"Frederick Burroughs" wrote in message
...

The canoe is heavy royalex, weighing about 78 lb. I can get it on the
Beetle by myself, but it's a little bit of a strain. Getting it on and off
my wife's truck by myself is a pain. The kayak is half the weight of the
canoe, so cartopping barely outweighs the thought it takes to do it.

As a canoeist who refuses to cross to the dark side, I can suggest several
ways to cartop your heavy canoe. A simple method is to drag it, rightside
up, to the car, perpendicular at the front door. Then lift the bow and
drag/lay it on the top of the cab. Lift the stern, and walk around the side
of the truck until the boat is lying lengthwise on the cab, drop the stern
to raise the bow, and shove it forward.

This works best if your racks are a bit close together, so that the initial
laydown is on a rack rather than on the roof itself. The moment you lift the
stern with the bow laying on the roof is the tricky moment...you have to
keep the bow from falling off as you start the walkaround. You could even
run a brace between the two racks to provide a bar to lay the canoe onto at
first.

--riverman

riverman wrote:

"Frederick Burroughs" wrote in message
...


The canoe is heavy royalex, weighing about 78 lb. I can get it on the
Beetle by myself, but it's a little bit of a strain. Getting it on and off
my wife's truck by myself is a pain. The kayak is half the weight of the
canoe, so cartopping barely outweighs the thought it takes to do it.


As a canoeist who refuses to cross to the dark side, I can suggest several
ways to cartop your heavy canoe. A simple method is to drag it, rightside
up, to the car, perpendicular at the front door. Then lift the bow and
drag/lay it on the top of the cab. Lift the stern, and walk around the side
of the truck until the boat is lying lengthwise on the cab, drop the stern
to raise the bow, and shove it forward.

This works best if your racks are a bit close together, so that the initial
laydown is on a rack rather than on the roof itself. The moment you lift the
stern with the bow laying on the roof is the tricky moment...you have to
keep the bow from falling off as you start the walkaround. You could even
run a brace between the two racks to provide a bar to lay the canoe onto at
first.


Elegant! I'm always humbled when presented with a solution that is
simple and overlooked. Much obliged.





--
"This president has destroyed the country, the economy,
the relationship with the rest of the world.
He's a monster in the White House. He should resign."

- Hunter S. Thompson, speaking to an antiwar audience in 2003.

"Frederick Burroughs" wrote in message
...
riverman wrote:

"Frederick Burroughs" wrote in message
...


The canoe is heavy royalex, weighing about 78 lb. I can get it on the
Beetle by myself, but it's a little bit of a strain. Getting it on and
off my wife's truck by myself is a pain. The kayak is half the weight of
the canoe, so cartopping barely outweighs the thought it takes to do it.


As a canoeist who refuses to cross to the dark side, I can suggest
several ways to cartop your heavy canoe. A simple method is to drag it,
rightside up, to the car, perpendicular at the front door. Then lift the
bow and drag/lay it on the top of the cab. Lift the stern, and walk
around the side of the truck until the boat is lying lengthwise on the
cab, drop the stern to raise the bow, and shove it forward.

This works best if your racks are a bit close together, so that the
initial laydown is on a rack rather than on the roof itself. The moment
you lift the stern with the bow laying on the roof is the tricky
moment...you have to keep the bow from falling off as you start the
walkaround. You could even run a brace between the two racks to provide a
bar to lay the canoe onto at first.


Elegant! I'm always humbled when presented with a solution that is simple
and overlooked. Much obliged.



I forgot to mention that you can turn the canoe over so its bottom-up either
when you place the bow on the roof, or after you have it set on the racks. I
usually do it when I place the bow on the roof at first. You can also place
it rightside up, and just walk to the midship and roll it over (I do this
when my back is out). Also, if you want to protect your rooftop from
scratches (especially if you have a metal bowplate), putting your kneepads
or a small carpet down and placing the bowplate on it will help.

--riverman

I'm guessing the process for a kayak is much the same?

Now a tandem kayak question on the topic of "OK, so i bought a boat..."
After several years of renting, I purchased a tandem [Necky Amaruk] a
couple of weeks ago. I figure either my wife or my daughter will
accompany me most of the time. However, I anticipate that I'll be more
fanatical than they. So, on those days when I'm alone, are there
recommendations re weight distribution? Is it much of an issue? Should
I place dead weight on the forward cockpit? Should I plave dead weight
near the bow? Any good deas re dead weight; I'm thinking of bottled
water in a mesh bag.

Thanks in advance.

frtzw906