Kayak car carriers...?

[Brad Fournier]

Does anyone have any input as to what the best type/style of kayak car carrier is. Yakima or Thule and also is saddle type or hullraiser type better. I have a toyota corolla wagon and a 16' 50# kayak. Also I'll be wanting to put two on top this year.

Brad.

[EEL]

>Does anyone have any input as to what the best type/style of

>kayak car carrier is. Yakima or Thule

I suggest you look at Malone racks before buying.

http://www.maloneautoracks.com/

Have no opinion on the other questions. Well, the Malone wings seemed to work well and load easy. Using the more vertical racks involves lifting and then rotating the boat when done by two as opposed to one and that can be a pain. The Malone vertical rack has a nice lip to help get the boat up and over and into the saddle while the others don't I think. Maybe that is a greener grass situation since I have Yakimas which I like otherwise Its a preference thing ultimately. Help people take boats on and off and see which you like.

Ed Lawson

[Suz]

I agree with Ed on the Malone's. Over the years I have used Yakima saddles - can't stand them as the Mako saddles flatten over time and you need to use those funky clips rather than regular straps or ropes.

I switched to Thule J Bars which hold the boat well but unlike the Malone's are hard for me to load myself as the lip is a bit higher and you can't slide the boat on it like you can with the Malones.

I am now using a set of Malone's and Thule's stackers and can carry three boats on my Subaru Outback. (Two boats against the stackers).

I use the Yakima's round bars and wrap them with pipe foam and duct tape and put my fiberglass boats directly on the bars on their side. I have switched to tying on with ropes rather than the web straps and buckles as it is easier on cold hands in the winter.

I don't think it matters much which you use, Yakima round bars or Thule square bars as most of their attachment points allow you to use either brand on either bar as they have universal mounts. BUT if you go with the round bar, you can slip a smaller diameter pipe in the end to use to assist in loading. A bonus or a negative of the round bar is that the attachment pieces will rotate flat. It's good as it makes for a lower car if necessary. Bad 'cause sometimes they rotate when you are loading if you use saddles rather than J bars or auto loaders.

I also recommend getting your bars slightly longer than suggested to allow for carrying three boats as two boats are never enough!

You think you may only want to carry two boats but your needs may change and getting the bar a little longer give you that flexibility.

Suz

[Deb Millar]

After years of using Thule with excellent results, we're switching over this weekend to Malones on my Audi A4 wagon. We're doing so because we've heard good things about the racks and they just seem more user-friendly, especially for me when I have to load or unload boats by myself.

Both of us are getting tired of rotating the boats around and doing gymnastics (which I figure will continue) when we load a third boat. Will take your advice, Suz, as far as mounting them goes so we can fit the guest kayak on....

Deb M

[bob budd]

Whenever I put my car on my kayak the kayak sinks.

We have Thule and Yakima saddles (front) and rollers (rear). Roof height is a factor. With the Subaru Forester, the world's best kayak carrier, you put the bow in the roller and slide the boat on to the racks. Easy and quick for someone 5'4" and easier for me at 5'8". If you have help, they system is low enough on the roof for two to hoist the boat, always a good idea on a windy day (poor Rodni). Sometimes tough for guys to admit/do. Neither set of saddles has flattened out, some have adjustments for wide/narrow boats.

As far as straps, the Yakima saddles have straps that fit inside the saddle that are best put on before the boat (oops, not again). With either system, however, you could drop the straps that are provided for a typical under the bar-over the boat-under the bar strap arraingement.

All this depends on the bars you get for the car. This is the key if you are watching your weight, that is the weight your vehicle can carry. The Forester carries enough weight for four boats if none of them are plastic or British layup.

We started using bow and stern lines, then got lazy. A recent post by a certain physicist will likely forever shame me into using bow and stern lines for any trip beyond Tuck Pt or the local pool. Learn a couple knots - you may save lives.

I'd suggest getting all the stuff on the car and try to use it before you commit to a purchase or make sure you can return what you don't find useful. Still have those foam blocks and straps we got from REI, they keep the fourth boat off the floor.

[Michael_Crouse]

On our 06 Corolla we bought Saris roof racks. They were cheaper than the thule or yakima racks and they're better made and easier to install and remove. We've got thule J cradles and thule saddles on the rack. It's a solid system, we've driven up to the Sagauney Fjord with no problems.

As far as what the best cradle, J carrier is? Well on my trac-rac on my truck I've found that foam block works just as well as saddles.

One thing I've started doing is running the strap under one deck line. My (crazy) theory is that if the saddles fail the boat won't be able to slide past a deck fitting and it has a better chance of staying on the roof.

[tvcrider]

I'll add another thumbs-up for the Malones, particularly their '06 Autoloaders. They are well built and hold most 20-22" beamed boats quite well. In fairness the name "Auto-loader" is a bit of misnomer. These racks do not automatically load your boat ;-)

but they do have a angled ramp that allows you to more easily shoulder the boat up into the J-cradle.

Depending on the height of you vehicle you may want to carry a folding two-step stool (i.e. Rubbermaid). At the end of a long paddle after fatigue has set the additional reach provided by the stool is a real benefit. I keep one in our roof pod.

I have found that both Yakima and Thule work well and the Malones will mount on either. Check both manufacturers fitting tools via their respective websites. You may find the one or the other does not fit your particular car. For instance I found that Yakima did not make towers for our Volvo V40 '01.

[thief]

i use surf baord pads with a malone vertical Stax (old style)-works great for the ww boat the surf boat (now passed on two days back) and long baots.....

then i also have a malone gull wing....my lng boat usually goes there....

having the surf board pads...makes it so that i can carry any boat with a flat hull hull down on the roof....the surf boat went on its side due to the fins....the pads have enough give so that i can also put a boat with a slight vhull down flat as well....

anything with more of a v or more delicate goes on the gullwing.......

oheyah..and i carry my paddles out side as well....still have a 1 piece lendal that is my fav...so that is up there too....

rob

[Brad Fournier]

haha, I wondered when someone would comment on the Kayak car carrier word organization, felt it come out that way when I typed it but decided to leave it dangling for someone to bite. Any way, I have thought about getting a Subaru Forester but the subaruguru strongly advises against it and recommends the outback instead( and I must say he is extremely knowledgeable about the subarus). But I must admit, every time I see a Forester, I still want one. They do look awesome for kayak carrying. I appreciate everyones input and Wow is this a resourceful, helpful conference here.

Thank you all, Brad.

[Kevin B (RPS Coach)]

I've been using Malone racks for over a year now and they're great. The only thing I would change would be the straps, which I find to be somewhat flimsy compared to competing brands, but those are easily purchased separately.

I've also heard first hand that the Thule Hullavator is a great albeit expensive, product (around $450 I think).

[brwells]

Note that Thule has just released a new carrier that includes the ability to properly position the supports with regards to the kayak regardless of how big is the roof of the car. It is their SlipStream carrier - msrp $300.

I have both the Thule J supports which work fine if one is able to wrestle the kayak into place by oneself and the Thule Rollercoaster which works great in that I am able to place a kayak on the roller and push it onto the roof. Very easy.

Thule's straps are also long enough to wrap around the bar. I think the carriers that do not have straps long enough to do this, or that prevent one from doing this, are potentially a weaker solution. There is extra security gained from wrapping the strap around the bars instead of being connected only to the carrier.

Brian

P&H Capella 163

Red/White/Black trim

NDK Explorer

Melon/Teal/White

[Nancy Hill]

We have tried just about every kayak carrier made. One nice thing about the J-type (any make) is that any kayak will fit into it, and it will not tend to oil-can a poly hull. Unfortunately the Thule (new ones) leave black marks on the side of my hull (f/g & poly) which are hard to remove. The other drawback to J-type carriers is that with the boat on its side, the stern and bow are quite high in the air. On our Subaru, I can not reach the bow or stern unless I move pretty close to the middle of the boat which makes it a little uncomfortable, as I am reaching over my head with my arms out to the side, and then I have to lift it up over the bottom of the J, putting my shoulders at some risk. This, of course, is not an issue if you are tall.

The J-type would be my favorite if I were taller. There are lots of saddles and some will conform to the hull better than others, and this might be trial and error for you. Thule makes some that pivot and have a felt pad that will enable you to slide the boat, and it is intended to be used with a saddle in the front. I have not tried it, but it looks like it would conform to any hull type. Our original saddles conformed well to our rounded hull boats, but not at all to our new hard chined boats. You want to consider how easy they are to get on and off your rack, too, unless you want to drive around with them. You can also just buy the basic foam pads and see how you like them. I have driven to Canada and back on the highway with good foam blocks on the factory rack (with special eye-shaped cutouts) and found them to be as secure as any system I have used. There are foam blocks with cutouts to attach to a Thule or Yakima rack, too. I would not, however, recommend using the foam blocks directly on your roof without a rack. People do when they rent boats, but that setup makes me wonder....

Hope this helps.

-Nancy