How to Load a Kayak onto a Roof Rack

hi in this video i'll be teaching you how to load a kayak onto the roof back of your car there are plenty of folks out there who have no problem loading a kayak onto the roof rack but for the rest of us thought of loading a kayak onto a roof rack by yourself can be a really daunting task in fact some people let it prevent them from participating in the sport i'll provide you with steps on how to load your kayak onto the roof rack of your car to help you transport your kayak safely but first a quick note there are about as many kayak hauling systems as there are preferences for how to load your kayak what i'll be showing you how to do is to load your kayak deck side down onto a skid resistant roof rack what tools will you need in addition to needing a kayak and a car with a roof rack you'll need two tie down straps if your kayak is especially long you'll also need several feet of rope to secure the bow of your kayak to the front of your car if your car does not have a good place to tie to i recommend installing a hood loop strap pro tip if you install a hood loop strap be sure to tuck it under your hood when you're not carrying a load the movement of the strap can chip the paints on your car even at low speeds in addition to these items i'll be using an outdoor rug to protect the whole of my kayak you'll want to place your rug towel or blanket towards the back of your car and far enough away from your car that when you lift one end of your kayak onto your car you'll have a wide enough angle to prevent your kayak from rolling in the middle of your lift with that in mind when you position your kayak on the rug resist the temptation to center your kayak on the rug instead focus on keeping the end of your kayak that will be on the ground longest over the rug but that's not all right now i have quite a bit of gear in my kayak before loading i need to remove all of that that helps ensure that nothing falls off during transport unless you've got super strength one of the hardest parts of loading a kayak is keeping it balanced when you first lift one end onto your roof rack you can use a tie down strap as a cost-effective way to increase the surface area you'll use to balance your kayak as you can see all i have to do is loop the tie down strap over each bar on the roof rack and secure it while you want this to be secure careful not to make it too tight or you may shift the bars of your roof rack [Music] [Music] to load my kayak i'll lift the bow and rest it in the corner i created using the front bar of my roof rack and my tie down strap if needed make a quick adjustment to the kayak to keep it from slipping off the corner i braced my kayak as i move towards the stern next lift the stern and for those of you who need a reminder lift with your legs once the kayak is parallel to the ground rotate the stern carefully and set it on the rear bar of the roof rack and once it's loaded it's often necessary to shimmy things around for a moment to ensure the kayak isn't angled over the car my preference is to place my kayak over the driver's side because i prefer to load and unload from that side also i prefer to get the widest part of my kayak centered between the bars of my roof rack now that my kayak is in place i'll hold the buckle of my tie down straps and toss the length of rope over my kayak on the passenger side of the car i'll loop the strap under my roof rack and towards the rear then i'll toss the remaining length of rope back over after returning to the driver's side of the car i'll thread the straps through the buckles when tightening the buckles be sure that they're secure enough to withstand heavy wind but not so tight that you warp or even bust the whole of your kayak i'll make one final pass to be sure the straps aren't loose before i adjust the buckles to tighten up any remaining slack when tightening up the straps i make sure the buckles are in a spot where they're suspended between the grooves in the kayaks hull that prevents any warping caused by pressure on the tie-down straps my tie-down straps are a bit long so i like to wrap them around the feet of my roof rack and finally secure any leftover length to the handles on my kayak for additional peace of mind i'm also securing a length of rope to my hood loop strap and kayak handle the rope helps provide another tension point when tying the rope it's important to find a balance between having a loose rope and tying it so tight that your kayak is dragged forward [Music] that's all there is to it before you continue your journey time to do one last gear check to be sure you've packed your life jacket paddle and best friend thanks for watching

Channel: Leighanna Sims

Views: 4,673

Rating: 4.9238095 out of 5

Keywords: kayak, roof rack, roofrack

Id: e6mqvo8Oqc8

Length: 6min 2sec (362 seconds)

Published: Mon Apr 05 2021