Thanks for the plug, Coop. I hadn't jumped in on the discussion because it was leaning towards ease-of-use. Loading a boat on Thule or Yakima saddles is easier than loading on to my cradles. With my cradles, you can't rest the bow on the rear one and slide the boat forward to the other - it's just too precarious because of the shape of the cradle. You either need a helper to set the boat into both cradles simultaneously, or you need to have the upper body strength to lift the boat alone and do the clean-and-jerk. A tall vehicle makes it all the more difficult.

You could use the same building techniques I did to construct bottom-loading saddles rather than the side-loading cradles. I built the side-loading to allow me to load more boats. They've been working great, but they do have the drawback of being a more difficult solo load.

Ross

> If you're in the building mood, take a look at Ross Leidy's page. Check
> out the "Cradles" link at the left of the page. Ross has
> designed two types of carriers, one set for a Guillemot and the other for
> a Panache.

> They are great designs and could be modified for any yak. The cradles
> don't look as good as the yaks, but they must be among the best looking
> cradles around.

> Ross, I hope you don't mind the plug!

> coop