"John Fereira" wrote in message
.. .

...Cam straps can get real noisy...

If this is a reference to the noise they make by vibrating as air passes
over them at speed, it can get EXTREMELY noisy......enough to make the
uninitiated think the car is coming apart at the seams.

But, there's an easy fix. Simply put a half twist in the strap on each side
of the boat. Problem solved.

Wolfgang

Mike says:
=============
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.
=============

This seems to contradict previous posts. Like Cracked Pumpkinhead, I'm
among the uninitiated and am following this with great interest. My
emotions, right now, are like roller coaster...

buy an expensive rack... oh ****....

just some foam and rope will do... hurray....

get some "forward extender bars" (or whatever Michael recommended) on
you rack.... oh sit, again....

use old carpets and rope through your doors... hurray for us cheapos...


and on it goes...

I love it.... I'm learning.... but: can we get resolution before the
summer? GRIN!

Cheers,
Wilf

"BCITORGB" wrote in message
oups.com...
I love it.... I'm learning.... but: can we get resolution before the
summer? GRIN!

Hm......this IS Usenet, you know.

If you've got any kind of factory installed roof rack or an after-market
rack designed specifically for your vehicle by a reputable manufacturer and
properly installed, a couple of belly bands at either end of the rack will
do just fine for a short boat. Last summer, I traveled 700 miles this way
with a 9.5 foot kayak at speeds up to 70 mph and it never budged......and
this was simply strapped down to the existing rails......no pads, no
supports. I use inch and a quarter braided nylon webbing and
ratchets.....got 'em from Home Depot for about 12 bucks for a set of four.
The breaking strength on the webbing is far beyond anything you need to
think about. Just cinch them down till the bottom of the boat shows some
deformation and the webbing twangs nicely.

Of course, you have to KNOW that your skills in securing the boat are equal
to the task. When you can see the boat beginning to change shape, give a
tug, fore and aft. If it moves.....AT ALL.... cinch it down a bit
tighter.....and repeat. If there's any doubt, run a couple of ropes to
either end of the front bumper. If the boat is longer than about twelve
feet......run a couple of ropes to the front bumper.

If your vehicle doesn't have a rack, get four of those foam blocks made just
for this sort of thing. Do exactly as outlined above, except that now you
will have to run the webbing all the way around the boat AND the roof of the
car, which means passing it through the passenger compartment with the doors
open.

In either case, remember to put a half twist in every exposed length of the
webbing. This will eliminate vibration on a sometimes biblical scale.

Wolfgang
good luck........um......and remember, you never heard any of this here.

Wolfgang recommends:
===============
If it moves.....AT ALL.... cinch it down a bit
tighter.....and repeat.
===============

Hmmm.... do you all concur?

(1) At NO movement, would I not risk twisting my plastic boat (almost
18') out of shape?

(2) If I use a foundation of foam, should I not expect to get movement?
(In my case I've got a Queen size mattress worth of fairly high density
foam -- for a mattress that is -- to play around with and cut into
whatever shapes I need). How do I not get movement if I'm using foam?

Cheers,
Wilf
===========

BCITORGB wrote:
Wolfgang recommends:
===============
If it moves.....AT ALL.... cinch it down a bit
tighter.....and repeat.
===============

Hmmm.... do you all concur?

(1) At NO movement, would I not risk twisting my plastic boat (almost
18') out of shape?

(2) If I use a foundation of foam, should I not expect to get
movement?
(In my case I've got a Queen size mattress worth of fairly high
density
foam -- for a mattress that is -- to play around with and cut into
whatever shapes I need). How do I not get movement if I'm using foam?

Cheers,
Wilf
===========

Forget the 2x4 futures, I've got get into the foam furtures! TnT

Hey WILF!!!!!!

DITTO!!!!!!!!! I'm up, I'm down...... ARGHHHHHH

I mean.....I don't want to make my Civic into a convertible and I sure
don't want to crunch anyone else on the highway with a 17' or 18'
pretty red Kayak (I prefer red tee hee) but................ **** DAMN
**** DAMN **** (pops always said I had a potty mouth) here's the
lowdown:
$ 530.00 just for the rack (with the suggested stretcher bar thingy's
required for my tiny little car)
$ 150.00 Kayak cradle thingy (Ughhh)
$ 30.00 Installation
Okay, wait now I'm not finished yet........... total those numbers up
and whatcha get.....
$ 710.00 right? Wrong.........I live in lovely Ontario and will have
to pay 15% taxes on top of that which comes to a whoppin $816.50
smackeroonie's

ARGHHHHH FRICKA FRACKA GR(*#&(*^@(#^$&^!

Ya know....... I was searching the Auto classifieds I was so ****ed
off! Go figure......I won't pay $816.50 to put a darn rack system on
my car but instead GET A WHOLE NEW VEHICLE! HAHAHAHA. There's a
method to my madness. I'm not quite sure yet but I'll let ya know what
that is when I figure it out.

I'll carry the damn thing all the way to Algonquin before I give em $
816.50 DAGNABBIT! Regardless, I second the "can we get a resolution
before the summer?" question.

Phewwwwwwww ........... I feel much better now.

So, hows everybody doin?

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

I was looking at a used 2002 16' Perception Avatar but it's not Red.
HA On a serious note, I have only been Kayaking 4 times (sea
kayaking), 3 of which where in a pool but I cant wait to get out in the
wilderness exploring or just splashing around in exciting waters. It's
still up in the air for me if I want to go the Sea Kayak route or White
Water but regardless I DO plan to go to courses to learn all about it
so don't worry everyone, you don't have to reply with the usual
"Beginners should really go learn the basics from professionals" yada
yada. I have already looked into it and look forward to the social
aspect of the schools as well as the learning opportunity. Anyways, do
you have any suggestions as to how I can choose which type of Kayaking
would be suitable for me? I can tell you that I do love to explore but
also LOVE to watch whitewater kayakers battle rapids and it does look
like their having a TOTAL BLAST.

Hey, whitewater Kayaks are considerably smaller then Sea Kayaks right?
LOL, maybe that will be the deciding factor since the smaller Kayak
will fit so much better on my tiny little car and I can avoid the whole
roof rack dilemma?. Just a thought (which I tend to do way too much of
at times)

I type too much.

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

Cracked Pumpkinhead wrote:
Hey WILF!!!!!!

DITTO!!!!!!!!! I'm up, I'm down...... ARGHHHHHH

I mean.....I don't want to make my Civic into a convertible and I
sure
don't want to crunch anyone else on the highway with a 17' or 18'
pretty red Kayak (I prefer red tee hee) but................ ****
DAMN
**** DAMN **** (pops always said I had a potty mouth) here's the
lowdown:
$ 530.00 just for the rack (with the suggested stretcher bar thingy's
required for my tiny little car)
$ 150.00 Kayak cradle thingy (Ughhh)
$ 30.00 Installation
Okay, wait now I'm not finished yet........... total those numbers up
and whatcha get.....
$ 710.00 right? Wrong.........I live in lovely Ontario and will have
to pay 15% taxes on top of that which comes to a whoppin $816.50
smackeroonie's

ARGHHHHH FRICKA FRACKA GR(*#&(*^@(#^$&^!

Ya know....... I was searching the Auto classifieds I was so ****ed
off! Go figure......I won't pay $816.50 to put a darn rack system on
my car but instead GET A WHOLE NEW VEHICLE! HAHAHAHA. There's a
method to my madness. I'm not quite sure yet but I'll let ya know
what
that is when I figure it out.

I'll carry the damn thing all the way to Algonquin before I give em $
816.50 DAGNABBIT! Regardless, I second the "can we get a resolution
before the summer?" question.

Phewwwwwwww ........... I feel much better now.

So, hows everybody doin?

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

Hey C-P, you mention that you have a Honda Civic, which is about as
short a car as there is for putting a Kayak on. You also say you have
not gotten one yet! Have you rented one to take out for spin, to have
any idea what you are looking for?

This would determine a lot towards your future solution, on all counts.
Any sea kayak, will probably be longer than your car, and require some
special efforts to provide adequate support, in particular special
supports mounted on the bumpers, and this is where the greater expense
comes in.

I have a folding sea kayak, called a Folbot. This is a SOF (skin on
Frame) boat that can be dissasembled, and put inside your car, Voila'
no rack needed, and a bunch of problems solved.

There are a number of manf. available, in addition to Folbot, and I
would suspect that you should be able to find a outfitter in your area,
that would rent one to you and give some lessons, depending on what you
desire. Bagboats tend to be a little more expensive, though you can
pick them up used and save some. The good thing is that contrary to
most boats, they probably appreciate in value. Mine was like $250 new
in 1973, and now 35 years later, I paid $500 dollars for it. There is
probably some immediate depreciation on a brand new one, but in the
long run a good buy. I have seen them on eBay and other bulletin
boards.

The main thing, is you have to be inclined to manage the assembly and
disassembly. Usually take around 30 min depending on the kind, and how
hungry the mosquitos are! TnT

Go buy yourself one of those $300 bolt together trailers and put a tow hitch
on your little car.
--
Bill

Brought to you from beautiful Unalaska/Dutch Harbor, Alaska.
N 53° 51.140' W 166° 30.228' (WGS 84)

Cracked_Pumpkinhead wrote:
Beginner here. Looking to get myself a Sea Kayak (or even rent for
now) but come across a bit of a problem. 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! Is there any other way to
safely transport a Kayak with my car without BREAKIN THE BANK?

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.

"Cracked Pumpkinhead" wrote in
ups.com:

I was looking at a used 2002 16' Perception Avatar but it's not Red.
HA On a serious note, I have only been Kayaking 4 times (sea
kayaking), 3 of which where in a pool but I cant wait to get out in the
wilderness exploring or just splashing around in exciting waters. It's
still up in the air for me if I want to go the Sea Kayak route or White
Water but regardless I DO plan to go to courses to learn all about it
so don't worry everyone, you don't have to reply with the usual
"Beginners should really go learn the basics from professionals" yada
yada. I have already looked into it and look forward to the social
aspect of the schools as well as the learning opportunity. Anyways, do
you have any suggestions as to how I can choose which type of Kayaking
would be suitable for me? I can tell you that I do love to explore but
also LOVE to watch whitewater kayakers battle rapids and it does look
like their having a TOTAL BLAST.

It really depends on where you think you might be paddling the most. That
Avatar is actaully a pretty good choice for a first sea kayak. It's long
and narrow enough that it's going to get decent performance and not restrict
your ability to improve your skills. While paddling whitewater is indeed
fun you can get into plenty exciting waters in a sea kayak, especially
considering you're near a like the size of Ontario (I'm an hour or so to the
south of it).

What I have noticed about choosing between whitewater and touring is that
you can't really predict what kind of paddling you're going to like the most
until you get out and do it. When I bought my first boat I owned it for
about three weeks before I started thinking about replacing it with
something more conducive to the kind of paddling I found I liked.

In the long term you might find that you won't limit yourself to whitewater
or touring but will want to do both. There are a lotta folks here that have
accumulated quite a quiver of boats. I've got three touring kayaks (two I
built myself), a whitewater kayak, and a canoe.

A note about "red" kayaks. Some consider the color of a kayak based on
visibility. If you're paddling in an area with a lot of motor boat traffic
or plan on going to some isolated waters it could be important. Yellow and
Red are very visibility and Orange even better, but Red tends to look black
in low light levels.