kayak rack

Yes, I have been looking at these. There is one called the Stacker that
says it is for whitewater kayaks. Do they really mean shorter- length
boats? I'm not sure what the difference would be for transportation
purposes...
 >> Stay informed about: kayak rack 

twilightrob wrote:
> I have 2 10ft rec kayaks that I want to transport ontop of my Honda
> Passport w/ factory rack. What is the best rack (for the least money :0
> )? I would like to make some highway trips as well as local travel.

There really are no inexpensive racks. You either use the cheap foam
blocks and straps, which pose risks of damage the the car and are not
especially secure, or you buy a real rack, which costs significant
money. One in-between alternative that seems to elude many people is
buying a used rack through local classified ads or ebay. You can easily
save half or more of the cost of the rack and all you need to make the
rack work is the clip kit for your specific vehicle. Before buying, look
up your vehicle in the online fit system of the rack manufacturer
(Saris, Thule, Yakima), then look for a rack with the same crossbars and
feet. You may even get lucky and find one with the right clip kit.
 >> Stay informed about: kayak rack 

I know folks who use these for both WW boats and rec\touring boats as well.
Of course with a longer boat you will want to tie off the ends as well when
transporting.
"twilightrob" <rjfrench.RemoveThis@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1141673632.565073.313710@v46g2000cwv.googlegroups.com...
> Yes, I have been looking at these. There is one called the Stacker that
> says it is for whitewater kayaks. Do they really mean shorter- length
> boats? I'm not sure what the difference would be for transportation
> purposes...
>
 >> Stay informed about: kayak rack 

On Mon, 06 Mar 2006 14:33:20 GMT, Brian Nystrom
<brian.nystrom.RemoveThis@verizon.net> wrote:

>There really are no inexpensive racks. You either use the cheap foam
>blocks and straps, which pose risks of damage the the car and are not
>especially secure, [snip]

Brian,

I am curious what you mean by "posing risks of damage to the car" and
"are not especially secure". I am not going on the offense on this, I
just wonder if you could expand a little.

I have foam blocks I use on my standard roof rack on a Voyager and it
is very secure, solid as a rock, and does absolutely no damage to the
vehicle. Did you mean the blocks that sit right on top of the roof
with tie-downs that go through window? Just curious. Thanks.

Lou
 >> Stay informed about: kayak rack 

Mr. C wrote:
> On Mon, 06 Mar 2006 14:33:20 GMT, Brian Nystrom
> <brian.nystrom RemoveThis @verizon.net> wrote:
>
>
>>There really are no inexpensive racks. You either use the cheap foam
>>blocks and straps, which pose risks of damage the the car and are not
>>especially secure, [snip]
>
>
> Brian,
>
> I am curious what you mean by "posing risks of damage to the car"

Unless the blocks are set on top of rigidly supported sections of the
roof, there is a risk of denting it. Any grit that gets under the blocks
will damage the paint, since the blocks tend to squirm around on the roof.

> and "are not especially secure".

Foam blocks on a roof tend to move around, especially in crosswinds. The
bow(s) and stern(s) need to very well secured with additional tie downs
in order to reduce the amount of movement.

> I am not going on the offense on this, I
> just wonder if you could expand a little.

No problem.

> I have foam blocks I use on my standard roof rack on a Voyager and it
> is very secure, solid as a rock, and does absolutely no damage to the
> vehicle.

That's a different situation, since you have a rack and the blocks
function only as saddles. They're not as secure as bolt-on saddles, but
it's a more secure setup than blocks set on the roof directly.

> Did you mean the blocks that sit right on top of the roof
> with tie-downs that go through window?

Yup.
 >> Stay informed about: kayak rack