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Old 11-25-2015, 09:24 PM   #1
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Attach Kayak to trailer

Has anyone got a kayak rack or modified a way to attach a kayak to their trailer?
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Old 11-25-2015, 09:29 PM   #2
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Something I've pondered too. Hobie has a very nice inflatable I'm thinking about.
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Old 11-25-2015, 09:30 PM   #3
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2 or 3 years ago there was a 17 for sale on Vancouver Island. It had what looked like roof racks on it for carrying kayaks. The brackets came down the sides a bit and were bolted to the trailer. The seller said that Reace had installed them as part of the build.

Aside from bolting through the sides of the trailer I'm not sure I'd like the location either. I find just putting my kayaks up on the truck canopy is too much like work.

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Old 11-25-2015, 09:33 PM   #4
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Reace had glassed a rack in on a 17 about 8 years ago. Which A/C and solar, there would be no room for one. I had considered doing the same on my 19, but it would be too tough to get it loaded, and not sure I would want it way up there anyway.

This is why I am looking at the Sea Eagle inflatable canoe.
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Old 11-25-2015, 09:38 PM   #5
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Consider this. You arrive at the campground and unhitch your trailer. Now the kayak is on the trailer, but the boat launch is ten miles upriver. You need to transfer the kayak from the trailer to the tow to get it to the launch. Either that or you take the trailer to the launch site to unload the trailer.

I thought it was a good idea to carry my canoe on the tent trailer, until I got to camp and couldn't open the trailer without removing the boat, and then I couldn't get it to the launch.
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Old 11-25-2015, 09:42 PM   #6
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Is reasons like baglo said, that I keep all things related to the trailer in the trailer, and anything that goes everywhere I do in the tow vehicle.
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Old 11-25-2015, 10:34 PM   #7
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Reace had glassed a rack in on a 17 about 8 years ago. Which A/C and solar, there would be no room for one. I had considered doing the same on my 19, but it would be too tough to get it loaded, and not sure I would want it way up there anyway.

This is why I am looking at the Sea Eagle inflatable canoe.
I watched every YouTube video I could find on the Sea Eagle canoe. Looks great, incredibly stable, tracks well, and easy to inflate and stow. I want one!
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Old 11-26-2015, 12:16 AM   #8
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Originally Posted by Ron in BC View Post
2 or 3 years ago there was a 17 for sale on Vancouver Island. It had what looked like roof racks on it for carrying kayaks. The brackets came down the sides a bit and were bolted to the trailer...
This sounds similar to the way roof racks are often mounted on moulded fiberglass truck canopies.

I've seen photos of a more extensive rack on a different brand of moulded fiberglass trailer, which extend all the way down to the frame at the tongue and at the rear bumper, so the load wasn't carried by the body. This would be heavy!

Although carrying stuff on top of the trailer is possible, I agree with this logic:
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Is reasons like baglo said, that I keep all things related to the trailer in the trailer, and anything that goes everywhere I do in the tow vehicle.
We have carried a canoe on the roof racks of our van while towing our trailer. It was awkward to get up and down (although much easier than the roof of the trailer would have been), we couldn't carry the roof cargo box with the canoe there, the stern lines were in the way of the hatch, and even without lines the hatch would have hit the stern, but was no trouble for driving once it was up there. This was a 17-foot canoe - a smaller boat would be less of an issue.
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Old 11-26-2015, 06:47 AM   #9
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I never use a line to the rear of a canoe on top of a vehicle. I do use proper canoe clamps on the racks with the canoe strapped tight to them, and a front line secured to either the bumper or nylon loops bolted to the just under the edge of the hood. Very secure, and for some reason have never had a canoe move forward while under way.

The canoe clamps are key though, as they prevent any lateral movement of the canoe, and keep the thing really stable on top.

A bit of a side note. I heard years ago that most major canoe and kayak repairs came as a result of losing one while in transport, not from damage caused using them.
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Old 11-26-2015, 08:07 AM   #10
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Originally Posted by Jim Bennett View Post
I never use a line to the rear of a canoe on top of a vehicle. I do use proper canoe clamps on the racks with the canoe strapped tight to them, and a front line secured to either the bumper or nylon loops bolted to the just under the edge of the hood. Very secure, and for some reason have never had a canoe move forward while under way.
....
Probably greatest chance of your canoe moving forward is when you make a sudden stop; like when you see a pretty girl hitchhiking or a beer store beside the road. That is when you need to make sure your tie-down was successful. It is really embarrassing to stop your vehicle, but then see your canoe continue on down the road on its own.

That being said, I have a very solid rack on my truck and for shorter drives will forego tying my canoes to the truck at the front or the back ends. Instead, I will often double up on the ropes around the mid-section of the canoe. Haven't had any movement at all with this approach, even with very high cross-winds. On longer drives, I (like JimB) have been known to tie down the front of the canoe to the front of the truck. To assist with this, I have added a couple of webbing loops in the engine compartment that can fold out along the sides of the hood and be used as canoe rope tie down locations. Works really well.

Like others, I also agree that a canoe or kayak on top of the Escape would be too high to access for putting it up or taking down. You would need to hire a crane to help you.
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Old 11-26-2015, 08:21 AM   #11
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Originally Posted by ice-breaker View Post
Probably greatest chance of your canoe moving forward is when you make a sudden stop; like when you see a pretty girl hitchhiking or a beer store beside the road. That is when you need to make sure your tie-down was successful. It is really embarrassing to stop your vehicle, but then see your canoe continue on down the road on its own.
With the front strap choking the canoe at a point much narrower than the widest beam, not too worried about it moving much more than a wee bit at best.
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Old 11-26-2015, 08:56 AM   #12
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You could try loadmyboat.com,4boysmfg.com there based out in Kelowna bc .They are great guys,that are always modifying,lifts/racks
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Old 11-26-2015, 10:50 AM   #13
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This is why I am looking at the Sea Eagle inflatable canoe.
Jim, word to the wise. Not all inflatable's are created equal. I bought an Advanced Elements inflatable from REI that looked great. Puncture resistant, multi-chambered, quality accessories, etc. Second time out, it started leaking a mile from the shore. By the time I got back I looked like I was paddling a giant orange banana! After that, I think I'm moving my price point a little higher.
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Old 11-26-2015, 10:59 AM   #14
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Old 11-26-2015, 12:15 PM   #15
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With the front strap choking the canoe at a point much narrower than the widest beam, not too worried about it moving much more than a wee bit at best.
I always used to put on a front rope to the bumper, but a good buddy of mine who would rather be in his canoe or kayak than anywhere else, convinced me that one GOOD canoe strap in front of the widest beam and one to the rear of it all that is needed with my canoe if I also use the Yakima ladder stops tight against the canoe. I think he's traveled more miles hauling his boats around than I have towing our Escape. Our topper had the option for built in mounts for Yakima racks. I put another Yakima on top of the cab and it makes are very secure arrangement for our 17' Wenonah kevlar. If only I were taller though.
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Old 11-26-2015, 01:17 PM   #16
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I was just using foam blocks between the stock roof rack crossbars and the canoe, plus straps, so the additional location of the vee line at the rear was appropriate; this was an inexpensive rig for one trip (a few thousand kilometres, on a couple of remove-and-replace cycles. Gunwale clamps (or brackets) or ladder stops seem like good ideas for a better rig, and I agree that if there is a solid stop to prevent lateral motion the straps ahead of and behind the wider middle part of the canoe would handle fore-aft motion without the need for lines.

Even without the lines, I still would not be able to open the hatch, because the canoe is too long (and curves up at the end, so down when carried). A short enough boat (such as many kayaks) would not have this problem. Also, gunwale clamps wouldn't work on a typical kayak, and many kayaks are not suitably shaped for typical gunwale brackets, but there are various bracket systems specifically for kayaks.
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Old 11-26-2015, 01:22 PM   #17
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How secure tying to the rack alone is depends how long the canoe is, and how long the rack. Also depends how secure the rack is to the vehicle. Many are only rated for 100 lbs ( like my '94 Explorer ).
I tie the bow to front tow hooks ( Toyota generously sold me a second one for only $60 ). I usually also tie from a thwart ( not the stern ) to the hitch.
Canoe can't go anywhere, even if the rack lets go.
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Old 11-26-2015, 02:13 PM   #18
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How secure tying to the rack alone is depends how long the canoe is, and how long the rack. Also depends how secure the rack is to the vehicle. Many are only rated for 100 lbs ( like my '94 Explorer ).
...
Canoe can't go anywhere, even if the rack lets go.
Yes, the long roof of our van helps.
Rack limits are often not due to any issue with the strength of the rack or the security of its mounts, but by vehicle dynamics. Our van's factory stock roof rack is easily strong enough to stand on, but Toyota doesn't want a lot of mass attached that high off the ground, so it has a modest (I think 70 kg) weight limit. Not knowing what might break first, the bow lines do seem like a good backup.

Quote:
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I usually also tie from a thwart ( not the stern ) to the hitch.
That's what happens with a short vehicle and a long boat - lots of overhang!

In the back I used the hitch receiver too.

Quote:
Originally Posted by gbaglo View Post
I tie the bow to front tow hooks ( Toyota generously sold me a second one for only $60 ).
Cool - there is usually only one threaded socket for those removable tie-downs, roughly at a bumper mounting point (and so significantly offset to one side). Often (as with my Mazda3) these are described in the manual as being only for securing the car on a ship, never to be used for any other purpose, but in this case they are actually described as emergency towing eyelets. The RAV4 owner's manual only mentions one eyelet and one place to put it, so the second place is a bonus.
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Old 11-26-2015, 02:51 PM   #19
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When I do tie down the front of my canoe, rather than have the front tie down ropes/straps go over top of the front of the vehicle where they rub and damage the paint, I use a system of straps that fasten inside the hood of the car and can be used to strap the canoe down without any danger of rubbing the paint. Works really well. Here is a picture of a system similar to what I use.

When not using the tie-down straps, the loops can be folded down inside the engine compartment out of sight.
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Old 11-26-2015, 03:24 PM   #20
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How secure tying to the rack alone is depends how long the canoe is, and how long the rack.
Oh how true. I once had my 16' canoe on the Targa top of my little sports car. The racks were about 24" apart and I had tie downs front and rear. Went over the Bennett dam with a crosswind Thought the canoe was going to make like a helicopter rotor.

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