I've been reading the discussion on roof rack spacing with interest as it provides some input to my situation. I just bought a 24' trophy for commuting around the Sound. It's got a hardtop and alaskan bulkhead - basically an enclosed cabin. One use beyond basic commuting is to have the trophy be a "mothership" for kayak trips away from our immediate area. The plan is to put a kayak rack of some description on the hardtop for our two kayaks. Then we can speed off to interesting places in the boat (rather than by car), drop the hook and start our kayak excursion. My curent plan is to install stainless steel bars athwartship (to simulate cartop roof rack bars), and use standard kayak racks (which would be removable to use on the car if desired, and to keep out of the salty enviroment except when in use). My concern is about stress on the kayaks while motoring at speed - 25kts on a choppy day can result in a somewhat pounding ride here on the Puget Sound. Even when you're careful, you'll catch the occasional wake/wave and do a good thunk. Any thoughts on the suitability of standard car rack mounts for this, or other suggestions to minimize the stress on the kayaks during transit? --Jason Pringle Vashon, WA _________________________________________________________________ Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.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/ ***************************************************************************
I would recommend fashioning something similar to what water taxis use....I have seen boats with a question mark shaped aluminum rod extending out from either port/strbrd or both, to facilitate carrying kayaks - they are, of course, removable. I would imagine one would install some type of bolting device to which the rod would connect - otherwise, what I have seen is yak's strapped to the tops of the taxis - or mounted aft, to minimize the pounding. Scott Simpson Anchorage Alaska "There is always one more thing you can do to influence any situation" Lt. Gen Harold Moore, USA (Ret) *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
Here is a photo of a river jet boat equipped with a serious boat rack to ferry yaks and canoes up the Stikine River in Alaska. These boat ferry boats and paddlers up river at high, planing speeds: http://www.kayakguide.com/Stikine.htm I appreciate all the inforamtion shared about boat ferrying as I'm about to try taking a couple of yaks up the head waters of St. Johns River here in Florida to explore Jane Green Creek as a day paddle. A boat ferry to the mouth of the creek will enable us to paddle the creek through Jane Green Swamp, an area where there is reputed to be no dry place to camp. I have to admit that, sometimes, motor boats can help us paddle :-) -- Al Vazquez KayakGuide.com tm Places to Paddle tm - Kayaking - Canoeing - Rafting - *************************************************************************** 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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