You can get inflateable roof bars, Yes it's true !

Only problem tho for a two door car is passing the straps for the rear bar
!!

J

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.

DiAne

Wow! Really??? Do you have a link to a website where I can check this
out??? I'm having a difficult time visualizing "inflateable roof bars"
lol

DiAne

http://www.brighton-canoes.co.uk/pro.../roofracks.htm

if yo can get them in th eUK I'm sure you can get them in the US

J

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

"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.

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

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.

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

BCITORGB wrote in message
oups.com...
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...

Yeh, I know - sorry! Have a look here
http://www.ukriversguidebook.co.uk/f...pic.php?t=6544 - UKRGB (
http://www.ukriversguidebook.co.uk/) is a UK site with an active forum and
this very subject got discussed a while back. Accepting that we're talking
river-boats and hire cars, the principles remains true.

You said you have a small car and even allowing for bow and stern ropes,
you're going to apply some serious leverage to the roof once you've got a
sea boat up there.

Just by way of a wee addition to the debate, a friend was telling me of
being down in N Wales watching a client of ND Kayaks loading her brand new
ND Explorer onto a small European car and using inflaters. The roof dented
to the extent where it didnt recover. A lot of money to fix.

On a personal basis, my sea boat cost me well over a months salary - no way
am I going to entrust something so precious to me to either a blow-up tube
or a few bits of foam. I'm not going to risk any damage to my car either so
for me anyway there's no alterantive to a proper set-up.

I bought Thule bars 5 years ago and they've been on three cars since - the
KCS J's were bought 10 years ago and are still fine. Seems a good bit of
value to me anyway. Now I dont want to get flamed and I realise I'm a new
boy here and that a whole lot of folk have advised that inflaters, or foam,
or whaever will be fine so I'll leave you to make your own decision.

Enjoy your new boat. Mike.