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Sea Kayaks Techniques Bulletin Board
Re: women loading boats
Posted By: Wayne Smith In Response To: Re: women loading boats (Thomas Duncan)
Date: Friday, 22 July 2005, at 6:37 a.m.
A couple of points from experience & observation:
The "outrigger" setup works very well. My girlfriend has a Thule outrigger on her car & loves it. She puts some cheap pipe insulation on it when it's extended to prevent any gelcoat scratches from the metal bar. The best part about that system is that the outrigger stores inside the front crossbar & never has to be removed.
Second is that many women I hear complaining about loading boats drive huge SUV's. Well, you reap what you sow in that case, IMO. I know men that have trouble loading their boats onto those behemoths because of how far they have to lift. That's why I have a station wagon instead ---- easy loading & unloading & just as much useable cargo room as a small SUV. Much better on fuel, too (50 MPG in my case). It may not be politically correct to point out the obvious in this case, but it is the truth.
I like the fleece booties on the saddles for all the reasons mentioned earlier. Have used them for many years. Nylon knee-highs over the saddles work well, too. J-cradles with loading ramps (Malone Autoloaders in particular) are another good solution if you can lift your boat to chin height & have a car instead of a truck or SUV.
There's a number of solutions, you just have to find the one that works for your individual situation.
Wayne
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