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?

Yeah. You don't *need* a rack to transport a kayak on your roof. It's
handy and makes things easier, but it's not strictly necessary. And you
definitely don't need a kayak carrier in addition to the rack.

This isn't rocket science. You just need to make sure that the kayak is
securely attached to the car. 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).

BTW, I bought my roof rack at the reuse/recycle center for about $10.
Check yard sales, classified ads, junkyards, etc. You don't have to
spend a fortune on new rack.

--
//-Walt
//
//

A foam block under the bow, a foam block under the stern, two straps/ropes
going to each corner of the vehicle bow and stern, and on rope/strap over
the belly. My wife and I used that for TWO kayaks for a while but that was
on top of a van. We actually gave in and got a rack because with two kayaks
up there on that type of system if some rain and big winds were thrown in,
things got a bit dodgy. I can't seem much risk of it at all for a single
boat.

"Walt" wrote in message
...
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?

Yeah. You don't *need* a rack to transport a kayak on your roof. It's
handy and makes things easier, but it's not strictly necessary. And you
definitely don't need a kayak carrier in addition to the rack.

This isn't rocket science. You just need to make sure that the kayak is
securely attached to the car. 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).

BTW, I bought my roof rack at the reuse/recycle center for about $10.
Check yard sales, classified ads, junkyards, etc. You don't have to spend
a fortune on new rack.

--
//-Walt
//
//

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?

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 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.

CP, may i recommend a sort of parallel discussion going on in
re.boats.paddle.touring.... it started as a thread having to do with
paddling a tandem, solo and weight distribtion, and has morphed into a
useful (for me, anyway) discussion of roof rack construction.

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

"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.

"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.

"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.