seeking advice on rooftop kayak carrier...

[Guest guest]

hello nspn paddlers,

I'm about to purchase my first kayak and

I'm trying to figure out what type of carrier

to put on top of my car. I want to be able to

carry two boats side by side (not on their

sides if possible), and my car is a

Volvo V70 Cross Country wagon.

Does anyone have a recommendation for me?

Thule vs. Yakima vs. Volvo factory rack... ???

Any information you can send is greatly

appreciated.

Thanks,

Jane

[Guest guest]

You asked for recommendations, woe to those who do so. First read through the message "Recommendations for buying new sea kayak" posted a little while ago. It is probably on page 2 of the message board, page 1 being the default containing the "n" most recent messages. I don't know what the value of "n" is, whether is varies by browser, etc. You need to consider how tall you are, how tall the vehicle is, if you can you lift the boat up there without substantial aid, etc. Check the rating of your roof rack to make sure it can carry two boats. We purchased Yakima (I think) roller/saddle for our Subaru Forester. Until recently we used foam blocks for boat #2 and inverted it, we could not get two boats on the rack widthwise. We recently purchased a Thule (I think) roller saddle. The difference was that we were able to mount the fittings outside the brackets that mate crossbar to roofrack. I think all roller/saddle combinations are pretty similar so I'd suggest you try putting two on your car and putting boats up there before spending your $.

P.S. - Leave your straps on your seat at the put-in. That way you won't drive away with the boat sitting unstrapped on the rack. Boats go an amazing distance without being strapped down before they find a place they want to stop and take in the scenery while you frantically try to get back to them. There's really no need to rush, the boat always waits for your return.