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Sea Kayaks Techniques Bulletin Board
Re: women loading boats
Posted By: Grant Glazer In Response To: Re: women loading boats (Alex M)
Date: Saturday, 27 August 2005, at 4:20 p.m.
Likewise. Mines just a length of aluminium pipe with some hotwater pipe insulation on half its length. Never had a kayak fall off since the compression of the foam stops it from sliding and this is with high roofed vans and SUV's.
But like everything, some care still has to be taken. The vehicle must be either flat or leaning slightly away from the side you are loading. Also don't put the kayak hard against the vehicle before loading, leave the stern about 4-5 feet from the vehicle as you pickup the bow and swing it over and onto the extension. This means the kayak is leaning towards the vehicle and not away from it. If the vehicle is leaning slightly towards the side you are loading, increase the distance to 6+ feet (better to load from the other side). And lastly make sure the bow is as close to the vehicle as you can before lifting up the stern.
Another handy hint: If loading on a road, tarseal or gravel carpark, put a peice of carpet under the stern before lifting the kayak. This will avoid wear or damage if the stern does shift while the bows being lifted. I just use one of the car floormats.
I find these extensions easier to use then having somebody give me a hand to lift the kayaks onto the roof. With practise its just as fast and you don't have to worry about the other person lifting by the rudder or doing themsleves an injury.
Cheers
Grant: How did it fell or slide - sideways? May be my extention bar works for me
: because it's *mine*, not from Thule or Yakima. It's a 3ft steel rod with
: approximately half leght wrapped into piece of car floor mat with carpet
: surface, fixed to the rod with a duct tape. Carpet surface provides better
: friction than bare metal or plastic (which is probably what commercial
: extention bars have), yet the carpet doesn't wear gel coat off. At the
: same time, carpet prevents the rod from sliding into the roofrack tube
: completely. I recall from the photos of commerical extention bars by Thule
: or Yakima that they have some kind of "stopper" at the end of
: the bar - a disc about 5" wide, perpendicular to the bar axis. This
: is smart.
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