"You don't *need* a rack to transport a kayak on your roof."
So there are no laws on carrying Kayaks? I just don't want to get
ticketed. Actually, whats really more important is that I don't loose
the kayak on the highway or tear off my roof LMAO.

"You can use carpet scraps to protect the car's finish instead of a
rack. Just make sure you tie it down at the bow, AND the stern, AND
use a belly line (a little tricky without a rack, but you can probably
improvise something)."
No problem, I guess I will figure something out. Maybe combine the
inflatable or foam rack systems both Courtney and Julia suggested with
straps at the bow and stern? Belly line??? Does that go around the
whole car, kayak and all?

Thanks for the info Walt. I will check out local Buy & Sells,
classifieds etc. Your post was very relieving. I was stressing over
transporting a kayak ever since I spoke to kayak and rack dealers who
were claiming that I MUST have all this equipment for safety reasons
and that it is EXTREMELY dangerous to secure it my own way with ropes,
bungee's, foam etc. They really freaked me out! ha ha. I guess they
have to stay in business somehow eh.

KMAN,

All you guys here on RBP are awesome. Thanks so much for the help. It
is doable and affordable!!!!! Now to find a kayak.........hmmmmmmmm.

DiAne
http://cracked_pumpkinhead.tripod.com/shaggies/

"Cracked Pumpkinhead" wrote in message
oups.com...
KMAN,

All you guys here on RBP are awesome. Thanks so much for the help. It
is doable and affordable!!!!! Now to find a kayak.........hmmmmmmmm.

DiAne
http://cracked_pumpkinhead.tripod.com/shaggies/

Ooo, that's even more interesting...what kayaks are you looking at so far?

"Courtney" wrote in message
link.net...
Here you go.

http://www.utahlifeoutdoors.com/harm...cartopkit.html

Courtney

It's tempting to spend money on straps and ratchets and stuff, but
unnecessary.

http://www.paddling.net/sameboat/arc...meboat200.html

Look for the tautline hitch too.

Hth,
Fred

On 17-Mar-2005, (Cracked_Pumpkinhead) wrote:

I own a 2000 Honda Civic 2
door and got a quote for a roof rack and Kayak carrier and WOW the set
up costs just as much as the darn Kayak!

The 2 door requires a short roof adapter (SRA) and that makes it pricy. But
no other roof rack is suitable - without a SRA, the distance between the
crossbars is too short to support a sea kayak properly.

If you get the basic rack, the price isn't too bad. The saddle kit from
Thule is outrageous. A friend got a second-hand Thule rack for her
Accord and I made saddles for her. I cut a pair of cedar 2x6 into a saddle
shapes and covered the tops with foam. The shape of the saddle matches
the shape of her kayak hull very closely. The cedar saddles are attached
to the crossbar with U bolts.

You could also get minicell foam saddles. They are not as robust as
other options, but they strap to the kayak and then you place the
kayak on the roof and tie down. No roof rack required but they can
be used with a rack as well. MEC sells them.

Also, I am located in Ontario and was wondering if there are any good
forums on local web sites that experienced people frequent that I can
view as well as routes, tips, education etc.

Where in Ontario? The Great Lakes Sea Kayaking Association has a
web site with links to a forum and to destinations and such.
http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/Gorge/4657/. GLSKA has members
all over Ontario - most near Toronto.

Mike

"Cracked Pumpkinhead" wrote in
ups.com:

Thanks Julia!!!! That seems like an awesome alternative and affordable
for me! I will search the net for dealers here in Canada. Tks again


You can carry a kayak on a rooftop without going to great expense with some
simple foam blocks, a couple of cam straps through the cab of the vehicle
and bow/stern lines. I transported my fiberglass boat from upstate NY to
the outer banks in North Carolina that way. It'll hold the kayak securely
but is inconvenient if you're going to loading/unloading the boat
frequently.

A step above simple foam blocks are removable rack systems such as the
inflatable one previously described and there are also foam block/strap kits
or plastic block/strap kits that you can get (I've got a set of the latter
variety in my basement). Again, they're less convenient than a permenant
rack system but they're easier to set up than separate foam blocks. The
following doesn't look too bad:

http://www.loadlockfastener.com/kayak-rack.htm

The ones that I have consist of for plastic pods with straps running through
them. The're padded with foam rubber to keep from scratching the boat or
vehicle.

"Cracked Pumpkinhead" wrote in
oups.com:

KMAN,

All you guys here on RBP are awesome. Thanks so much for the help. It
is doable and affordable!!!!! Now to find a kayak.........hmmmmmmmm.

You mentioned that you were from Ontario...where do you think you'll be
doing most of your paddling? That will primarily dictate what kind of kayak
you'll want to look for. I know that there is a club (probably more than
one) out of Toronto because I met a guy that does some instruction there a
few years ago at a kayaking symposium in Florida. Getting involved with a
local club is a good way to get started. Not to start a religious war but
enrolling in some introductory lessons will give you a good kickstart and
may provide some enlightening safety related information. There are a lot
of good books on the subject as well.

"Cracked Pumpkinhead" wrote in
ups.com:

"You don't *need* a rack to transport a kayak on your roof."
So there are no laws on carrying Kayaks? I just don't want to get
ticketed. Actually, whats really more important is that I don't loose
the kayak on the highway or tear off my roof LMAO.

"You can use carpet scraps to protect the car's finish instead of a
rack. Just make sure you tie it down at the bow, AND the stern, AND
use a belly line (a little tricky without a rack, but you can probably
improvise something)."
No problem, I guess I will figure something out. Maybe combine the
inflatable or foam rack systems both Courtney and Julia suggested with
straps at the bow and stern?

I prefer rope for the bow and stern lines. Cam straps can get real noisy
and you don't need (or want) them to be real tight. The bow and stern lines
are to keep the boat from launching down the road if the rack (even if
you're using an expensive permanent system) fails. With a plastic kayak
it's not too difficult to tighten the bow and stern lines so much that it
starts to bend the boat.

Belly line??? Does that go around the
whole car, kayak and all?

Open up the doors and feed the line through the vehicle and then over the
kayak. Tighten it down snug. Once you've got everything tightened down grab
the kayak and give it a shake. The whole vehicle should move rather than
the kayak moving back and forth on the cab of the vehicle.

Thanks for the info Walt. I will check out local Buy & Sells,
classifieds etc.

Keeping an eye on classifieds this time of year for a boat is a good idea as
well. Lots of paddlers are buying new boats and some of them are even
selling off their old boats when they do it. Used kayaks might have some
cosmetic damage in the form of a few scratches but in most cases they're as
functional as new. A good quality kayak can last a very long time. I've
got a fiberglass boat in the backyard that I bought as my first sea kayak.
It's 15 years old and still paddles great.

Your post was very relieving. I was stressing over
transporting a kayak ever since I spoke to kayak and rack dealers who
were claiming that I MUST have all this equipment for safety reasons
and that it is EXTREMELY dangerous to secure it my own way with ropes,
bungee's, foam etc. They really freaked me out! ha ha. I guess they
have to stay in business somehow eh.

You might want to shop around at other shops that are less inclined to scare
you into buying something although they were right about the use of bungees.
Never use bungies. Use rope and/or cam straps.

"Michael Daly" wrote in
:

On 17-Mar-2005, (Cracked_Pumpkinhead)
wrote:

I own a 2000 Honda Civic 2
door and got a quote for a roof rack and Kayak carrier and WOW the set
up costs just as much as the darn Kayak!

The 2 door requires a short roof adapter (SRA) and that makes it pricy.
But no other roof rack is suitable - without a SRA, the distance
between the crossbars is too short to support a sea kayak properly.

I ran into the same issue when I was looking for a rack. The yakima rack
for he vehicle with the SRA would have run over $400.

If you get the basic rack, the price isn't too bad. The saddle kit
from Thule is outrageous. A friend got a second-hand Thule rack for
her Accord and I made saddles for her. I cut a pair of cedar 2x6 into
a saddle shapes and covered the tops with foam. The shape of the
saddle matches the shape of her kayak hull very closely. The cedar
saddles are attached to the crossbar with U bolts.

I've been thinking about making a set of those from the extra cedar boards I
have from building my cedar strip boat. Since I still have the forms from
building the hull I can use them as a template.

I've also seen some nice saddles made from carved minicell foam glued to a
piece of plywood attached to the rack with u-bolts.

Inflatable roofrack + sea kayak = either badly dented roof or lost boat.
Probably both. I'd encourage you to fit some proper bars, probably Thule,
and Thule J bars or similar. Far superior versions from Karitek or Kayak
Carrier Systems easily available in in UK but not generally available in the
us as far as I know.

How much is your boat worth? Let alone other peoples safety when it comes
off the roof?

Mike.

Cracked Pumpkinhead wrote in message
ups.com...
Thanks Julia!!!! That seems like an awesome alternative and affordable
for me! I will search the net for dealers here in Canada. Tks again

DiAne
http://cracked_pumpkinhead.tripod.com/shaggies