casousa81 Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 Hi all,I've been transporting my boat for a few years on foam blocks set on my roof racks, but have never been very satisfied with them. I'm trying to figure out what the best system would be for my boat, and am stuck between Thule hull-a-port "j racks" or using a saddle. I paddle a Chesapeake 16, so in particular I'm looking for input from those of you who paddle hard-chined boats. Any input would be greatly appreciated!~Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EEL Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 I'm trying to figure out what the best system would be for my boat, and am stuck between Thule hull-a-port "j racks" or using a saddle. I paddle a Chesapeake 16, so in particular I'm looking for input from those of you who paddle hard-chined boats. I cannot speak to Thule products as I have never used them, but I have extensively used both Yakima and Malone J racks with hard chined boats without a problem. Both worked quite well, and I assume the Thule ones would as well. Ed Lawson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eidsvolling Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 How high is your roof? How high will you have to lift the boat to clear the bottom of the rack while you're lifting the boat into place? These are not big issues if you have someone to help load. But doing this solo can be challenging and potentially hazardous to the boat, if your roof is too high and/or you're "vertically challenged". Find some vehicles like yours that have such racks on them and try to guesstimate before buying. A saddle with a rear roller/slider is often best for the frequently-solo paddler. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casousa81 Posted March 27, 2012 Author Share Posted March 27, 2012 How high is your roof? How high will you have to lift the boat to clear the bottom of the rack while you're lifting the boat into place? These are not big issues if you have someone to help load. But doing this solo can be challenging and potentially hazardous to the boat, if your roof is too high and/or you're "vertically challenged". Find some vehicles like yours that have such racks on them and try to guesstimate before buying. A saddle with a rear roller/slider is often best for the frequently-solo paddler. I drive a Corolla and am around 5'11", so lifting the boat sideways onto the roof by myself has never been a problem for me. That being said, its always harder to lift the boat after a day of paddling then it does first thing in the morning Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 Hi all, I've been transporting my boat for a few years on foam blocks set on my roof racks, but have never been very satisfied with them. I'm trying to figure out what the best system would be for my boat, and am stuck between Thule hull-a-port "j racks" or using a saddle. I paddle a Chesapeake 16, so in particular I'm looking for input from those of you who paddle hard-chined boats. Any input would be greatly appreciated! ~Chris I paddled a Nigel Foster Shadow and just used stackers for a number of years. I think that it was a great setup. I am a bit taller but it allowed me to easily load the boat on my Honda pilot. -Jason Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyson Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 Emilie and I paddle hard chine boats and use Thule Hull-a-ports. There is no problem with a hard chine in these racks. In fact, the bottom of them is flat and the flat side of the boat sits on it nicely. I do have some tricks for securely strapping in slender/low-volume boats to keep them from wandering around.Cheers!Ty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casousa81 Posted April 11, 2012 Author Share Posted April 11, 2012 Emilie and I paddle hard chine boats and use Thule Hull-a-ports. There is no problem with a hard chine in these racks. In fact, the bottom of them is flat and the flat side of the boat sits on it nicely. I do have some tricks for securely strapping in slender/low-volume boats to keep them from wandering around. Cheers! Ty Thanks Tyson, Great info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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