clayaway1 Posted May 28, 2008 Share Posted May 28, 2008 Hey there all... I am going to be buying a yakima car rack for my VW golf, and I was wondering if anybody had any recommendations as far as the carrier goes. I was thinking about a hully roller/mako saddle combo, but didn't know if they were better than the upright "J" style carriers. It probly comes down to preferrence, but maybe one is better than the other? I would like to think the kayak being on its side with front/back tiedowns might stress the hull in the wrong directions? Is there any thought on this? Anyhelp would be greatly appreciated. Josh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
risingsn Posted May 29, 2008 Share Posted May 29, 2008 Hey there all... I am going to be buying a yakima car rack for my VW golf, and I was wondering if anybody had any recommendations as far as the carrier goes. I was thinking about a hully roller/mako saddle combo, but didn't know if they were better than the upright "J" style carriers. It probly comes down to preferrence, but maybe one is better than the other? I would like to think the kayak being on its side with front/back tiedowns might stress the hull in the wrong directions? Is there any thought on this? Anyhelp would be greatly appreciated. Josh I like the 'J' saddles for a car like yours, it is very easy to load solo, put the boat on your shoulder walk to the side of the car & drop it in the saddles. I would suggest looking @ Thule racks, the Yakimas have round bars & have found that the accesories can move when you are loading. I have a van so the 'J' saddles don't work for solo loading. I use Thule H2O saddles front & rear. When loading I put a bathmat (rubber on 1 side carpet on the other) on the rear saddle & back of the van, put the boat on my shoulder, lay the bow in the saddle & side it on the carpet. Hully Rollers have a very small contact area w/ the hull of the boat & can damage your boat. I like the grippy-ness of the H20 saddles. Well, theres my 2 cents (actually about $3 w/ inflation & all). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deb Millar Posted May 29, 2008 Share Posted May 29, 2008 Hey there all... I am going to be buying a yakima car rack for my VW golf, and I was wondering if anybody had any recommendations as far as the carrier goes. I was thinking about a hully roller/mako saddle combo, but didn't know if they were better than the upright "J" style carriers. It probly comes down to preferrence, but maybe one is better than the other? I would like to think the kayak being on its side with front/back tiedowns might stress the hull in the wrong directions? Is there any thought on this? Anyhelp would be greatly appreciated. Josh Hi Josh, I've never used Yakima racks, only Thule$$$$. Right now we have Malone J racks on the AudiA3 and can fit two sea kayaks with one Surf boat in between. The beauty of the Malones is that they provide a very stable platform for our boats. The not so beauty of them is I (I'm 5'5") can't easily get my RomanyLV up into them, or get it off either -- which I could do with our old Thule Stackers (supposedly designed for WW boats, although we used them very successfully with our sea boats for years). However, if I stand on a step stool, I probably could load the boat as my husband who's 5'9"can get his Avocet and my heavier (hey, it's a NDK....what can I say?) boat up there without much trouble. I like the Malones a lot, although we still use our Thule straps and never thread them through the slots, but, instead, loop them under then, then tie off Works fine. Deb M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clayaway1 Posted May 29, 2008 Author Share Posted May 29, 2008 Thanks, I looked at the thule racks, however i decided to go with yakima's mako aero saddles, kf they round bars give me any trouble i'll find a way to secure them. again, thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subaruguru Posted May 29, 2008 Share Posted May 29, 2008 Hey there all... I am going to be buying a yakima car rack for my VW golf, and I was wondering if anybody had any recommendations as far as the carrier goes. I was thinking about a hully roller/mako saddle combo, but didn't know if they were better than the upright "J" style carriers. It probly comes down to preferrence, but maybe one is better than the other? I would like to think the kayak being on its side with front/back tiedowns might stress the hull in the wrong directions? Is there any thought on this? Anyhelp would be greatly appreciated. Josh I solo side-load a lot, and have come to like the newer Thule Set'nGo on the outside, using stackers in the middle. Allows extremely stable flat-loading of one yak but more precarious edge-loading on the narrower side (this is on Subaru OE crossbars; with longer bars an ideal situation would be with 4 sets of SetnGos for 2 flat hulls, but I'm not enamored of banging my head into barends!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
risingsn Posted May 30, 2008 Share Posted May 30, 2008 Thanks, I looked at the thule racks, however i decided to go with yakima's mako aero saddles, kf they round bars give me any trouble i'll find a way to secure them. again, thank you. If I remember correctly those saddles will fit a Thule bar. I have heard of the Mako saddles damaging boats but have no first hand knowledge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
risingsn Posted May 30, 2008 Share Posted May 30, 2008 I solo side-load a lot, and have come to like the newer Thule Set'nGo on the outside, using stackers in the middle. Allows extremely stable flat-loading of one yak but more precarious edge-loading on the narrower side (this is on Subaru OE crossbars; with longer bars an ideal situation would be with 4 sets of SetnGos for 2 flat hulls, but I'm not enamored of banging my head into barends!). The OB will probably take Thule 52" bars which will easily take 2 sea boats on Set2gos. Your head should be safe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subaruguru Posted May 30, 2008 Share Posted May 30, 2008 The OB will probably take Thule 52" bars which will easily take 2 sea boats on Set2gos. Your head should be safe. I know. I'm always REMOVING these bars from OBs I buy and giving them away. The OE crossbars sit a couple inches LOWER than Thule/Yak bars, so i prefer them,,,though it's not ideal for two horizontal placements. Thanks though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scamlin Posted May 30, 2008 Share Posted May 30, 2008 Three points: 1. Stacker bars (vertical bars with a hook at the top) are a flexible alternative. They allow loading on the kayak's edge (gunwhale or seam) which is it's strongest point. I duct tape some pipe insulation on the bar for a bit of paddling, but frankly, it really doesn't need it. Advantage: takes up less room on the bar leaving more room for other stuff on the bar; I can easily get 3 full-sized kayaks on a 48" bar. Little trickier to load since the boat can tip over while tying it and probably has a bit more wind resistance, but can be loaded from shoulder much like a Malone J-stack. There is a slick technique for fastening with a cam strap that is very secure, but is not easy to describe in words (see below). I put round hulls out from the bar so they don't dent, but hulls with a V-hull and a flatish hull section (like the NDK Explorer) do better with the hull in against the bar. You're looking for a relatively flat section of the boat to go against the riser. A bonus is that the stacker folds down when not in use (less wind resistance and lower clearance in garages). 2. Yakima and Thule both have their adherents. I think Yakima bars are a bit stronger, probably due to basic physics (experts chime in here): a circle is stronger for a given wall thickness than a square. I've seen a few Thule bars that have sagged permanentaly from overloading, but not really any Yakima bars. Another advantage to Yakima bars is that you can rotate stuff down out of the wind or the way: ski carriers, riser bars, even saddles. Can't do that easily with a square bar. As for rotation while loading: tighten the clamp! 3. I think the problem with the Hully Roller denting the hull is not so much the smaller surface area, but rather the positioning on the hull. Most saddle type carriers are meant to hit the hull on the chine (where bottom of hull transitions to the side), not the bottom. Saddles are meant to conform to the curve of the hull and cradle it from the side where the hull is much stronger, not support it from the bottom where the hull is most susceptible to denting. Scott Strap attachment to riser bar: Loop strap around hook at top of bar about 9" from cam buckle with buckle hanging in front of kayak near top; free end of strap goes down the front of the yak, crosses diagonally under bar, goes around base of riser above the bar, crosses diagonally back under bar and then up the front of the yak to the buckle end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaila_27 Posted May 30, 2008 Share Posted May 30, 2008 "2. Yakima and Thule both have their adherents. I think Yakima bars are a bit stronger, probably due to basic physics (experts chime in here): a circle is stronger for a given wall thickness than a square. I've seen a few Thule bars that have sagged permanentaly from overloading, but not really any Yakima bars. Another advantage to Yakima bars is that you can rotate stuff down out of the wind or the way: ski carriers, riser bars, even saddles. Can't do that easily with a square bar. As for rotation while loading: tighten the clamp!" I like my Yakima bars. I have a Jeep Liberty and when I was using the HullRaiser, I could push them down on the round bars so my car would fit in the garage without taking off the rack. The round bars do seem super strong and Thule accessories work with either round bars or square bars (yea hullivator!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred C Posted May 30, 2008 Share Posted May 30, 2008 I have used both the HullRaiser and the Mako saddles for years and still have both. I prefer the Hullraisers by far as long as you are able to lift your kayak and drop it into the rack and do not rely on sliding the kayak to get it onto the rack. The Hullraisers feel more secure and don’t seem to develop the front to back rocking motion that the saddles can even with front and rear tie downs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
risingsn Posted May 30, 2008 Share Posted May 30, 2008 "2. Yakima and Thule both have their adherents. I think Yakima bars are a bit stronger, probably due to basic physics (experts chime in here): a circle is stronger for a given wall thickness than a square. I've seen a few Thule bars that have sagged permanentaly from overloading, but not really any Yakima bars. Another advantage to Yakima bars is that you can rotate stuff down out of the wind or the way: ski carriers, riser bars, even saddles. Can't do that easily with a square bar. As for rotation while loading: tighten the clamp!" I like my Yakima bars. I have a Jeep Liberty and when I was using the HullRaiser, I could push them down on the round bars so my car would fit in the garage without taking off the rack. The round bars do seem super strong and Thule accessories work with either round bars or square bars (yea hullivator!). Naturally, to each his own. The Thule bars are rated to 165#. I have had over 220# on mine, enough to cause my roof to deflect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clayaway1 Posted May 30, 2008 Author Share Posted May 30, 2008 Now that I have installed them, I can see how the yakima saddles could 'roll" when loading because the plastic grippers dont like gripping the metal, however a couple of wraps or black duct tape and they really bite in and seem really solid! As far as mako saddles damaging the boat I don't really yet see how that would happen. I applied the sticky back felt that came with the kit and the boat slid on very nicely. Maybe at some point the felt will fall off, but i will just buy some felt and glue my own on there. So far I am pleased with my purchase, and thanx everyone for their feed back! Josh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
risingsn Posted May 31, 2008 Share Posted May 31, 2008 Now that I have installed them, I can see how the yakima saddles could 'roll" when loading because the plastic grippers dont like gripping the metal, however a couple of wraps or black duct tape and they really bite in and seem really solid! As far as mako saddles damaging the boat I don't really yet see how that would happen. I applied the sticky back felt that came with the kit and the boat slid on very nicely. Maybe at some point the felt will fall off, but i will just buy some felt and glue my own on there. So far I am pleased with my purchase, and thanx everyone for their feed back! Josh Josh, congrats on getting your rack sorted. Now the most important thing is to use it (alot). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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