Anyone strap a Kayak to the roof of their car? If so, which type of rack do you prefer? I have the base Thule racks, and I'm trying to decide between the J racks that carry the kayak up at an angle, or the rubber pads that attach to the racks that let you carry the kayak flat. Unless you have the Avant, there isn't much span between racks in these cars

 

I have a 2008 A4 sedan and I tried the Audi racks (Thule) and found them, like you say, to have too short a span. I was able to carry a whitewater kayak (~8ft), but I would not want to carry anything longer like a sea kayak (>12ft).

I now use Yakima Q-tower racks and I set the rear bar further back to give a greater span and therefore increased stability to the load. I've been known to carry up to whitewater six kayaks at a time!

If you are going to carry something long like a sea kayak on a rack with short span I would recommend you use front and rear tie down straps/ropes to stabilize the kayak. I've never been a fan of the J-bars because they take up a lot of rack space for carrying only a single boat.

Good luck and happy boating!

 

Thanks, Rebeeston, I'm looking into a 16.5 foot sea kayak. If I keep the kayak to the passenger side, I can tie down to both the rear and front tow hooks if I put the front hook in the bumper. The Thule towers/clips have pins that lock into the door sill, so I can't move the racks back. There is a rack that sits on the base bars known as the Slipstream, that would spread the contact points out, but it's really pricy.

 

Yeah, that Slipstream is real pricey. I would recommend the boat saddles (Thule Top Deck), that way you are still spreading the load over a larger surface area of the boat even if you can't spread the load over the car. In my experience the most important thing is to tie down the front and rear of a long kayak. If you want to spread the bars further back you could look into the Short Roof Adapter, typically this is used for 2-door cars, but may allow you to place the rear bar further back on the roof..

 

Thanks, I've been debating between the J bars which put the kayak on edge which is it's strongest point, but makes it sit higher catching more wind. or the saddles which keep the kayak lower, but puts the pads on the bottom which on plastic kayaks isn't as stiff and resistant to deforming as placing the kayak on its side.

 

I wouldn't worry about deforming the plastic. Unless you really crank down on the straps and/or leave it on the rack for a long time in the sun, the plastic will return to it's original shape. If it does deform a little, you can always pool hot water into it and it will pop back.
I'm my opinion it's better to risk a little deformation to the plastic than to risk the boat coming off while the car is in motion.
That actually happened to us in college, trailer full of boats when we started... stopped at a gas station a couple hundred miles later... 2 fewer boats, no idea where they ended up

 

Ouch!

 

I have a set of J-Carriers and they hold my two 11ft Perceptions without issues, and without front/rear tiedowns. But I have an Avant, so YMMV.

As for catching the wind, to go longer distances I mount a cockpit cover. Make sure to get a model rated for transport, as they cinch down very tighly (as opposed to static covers to keep out water, leaves, etc. I think I paid around $50 or so for mine. If you are interested I can track down the website on my home PC.

 

I should have bought an Avant quattro knowing my outdoor lifestyle, but there wasn't one easily available, much less one with a manual tranny. And now, a manual Avant isn't even an option anymore.