: I've always been an inventive sort of paddler making all sorts of
: things to make boating more interesting. Now, I've got this idea
: noodling around in my head that I've never seen done before and
: I'd like to solicit some feedback before I get the tools out..

: I've got 2 Royalex canoes along with 3 wood and 5 plastic kayaks
: and carrying very many at a time has become a challenge. I can
: get 3 kayaks on the roof racks on my truck using side load
: carriers but as soon as I want to take a canoe too, I'm
: challenged for space. I've got a Magneta trailer on order and am
: equipping it with 78" Yakima bars so I can use my current
: accessories and am looking forward to no longer lifting boats on
: top of my truck.

: So, here's the radical idea.... I'm considering making some custom
: side load carriers that will allow me to carry the canoes on
: their side rather than on the gunnels. The canoes are 33"
: and 35" wide but only 19" deep so theoretically, I can
: cut the rack bar requirement from 68" (side by side) to
: under 40" if they were on their sides (hull to hull) in
: cradles. If the cradles were situated under the thwarts, I would
: think the canoes would be fine structurally. If this scheme were
: to work, I'd still have room for two kayaks on their sides in
: cradles.

: I made 3 sets of custom cradles for my wood boats this past winter
: from 1/16" oak veneer laminated in 5 strips to conform to
: rhe hull shape. At 5/16" thick, 4" wide and glued and
: screwed to laminated plywood mounts, they worked beautifully to
: carry my kayaks on a 700 mile trip a few weeks ago. I've never
: seen such a setup for a canoe but seems like it would work just
: fine if the cradles conformed to the shape of the canoe.

: How about sharing thoughts of the pro's and con's before I start
: the dust flying......

: Bob Beaullieu

Hi Bob,

The Royalex canoes that I've used and owned arn't really all that structurally strong, I'd never dream of putting one on a trailer or roof top that's not upside down sitting on the gunwales. Once they get bent, they tend to stay bent.

Bill H.