Racks: J-style or Saddle?

[krp8128]

Looking to pick up a rack as a birthday present for my mom, and then likely another in a month or so for my father's B-day. These will be going on a factory rack system.

Any functional difference between the J-style or saddle style carriers? She might have trouble lifting a kayak above her shoulders onto the roof of her car (Sorento), also with reaching high up to strap everything down.

Cheap place to get a good rack?

[Jethro]

Are these for whitewater boats or nice kevlar/wood/fiberglass touring kayaks?

[krp8128]

^^^ Old Town fltawater kayaks (rotomolded). Parents are pushing 50...

[XXX-er]

http://www.yakima.com/shop/water/top/landshark-saddles

IME the landsharks are WAY CHEAP, they are very stable and they work VERY well on thule, yakima or any bar

[sb]

None, just adjust the length of the cross bars so the boats can sit upside down with the cockpit rims on the cross bars. Strap down as usual and use a bowline. This is how I carry the wife and my rec boats.

If they are having a hard time getting them up onto the racks Yakima makes a niffty little bar extender that slides in and out of a round bar. When you want to put the boat up on the racks you slide the post out and put one end of the boat up onto the extension and then go to the other end of the boat and lift it up on to the racks. It has a sand dollar looking thing on the end so the boat will not slip off. Or they could double team each boat for loading.

http://www.etrailer.com/Accessories-....html?feed=npn

[XXX-er]

not very secure ^^^and not much of a birthday present

the good thing about the cheapest of all saddle options out there the Landshark IS you get a set for each bar, the sadddles are the same and secure the boatwell enough to put both sets of saddles on the front bars and minicell bar pads on the back bar ...one set will carry 2 boats

OP should get them some thule straps and you still NEED rope for bow/stern lines

http://www.thule.com/en-US/CA/Produc...7-Outrigger-II

here is the load helper ^^

the only negative i found with the landsharks is they will spread apart on a cheap underiszed bar so the ropes or straps loosen but you can get fix that by strapping the saddles together in the middle

[krp8128]

not very secure ^^^and not much of a birthday present

the good thing about the cheapest of all saddle options out there the Landshark IS you get a set for each bar, the sadddles are the same and secure the boatwell enough to put both sets of saddles on the front bars and minicell bar pads on the back bar ...one set will carry 2 boats

I can't picture 2 boats with one rack, you have a picture?

[XXX-er]

http://www.yakima.com/shop/water/top/landshark-saddles

I don't have a picture but the landshark uses 4 identical saddles its possibe to put them both on the front bar to hold 2 boats and just use a foam block on the rear bar

but punching "Kia sorrento" into the Yakima fit system I notice that page sez the landsharks don't fit ... and I don't know why they wouldn't

I just noticed they are pushing 50 yrs old eh ... ancient

[krp8128]

Got you now. I know the Thule I originally looked at required a fot kit to the factory bars, but I need to confirm the actual car (I've only seen it once).

My dad turns 50 in July, mom is a few years behind. Not ancient, and they are actively building (doing the work themselves) a small house to retire to a few hrs north of their house in Maine (where I grew up). They are still very active, but all the activity has taken a toll on my mom and the fused neck vertebrae somewhat limits her ability to swing something like a kayak over her head (especially after a few hrs of paddling.)

[sb]

not very secure ^^^and not much of a birthday present

Really? GTFOY

[XXX-er]

Got you now. I know the Thule I originally looked at required a fot kit to the factory bars, but I need to confirm the actual car (I've only seen it once).

My dad turns 50 in July, mom is a few years behind. Not ancient, and they are actively building (doing the work themselves) a small house to retire to a few hrs north of their house in Maine (where I grew up). They are still very active, but all the activity has taken a toll on my mom and the fused neck vertebrae somewhat limits her ability to swing something like a kayak over her head (especially after a few hrs of paddling.)

Besides dropping more than a few WW boats off of vehicals I've worked a little in kayak & bike shop selling/insatling this stuff and these rack solutions are all pretty expensive and vehical specific compared to the good old days where cheap/universal racks just clamped onto drip rails so you probably need to do WAY more Homework

I carry a 17ft seakayak with the landsharks and they work really well, IME getting a 17ft 60lb plastic boat (shorter rec boast are about 50lbs ) up on a rack can be a grunt for a smaller person which is why plastic is so good ...it doesnt break WHEN you drop the boat.

I'm 5'8" 160, I can reliably load a 17ft boat onto the roof racks of my ford ranger & canopy by putting the boat on the rear bar from the back, bow 1st and pushing/levering the boat up and over onto the front saddles, it is pretty much the limit of what I can reliably do alone , note that a car with a lower roof line would be easyier

there are/were (can't find em)solutions that swing the whole boat in a cradle up from a low load position but they are fucking expensive, IMO the fastest growing market segment of flatwater kayaking is 50-ish yr old women who never led an atheletic outdoor lifestyle so they aren't strong besides being small, sea kayaks are heavy SO boat loading is a hassle ... but what price is /lifestyle ?

nhow about this?

http://yakima.com/shop/water/lift-assist/showboat


Just kidding about the "ancient", its good they are active doing the " soft adventure " as I call it and you are a good son for helping them

I'm 56 in june

[ak_powder_monkey]

I can't picture 2 boats with one rack, you have a picture?

I've done 2 boats and a rocket box

It was not secure at all

[krp8128]

Talked with dad tonight, the car is actually a Hundai Tuscon.

[mtskier]

most of the above advice is questionable at best. sorry guys.

the land shark only fits thule and yak bars. that rack sucks anyway. if you want to go with affordable saddles, the yakima even keel is the ticket (http://www.backcountryracks.com/yaki...ayak-rack.html). You won't be able to get two boats + saddles next to each other on ANY factory rack. The factory bars just aren't wide enough.

J cradles are your best solution. easy to load as you can prop the bow of the boat up against the front J and then pick up the back of the kayak and push it into position. minimal heavy lifting. here are some good options for J cradles: http://www.backcountryracks.com/jcradles.html

functionality is super similar amount J cradles but some are easier to load and will fold down to fit in the garage.

PM me if you have more questions.

[Alaskan Rover]

you don't say what the factory rack system is...Thule or Yakima?

I'm a big fan of saddles....as they don't take up as much overhead space so less snagging tree branches when getting to the put-in. Haven't dealt with the J-bars.

I use the Thule kayak saddles and find them well-made, although the strap DOES tend to wear through the strap-channel on the saddle after a number of years of hard use...it took 6 years of solid use for me for that to happen....maybe yakima is the same way.

With saddles, you won't need any bow/stern lines at all. The saddles hold the 'yak VERY securely after strapping down the rachet straps.



EDIT: Yes you CAN get two kayaks on one factory rack system....you just need to get the extended cross-bars...Thule has them available for not much more...and I would presume that Yakima sells extra-long crossbars, as well.

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[krp8128]

Factory cross bars, as in the Hyundai factory bars....

I would consider Thule or Yakima to be aftermarket.

[Alaskan Rover]

Factory cross bars, as in the Hyundai factory bars....

I would consider Thule or Yakima to be aftermarket.

Ouch....that's considerably different...I thought you were talking about a thule or yakima 'factory' base rack that was already on the car.

In that case. the only thing you can do is contack Hyundai and/or Thule/Yakima and see what saddles or J-carriers fit that proprietary Hyundai crossbar. Hopefully, if it's a popular enough car model, they will already have a saddle or J-bar system that will fit.

Unfortunately, your chances of getting TWO kayaks on one rack for when your folks want to take one car, will be nearly impossible. No fear, though...because in that case, you can just go with a simple foam pad system for both 'yaks and crossstrap ratchet straps through opened windows and bow/stern lines...done that a bunch of times...ANY foam pad works fine...including life-vests if you keep your speed down.

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[XXX-er]

That Even keel looks pretty good, they are new I haven't seen them yet and the price looks good, generaly any saddles are much cheap er than the J racks

You can put bars on most cars or retro fit them to most factory racks and if you got a bar wide enough you can put all kinds of stuff on yer car, I had the widest bars you can get which stuck out 14" from each side of my golf with which I carried 5 WW boats, 5 paddlers and a thule full of gear but thats over the top and not recommended

I seen a Thule rack blown off the roof of a car with 2 marathon canoes worth 7000$ (more than the car was worth) still attached because there were NO bow and stern lines , my buddy actually bought another vehicle to carry his precious boats after that episode

you can put landsharks on any thule /yakima or 1" cheap bar but you might need to tie the saddles together or they will spread as noted and the ropes will loosen

i seen the life jackets under the boats thing, usually they got stern & bow lines stretching the keel line down wards and ruining the boats keel line ...good luck with that

edit:even if you only tie off the bow back to the rack it will at least keep the boat from becoming a projectile in a panic stop or crash

[crackboy]

you can jsut get a set of rail grabbers with the thule/yakima bars. that will fit on the hyundai, that will give some extra clearance for whatever after market stuff you want. i would say saddles and then then the roller for the back, that will keep them from having to lift the boats over their head too much