Hey Kaid. I have a hobie that when upside down sits nice on straight padded bars. My roof bars are homemade to suit. l suppose your kayak shape will dictate what you can do with it.

Thanks all for your input. Kayak will be 80 cm wide and about 2.8 mtr long. Not bought it yet.
Have to get the Racks first. The Kayak holders will be another $200 on top of price of racks at $394.
Trying to find out as much as I can before I commit .
Have seen just as many kayaks with the holders as without.

Flat padded bars should be OK for a lot of Kayaks. Spacing of the bars carefully should help too. Place them in a position that utilises the internal strong points of the Kayak. Make sure your straps are not just on the widest points or it could slide out.

Kaid wrote:

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Hi All,

 hope I have put this query in the right place.

I want to get roof racks on my car to carry a Kayak.

My question is  

Do we need to use Kayak holders or not?

Bit paranoid about safety aspect .

Happy to receive any help

Cheers

Kaid

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 Hi Kaid

Earier this year I purchased 2 wide plastic moulded kayaks that stacked inside each other upside down for transportion, sounds good.

I placed the roof racks on car as wide apart as I could get them on our dual cab ute, next the kayaks, 2 straps  to finish off. Headed down the road, slippery things moved about a bit because the racks are not far enough apart.

Now as I have a canopy I was able to add another bar onto to the top of that which gave me a better spread for the transport of the kayaks.

Now have solved that problem for a while by giving them to the Grand kids so I can go buy a better narrow, a bit longer, not much longer kayak and then I will start all over again learning the best way to transport the new one.

Ps, it is very peaceful out on the water paddling along.

 

-- Edited by Radar on Friday 11th of October 2019 05:51:21 PM

Kaid wrote:

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Thanks for that info Radar.

We too have a Dual Cab Ute but no Canopy.

Only  buying one Kayak as Hubby not keen.

We have been advised to get Kayak holders for added security .

Trying to get it all sorted before I purchase Roof racks and Kayak

Cheers 

Kaid

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 Hi Kaid

I think next time I will go with kayak holders with my roof bars.

Be super careful of the weight of the kayak, ours weighed 20kgs each and throwing them up ontop was a small challenge after a hour on the water.

I am hoping I can get down around 16kgs next time for a bit more ease or I may look at a inflatable good quality one and that would be about 12 kgs.

 

Loading kayaks and canoes shouldn't require a lot of effort. Essentially, lift one end, place it on the back or the front bar and push or pull towards the other bar (I always use a trailing rope when in the water and I use this to drag from front to back). If your worried about duco use a few old towels. I usually adjust centring from the side but a rope means you can also swing and pivot it. If you're a shorty, invest in a small workshop stool from Bunnings $5-$20. You will soon find out which parts of the procedure needs tweaking for your vehicle. The mistake many make, it to try and lift the entire boat.

Just as way of a warning I know a young lady who tied her kayak on the roof of her Toyota corolla, and when she hit 80 the wind got under the front and snapped it in half. I think most people would support it better but worth keeping in mind.

With my Sit On Top kayaks, the manufacturer recommends that you transport them upside down to prevent distortion of the hull.   ie. without kayak cradles.

This is what I do with my two Viking SOTS.  If I had F'glass/composite SinKs (I can only dream) I would use cradles.

I slide my kayaks over the bull bar onto the racks with an old sheep's wool mattress cover protecting the roof of the Patrol & a sleeping bag over the bull-bar & bonnet.

I have put hard plastic tubing covered foam (from Clark Rubber) over the roof bars, after wearing out lots of pool noodles.  

To secure them, I use 2 kayak cam buckle tie downs from Anaconda around each of the kayaks onto the roof bars.  Do not use ratchet straps least you over tighten them & distort the hull. 

Then I put an extra strap right over the kayaks & through the rear door openings of the Patrol.  Thus the whole arrangement is not dependent on the gutter fittings of the Patrol. 

All straps are twisted to stop them howling in the wind.

The tie down is completed with front & rear ropes using truckie's knots from each kayak onto the bull-bar & the rear recovery fitting of the Patrol.

They ain't goin' nowhere!

 

Kaid wrote:

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Many thanks for all replies.
Have ordered the Kayak and will be getting the roof racks fitted with Kayak cradles.
Also securing front and back so Kayak ain't going nowhere.
Except where I want it to go ( hopefully) lol

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 Hi, have , have lots of enjoyment from your kayak.

Sometime down the track (or river) let us all know how your going. 

My new toy Radar

Certainly a bright yak you have there.

I feel sorry for the fish.

It amazing how much fun you can have with a couple of yaks.

The wife and I have one each (we are both 61)
WE fish and just paddle around.
She loves her yak, even bought her a nice sun roof for hers, she burns easy in the sun.

That's a flash looking yak.  They certainly make a fantastic range of kayaks these days.  Such choice.  One for every taste.

I'm sure that you will have a great deal of fun from it . and it will be easy to load from the tub of the ute too.

 

I have just got the news that I have just inherited from a friend, the first kayak that I ever paddled.  It will go straight to my grandson who is keen to go kayak fishing with his mates (he lives on Moreton Bay).   It's just a boring blue, not like your stand out SOT.  It looks a bit like the attached blue one.

Mine are the conservative yellow fisherman & the grey exercise one that I got as a 70th birthday present.

 

 

-- Edited by Cupie on Tuesday 22nd of October 2019 08:36:00 PM

Radar wrote:

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Cupie wrote:

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That's a flash looking yak.  They certainly make a fantastic range of kayaks these days.  Such choice.  One for every taste.

I'm sure that you will have a great deal of fun from it . and it will be easy to load from the tub of the ute too.

 

I have just got the news that I have just inherited from a friend, the first kayak that I ever paddled.  It will go straight to my grandson who is keen to go kayak fishing with his mates (he lives on Moreton Bay).   It's just a boring blue, not like your stand out SOT.  It looks a bit like the attached blue one.

Mine are the conservative yellow fisherman & the grey exercise one that I got as a 70th birthday present.

 

 

Hi Cupie.

Do have know the weight of the grey one?

My present kayak comes in at 20kgs and was hoping to get another kayak a bit lighter in weight.

 

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 Hi Radar ..

This may not be the one for you as it is 19kg, only 1 Kg lighter than yours.

It is a great exercise kayak/Ski   L 4M, Width 62cm, Wgt 19 Kg carry cap 110 Kg  Price new circa $1099.

Here is the Viking Website.  It shows the Javlin but if you look around the site you may find a lighter one.

https://www.vikingkayak.com.au/shop/kayaks/javlin+14+all+round+ski

 

If you want lighter than the Javlin, you'll probably have to go to a fibre/composite SinK.   Big $s for a good one.  One of those Kayak Wharehouses may be able to help.

 

I personally wouldn't consider anything shorter than 4M (for tracking & ease of paddling).  The only plastic ones lighter than say 19Kg, would be the little stubbies that are very popular with first timers & families splashing around on a dam and do a good job for what they are.  If you are going to do any touring or paddling in open water you will really need/enjoy a longer one.

 

I'll duck now as I get a lot of incoming from all the owners of stubby SOTs including a few Hobies.