Transporting 2 kayaks

[Rah]

G'day Raiders,

What is your preferred method of transporting 2 yaks on the roof of your car? 

Mine do not stack nicely so on top of each other is not an option for me. Nor did one flat and one half sitting on top of the other. There was too much slippage even with tie downs and a ratchet to front and back. 

They don't sit flat next to each other as they are too wide for the ute.  

 

Thinking some of those J hook things might be the go, but wanted to get your opinions first. 

Do I go 1 flat and 1 on J hook or both on J Hooks or is there a better way I haven't come up with yet? 

Any ideas appreciated. 

Ute is a nissan navara with 3 racks on top but the back one is pretty useless for tying on as the end of the yaks is too curved to get any purchase with straps. 

Cheers

Rah 

[DerekD]

Hi Rah,

I drive a small Mazda 323 and have had two Hobie Revolutions (73cm wide) comfortably on top a few times. The trick in my case is that I have the Thule roof racks with the slot in the top to fit accessories. The accessory which allows me to achieve it is the Rhino kayak adjustable J cradle. The first kayak sits upside down and as close to the edge of the roof racks as I can safely get it and still put the tie-downs on. The second kayak sits the right way up but at a slope in the cradle. There is enough room on my roof racks to ensure they are not touching. The padded cradles and curvature of the kayak sides stops them from slipping once I have tightened the straps. They are extremely similar to the cradles shown in the photo but the ones I use are adjustable. The advantage of the J style carrier shown below is that it should fit on your existing roof racks as it clamps around the bars. The advantage with the in the accessory slot ones I have is that I can mount them pretty close to the ends of the cross bars. Now a couple of things to think about. I am tall and still struggle to reach the straps unless I plan ahead and put the straps where I can reach them easily before putting the 2nd kayak on. The overall height of your vehicle will increase dramatically. I have a walkway near my garage but can only put the 2nd kayak on after I have driven underneath the walkway.

Regards,

Derek

Edited January 16, 2018 by DerekD

[Foghorn]

Try the Whispbar fittings

[Rah]

Thanks @DerekD that set up was what I was thinking. I might need to get a step ladder.

Thanks @Foghorn I'll look into the whispbar fittings. 

 

I'll post up what I end up with for anyone else that's got this problem.  

[Foghorn]

Too hard for my wife and myself to keep loading and unloading, we are 66 and 72, so I decided to make the trailer, they sit on foam rubber works a treat, total cost of trailer with jockey wheel and spare, registered on road $900 the rest cost $299.50.

Edited January 17, 2018 by Rah