duckworks for Richard Frye's kayaks for fishing.

www.gaboats.com has light skin over frame boats which are more time
consuming to build than plywood boats, but much lighter.

William R. Watt wrote:
Watch the weight. It's a challenge to build a boat light enough to lift on
and off the roof of a car yet large enough to be of much use. Canoes
and kayaks are popular because they are light. Decide before hand if you
will be doing the lifting yourself or have a helper. That will govern the
size and weight of boat you can practically carry on the roof of a car.
Some people make gin pole hoists so they can lift bigger boats solo.

I don't disagree, but thought I'd point out that when I build my Bolger
Windsprint (16' sailboat), I car-topped. I had a battleship-sized
Pontiac station wagon from the 70s at the time -- neither of my current
cars would be big enough for it. And I would have a backache for a week
if I tried to put the Windsprint on top of a car today.

BTW, there are plenty of plywood kayak designs available.
http://www.clcboats.com has some nice ones, as well as a couple pulling
boats and small sailboats.

Patrick