Paddler on the Roof (Canoe carriers)

Anyone? Anyone?

I'm in the same boat (yuk yuk yuk): have an aluminum canoe with the foam blocks and straps, but no idea if that will work on a Prius. Should I look into a roof rack instead?

 

I have an 18' Grumman. I would not trust foam blocks. I might on a 13' canoe or kayak, but a real canoe need help to stay straight in the wind. I would strap it to a roof rack and tie down to all four corners of the car to keep it from veering to the side.

 

I have a 20' one-man outrigger canoe that I routinely carry on my car. I use a Saris roof rack and Yakima canoe saddles. This set up has been working fine so far. It takes me a total of 10 minutes to mount the racks and strap on the boat. Then about the same time to break it down when I'm done. Whenever I'm going to do any extended Highway driving, I'll use some bow and stern lines to stabilize the boat.

 

Thanks for the insights! I had somehow gotten the idea that I wouldn't be able to haul my canoe on the roof because of its weight, but it's good to hear that y'all haven't had any problems.

 

If I were a rich man, I'd buy the most expensive canoe carrier on the Internets.

 

I use a standard yakima rack with no fancy carrier. Just lay the canoe on the bars, strap it down with the ratchet straps, much better then trying to tie knots. Use a strap up front through the towing eyehole and two in back strapped under the car. no problems. You gas mileage will suffer, i got high 30's on the highway.

BTW the yakima "feet" will run about $170 with the correct clips. you do not have to buy the yakima round bars, go to the local hardware store, or your basement and get the size pipe(one that won't rust or paint it) that fits, cut to appropriate length. I'd tell you the diamter but I don't remember.

 

Should work, why not? But if your canoe is longer than 10 feet I'd consider firmer support with possibly tie-downs on the front and back of it as well. Not sure how firm these foam blocks are, but if the boat wobbles too much it might catch wind and get you in trouble.

On my '02 Prius the rack is spaced at 28" front to rear bars. I use Yakima round bars with some foam padding on them (a pool toy sliced in half works great actually, as would foam pieces like the ones in yur photo but placed on the bars).

I carry a 14.5' kayak that is about 50 lb or so and that feels safe at lower speeds even without front/back tie-downs. For faster speeds I would definitely consider them although I think they may not be trully necessary for lower profile boats that do not catch too much wind from the front or sides. With a 7 foot WW kayak I can go 75+ mph and I would not know it is there, except for the fuel economy, which goes down considerably. On my last trip I had to stick behind some trailers much of the way to keep it cloes to where it is without the boat...

Keep in mind that the best position in terms of fit may not be the best or safest for the boat - mine would deform if I tie it down the wrong way. So you may need more than one set of blocks, but on a "old style" canoe that may not be an issue as these "bath tubs" are pretty symetrical (unlike my kayak which is fatter on the front than on the back and sticks-up a lot unless I put about 5" additional support on the back).

Lastly, I think a roll of a Yoga mat works just as well as these blocks, probably...

 

With a long boat on short racks bow and stern tie downs are mandatory, unless you're literally going down the street. I'd be leary of putting a big canoe directly on the roof, if only because having it down low like that might seriously block your line of sight both in front and behind.

I am waiting for my Saris racks to come in (backordered ) so I can get my kayak and shell on the Prius and see how that works. I'll definitely post pics when I do. My shell is almost 23' so should be interesting....