I carry two kayaks on top of my westy often; I carry one very often. I don't use a rack at all. I don't even use a ladder or stool although it makes it a bit easier. I just take as few things as possible. I am about Rocky's size. I approach the vehicle with the bow of the kayak (mine's a 17 foot sea kayak) and rest the bow on the rear edge with about a foot and a half of overhang. Then I walk backwards, holding onto the kayak so it won't slip back, and at the right point lift the boat and shove it on the top. Then I locate the boat where I want it and lash it down for and aft, and I use the luggage rack cleats to keep them boat(s) from moving side to side. I have probably done this activity 100 times since I began working for the Alabama Scenic River Trail three years ago. No mishaps or regrets so far. My aversion to racks (I have a nice Yakima) is that they prevent me from pulling into urban parking garages or even my own garage. Not acceptable. I live in tornado and storm country, there are times that my westy is coming inside. Jim On Tue, Aug 9, 2011 at 9:47 AM, Rocket J Squirrel <camping.elliott@gmail.com > wrote: > Seeing that Rob brought up a similar question, I am prompted to ask for > suggestions on carrying two kayaks on a Westy roof. > > I see plenty of folk carrying two kayaks on their cars, using > purpose-built racks that carry the boats at a tilt so they ride > bottom-to-bottom, taking up less width. > > Westys are tall, however, and I'm not a tall man -- 5' 6'', which puts > the roof out of reach. So solutions from men over 6' are probably not > going to be very helpful. > > And I'm thinking that even if I did find a suitable rack from the likes > of Thule or Yakima, I cannot envision how I'd get the boats up there and > back down. First climb on top then haul the boats up on ropes? > > My guess is that with two boats up there, raising the roof would be > difficult if not impossible without first removing them, were I to want > to just overnight. So any method I use to get the boats up and down > would want to be pretty darn easy. > > -- > Jack "Rocket j Squirrel" Elliott > Bend, Ore. > 1984 Westfalia. A poor but proud people. > 1971 "Ladybug"-brand utility trailer from a defunct company in San > Clemente, Calif., now repurposed as The Westralia. > > Sent from my kitchen. > |
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