I had a Honda CRX HF when I bought my first kayak, a 16.5 Eddyline Raven. At the time, I could easily haul 2 kayaks by just adding stackers to my Yakima saddles. I had already bought longer bars so I could haul 2 solo canoes side by side. In fact, on one trip, I had a 18' double canoe, my kayak, and a bicycle, all on the standard Yakima racks. With canoe brackets for the canoe and the bike rack for the bike. I didn't have enough room for the stackers so just let the kayak lean against the canoe with foam in between. I bought a new Hatchback last year and added the stretchers I needed. I have plenty of room to haul 4 kayaks on two sets of of saddles with stackers in between. There is also a new J-shaped holder that mounts to the Yakima rack - but not made by them that is designed to hold kayaks on their sides. Bob Scaldino just bought a set and he might comment on the manufacturer. So if you don't have enough bar length, just change out the bars. Then add stackers with your Mako Saddles, and that should work fine unless the Mako Saddles are too flat. I have the adjustable saddles so can change the amount of curve. Also, I can haul 2 or 3 kayaks flat with my longer bars - 62" I think. Marilyn Kircus Date: Wed, 10 Oct 2001 17:46:01 -0600 From: Merlin Emrys <memrys_at_telecomreseller.com> Subject: [Paddlewise] Cartop Kayak Carrier Hi. I am looking for a kayak cartop carrier for a Yakima (or Thule) rack that will allow me to carry an additional 16+ foot sea kayak on its side. I have a small compact car (Honda Civic 2-door hatchback) and can only carry only one rightside up (using Hully Rollers and Mako Saddles) due to width constraints. I have seen some J-shaped carriers, but these seem to only work with whitewater boats. Thanks! *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
>Hi. I am looking for a kayak cartop carrier for a Yakima (or Thule) rack >that will allow me to carry an additional 16+ foot sea kayak on its >side. I have a small compact car (Honda Civic 2-door hatchback) and can >only carry only one rightside up (using Hully Rollers and Mako Saddles) due >to width constraints. Get longer bars (longer than what the catalog specifies for your car). I've got an Acura Integra 2 door (Acura's version of the Civic, built on the same frame and body) and carry two kayaks rightside up. The bars are long enough that I can fit one of the saddles/rollers outside the tower with the other saddle/roller inside the tower (for each boat). I'm not good with ascii art but here goes: \ / \ / ---------------------- |_________| / \ / Car \ The bars are still short enough that they don't extend any farther out than the side view mirror does. No worries about catching them on anything while driving. You do sort of have to watch your head getting in and out of the car. Mel *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Nice illustration Mel. One advantage of the long bars, is that you'll also be able to carry a kayak *and* a canoe, and possible two canoes. Well, I suppose this is an advantage if actually need to carry two canoes, but still nice to be able to. -Patrick At 4:31 PM -0400 10/11/01, mel wrote: > > > \ / \ / > ---------------------- > |_________| > / \ > / Car \ > *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Steve Cramer <cramer_at_coe.uga.edu> wrote: > One of the few things I like about SUVs is that most of them are so > tall that anyone sub-Wayne Hodorowitz can walk under them unscathed. > Of course, if you're sub-WH you can't reach the bars to put your boat > up. I'm not sure how tall Wayne is, but being 6'-6", I feel like I can comment...! (I met Steve Scherrer this weekend and he commented that I'm taller than I appeared on the Internet!) Anyway, one sure-fire thing I've found is that having bars that are not wider than your vehicle will keep you from whacking them when walking around the vehicle. Most Toyota and Nissan pickups are 5'-0" wide, so 5' bars will insure that you'll probably whack your knee on the fender before whacking your bean on the bar. Also, align your bars so they're over a door pillar, or over the hinges, and basically, if at all possible, never put the end of the bar right over the middle of the opening where people are ducking into and out of the car. I also noticed that Steve S has a super-impressive custom rack on his Alder Creek van. Steve, any comments? Was it fabricated locally in Portland? The tiedown loops on the ends of the bars and the stackers looked like a great idea. Shawn Make a great connection at Yahoo! Personals. http://personals.yahoo.com *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Shawn Baker wrote: > > Steve Cramer <cramer_at_coe.uga.edu> wrote: > > One of the few things I like about SUVs is that most of them are so > > tall that anyone sub-Wayne Hodorowitz can walk under them unscathed. > I'm not sure how tall Wayne is, but being 6'-6", <snip> I think Wayne's about your height. > > Anyway, one sure-fire thing I've found is that having bars that are not > wider than your vehicle will keep you from whacking them when walking > around the vehicle. Most Toyota and Nissan pickups are 5'-0" wide, so > 5' bars will insure that you'll probably whack your knee on the fender > before whacking your bean on the bar. OK, but who wants to have only 48" bars on their car? You can't put 4 kayaks on 48" bars. Oh, you only transport one or two at a time? No problem, then. > Also, align your bars so they're over a door pillar, or over the > hinges, and basically, if at all possible, never put the end of the bar > right over the middle of the opening where people are ducking into and > out of the car. Yakima and Thule have pretty definite ideas about where they want you to put their racks, and they're almost always right over the door. Volvos actually come with a locating home in the middle of the door frame. -- Steve *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Steve Cramer <cramer_at_coe.uga.edu> wrote: >OK, but who wants to have only 48" bars on their car? You can't put 4 >kayaks on 48" bars. Oh, you only transport one or two at a time? No >problem, then. But how many vehicles are actually 48" wide? Even compact cars are closer to 54" or 56". (I'm talking vehicle width--not roofline width). You can always buy 58" bars and cut them down if the extra 2" is risky. Just because Yakima sells 48", 58", and 68" bars doesn't mean we're stuck with those lengths. >> Also, align your bars so they're over a door pillar, >Yakima and Thule have pretty definite ideas about where they want you >to put their racks, and they're almost always right over the door. >Volvos actually come with a locating home in the middle of the door >frame. Disclaimer: before anyone reads too much into what I'm about to say, your roof rack installation is your own business, your own choice, and your own responsibility. They have definite ideas about where you should put their racks for a couple of reasons. Sometimes, it is at the strongest part of the car. Sometimes it's where the widest bar spread is possible. Most of the time, I think it's just a standardized location so someone with no mechanical aptitude can put the towers on the bars at a preselected location and put the towers on the car at a preselected location and it will fit. If you have the knack of fiddling with things, you can get the bars to fit just fine in other spots. If you mount the bars over a pillar or frame member, I see no reason why that mounting location can be any weaker than the factory-recommended location. But, by putting the rack in an other-than-factory-recommended location, you can void the warranty, so caveat emptor. I choose to do so, and it's at my risk, rather than a shared risk with Yakima, but I choose to have bars that fit in better locations than where they sez, and I also choose not to have tiny overlapping circular scars in my forehead or those of my passengers. Custom rack configurations are also possible. Find a good certified welder and tell them your requirements and have them build something that really fits your needs. You could build an over-framed rack like Doug Lloyd's and put your towers in the Yakima/Thule-recommended locations on your roofline, yet have your bars extend forward and rearward another foot or two. This would place your bars farther apart for less possible boat twisting on the saddles, and also put the bars over your windshield and rear window where people are not getting in or out. But, a custom welder is expensive, right? So are factory Yakima and Thule racks. Shawn Make a great connection at Yahoo! Personals. http://personals.yahoo.com *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Shawn Baker wrote: > > Steve Cramer <cramer_at_coe.uga.edu> wrote: > >OK, but who wants to have only 48" bars on their car? > > But how many vehicles are actually 48" wide? Even compact cars are > closer to 54" or 56". (I'm talking vehicle width--not roofline width). > You can always buy 58" bars and cut them down if the extra 2" is risky. > Just because Yakima sells 48", 58", and 68" bars doesn't mean we're > stuck with those lengths. You know, it actually hadn't occurred to me to cut the bars to length. Shows how obtuse I can be. > >> Also, align your bars so they're over a door pillar, This is the important part, since if you place the vehicle width bar over the door opening like you're 'sposed to (/accent on "Installation instructions? I spit on your lousy installation instructions!" /accent off :) )and your bar is vehicle width, it sticks out in head-cracking position during entry and exit. I wasn't even sure it was possible to put the bar over the pillar, but I just went out and looked at the Accord, and you sure could. It reduces your spread, but it's doable. -- Steve *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Steve Cramer <cramer_at_coe.uga.edu> wrote: >(/accent on "Installation instructions? I spit on your lousy >installation instructions!" /accent off :) ) *big chuckle* >I wasn't even sure it was possible to put the bar over the pillar, but >I just went out and looked at the Accord, and you sure could. It >reduces your spread, but it's doable. My wife has a Subaru Legacy Sedan, which is shaped similarly to the Accord. Yakima's instructions have you put the bar almost over the front pillar, which is slightly forward of the head-cracking/forehead splitting area. Custom bars are probably the only way a person could get a good rack spread with long bars and avoid having to wear a helmet to drive. I guess if I had my druthers, I'd go for bar spread and risk the "actual "headache, rather than having a narrower spread with more reliance on bow and stern lines and risking the figurative headache of having a boat twist off and slide down the road! I'm hooking my welder up this weekend, so maybe I'll have to see if I can build a custom rack that will have 5' or longer bars with a 6' spread, and mount it to the Legacy with the Q-towers I already have. Shawn Make a great connection at Yahoo! Personals. http://personals.yahoo.com *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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