Kayak on a Mini-Cooper?
 

16' kayak on a 12' car, as a regular thing. Crazy, impossible? Easy
as pie, safe as houses?

I welcome your opinion!

-ml

Kayak on a Mini-Cooper?
 

Kayak on a Mini-Cooper?
 

My wife and daughter brought 2 17' sea kayaks from New jersey to
Georgia on a Honda Civic wagon.

Steve

On Oct 19, 1:12 pm, wrote:
16' kayak on a 12' car, as a regular thing. Crazy, impossible? Easy
as pie, safe as houses?

I welcome your opinion!

-ml

Kayak on a Mini-Cooper?
 

Kayak on a Mini-Cooper?
 

Walt wrote:
wrote:

16' kayak on a 12' car, as a regular thing. Crazy, impossible? Easy
as pie, safe as houses?

Not really a problem. Just be sure you tie it down properly and
remember that it's up there when you try to fit your mini into small
spaces.

Actually, small cars are more practical than the big SUV's. Ever try to
put a kayak on top of a 7 foot tall Behemouth by yourself?


Addendum: The above addresses the generic problem of largish boat on a
small car. That's not a problem in and of itself.

Now, when it comes to a specific small car, one needs to be careful
about how the racks are mounted and how the tie-downs are attached.
Being unfamiliar with the Mini Cooper I can't say for sure that it's
practical. It *should* work, but there may be something peculiar about
the Mini that prevents it from being a good idea.

//Walt

Kayak on a Mini-Cooper?
 

Walt wrote:
Actually, small cars are more practical than the big SUV's. Ever try to
put a kayak on top of a 7 foot tall Behemouth by yourself?

I regularly used to toss WW kayaks atop the Yakima rack I had on my
1985 Suburban by myself. Of course WW kayaks only weigh about 30-35lbs,
so I'd just grab 'em fore and aft by the cockpit, hold 'em over my
head, balance 'em, walk carefully over to the Suburban and TOSS! Right
up on the rack!

I'm not strong enough to do that with a +50lb touring/sea kayak though!
I know, I tried picking one up like that when I began instructing
touring kayak classes for a local shop! Yama! Those things are heavy!
;-)

John Kuthe...

Kayak on a Mini-Cooper?
 

Kayak on a Mini-Cooper?
 

wrote in message
ups.com...
16' kayak on a 12' car, as a regular thing. Crazy, impossible? Easy
as pie, safe as houses?

I welcome your opinion!

-ml


Safe as houses, and there is an additional benefit to having a boat longer
than your car. Many folks with boats shorter than their cars have to rely on
the belly straps (the ones across the boat) to hold it down, and have to
trust the roofracks to keep the boat on the car. End lines are pretty much
useless for them, because they both pull forward; the tip of the boat
doesn't extend beyond the front bumper, and the end of the boat extends out
beyond the back bumper.

But with a short car, both ends extend beyond the car, so the end lines pull
inward in opposite directions (you also get them both pulling outward if
your boat is WAY shorter than your car, but its not as good an arrangement).
So how well your roofracks are mounted is completely moot. The end lines
keep your boat locked down on your car (tie 'em tight), and the belly straps
just keep the boat from moving around a bit.

--riverman