: Hi Bill,

: I'm also leaving for a 700-mile trip Friday and will be carrying my sailing
: kayak on the car rooftop, deck side up. $4.00 gas isn't going to be
: pleasant. What I'm doing to save gas is inflating my tires to nearly 40
: lbs psi and covering my large cockpit with a throw rug, rubber side up and
: held with two ratchet straps. And I'll try to keep my speed to 55 mph but
: that won't be easy on the Interstate. With out the throw rug on past
: trips, this wide stubby kayak starts to sound like a base fiddle when the
: air flows into the cockpit at high speeds, and the kayak hold down straps
: added their own music. So I slipped the straps into a garden hose to make
: them more air dynamic and now it’s very quiet riding in comparison to they
: way it used to be.

: I had this same boat on an 1800-mile trip a few years ago and I didn't think
: my gas mileage was that bad,but then gas was a whole lot cheaper.

: John

Andrew and John,

Thanks, hadn't thought about hauling it upside down, guess I can, the deck is certainly strong enough. I've got cockpit covers for all my boats, having spiders crawling up your leg in a tiny ocean cockpit isn't my idea of a good time

Bill H.