Securing Kayak Question?

I have a 58" cross bar up top and want to load 2 kayaks that will exceed the width by a few inches, will be using saddles and hulley rollers... question is, securing the yaks through the scupper holes, anyone do that? will it stress the mid plane?

Just want to make sure I don't damage any of the yaks.

Thanks in advance.

I wouldn't strap them through the scuppers, but that is just me. Scuppers are always the weakest point of any plastic mold. You could always strap them one down and the other on its side, or even piggyback them. In any case, I would strap them around the hull, not through the scuppers.
 I once carried 3 doubles and 2 singles on my little bronco, all the way from Pyramid lake to SF. Not ideal, but if you have enough line and straps to secure them it is doable.

You can secure it fine without going thru the scupper holes.  I do put my cable locks thru the scupper holes, but it's not for securing to the rack (used as a theft deterrent).

I secure mine through the hobie drive well and the rear scuppers. I am guessing the majority of the holding power is in the front. But then again Hobies seem to be made a bit 'thicker'

I agree.. the scupper is a weak point, and the width of two kayaks do not give me room to wrap the bars.  Not sure I can double stack on my hulley because of the weight, they were made to bounce in front. 

Thank you for your guys advice!

I agree.. the scupper is a weak point, and the width of two kayaks do not give me room to wrap the bars.  Not sure I can double stack on my hulley because of the weight, they were made to bounce in front. 

Thank you for your guys advice!

I have Malones didn't need to strap them to the scupper, even if its windy as hell, ask Sonny the only thing I dont like about rollers the need to be tighten hard therefore put soo much pressure on the yak, if you travel on summer they can cause some dent on the hull...my .02 cents

Put your 58 inch bars for sale at CL and get a pair of 65 incher's..  Lots of sale's this weekend on rack systems.

Put your 58 inch bars for sale at CL and get a pair of 65 incher's..  Lots of sale's this weekend on rack systems.

I actually had even the longer ones before.. but everyone kept hitting their heads on the bar... wife, me, and my friends... that I got returned them back to REI.  I used to carry a cargo box and my kayak up top, but the thought of hitting my head again ... I won't go back.. LOL

Put your 58 inch bars for sale at CL and get a pair of 65 incher's..  Lots of sale's this weekend on rack systems.

I actually had even the longer ones before.. but everyone kept hitting their heads on the bar... wife, me, and my friends... that I got returned them back to REI.  I used to carry a cargo box and my kayak up top, but the thought of hitting my head again ... I won't go back.. LOL

OK I have a Chevy Tahoe and has a high roof.  No head clearance problems but needs extra effort on putting the yaks up there.

Maybe if you pulled the end caps off one side you could fit a tube or something inside to extend it a little bit?  Either that or mabye you could stack your yaks on top of eachother like I used to:

Maybe if you pulled the end caps off one side you could fit a tube or something inside to extend it a little bit?  Either that or mabye you could stack your yaks on top of eachother like I used to:

Yeah double stacking is fine, but I would have to buy new pads because my front ones are bouncy kind for wind vibrations. mako saddles

I couldn't find it, but have another pic of my Honda with the same saddles and hully rollers, in the same configuration.  Worked fine for me, but the trick is to do this:  Strap the bottom kayak down to the car as normal, with its own front and rear tiedown.  Then strap the second kayak to the first one, and run its own tiedown to the front and rear.  Worked fine for me, but could be scary if your going up the Altimont Pass or other windy areas.

Dude, I use two pairs of these Malones on my van. The kayaks fit well and tie down tight. You can even mount them on factory bars if you vehicle has them. The length of the crossbars don't matter anymore.

http://www.discount-trailers.com/kayak_carriers.htm


ernest

I don't know if its safe but some substitute the yakima crossbars with 3/4 galvanized pipes from home depot. and you can get any size you want.

This is were I read it -> http://www.vanagontravels.com/2011/04/yakima-roof-rack-for-vanagons.html

I couldn't find it, but have another pic of my Honda with the same saddles and hully rollers, in the same configuration.  Worked fine for me, but the trick is to do this:  Strap the bottom kayak down to the car as normal, with its own front and rear tiedown.  Then strap the second kayak to the first one, and run its own tiedown to the front and rear.  Worked fine for me, but could be scary if your going up the Altimont Pass or other windy areas.

this is how I did it too. The last time I had to double it up the top yak was a 10' surf boat, so it was not a heavy yak. The bottom boat was a T140, I used the mako saddles and it was fine for around town (I just drove to the harbor w/o getting on the freeway). The front and rear tiedowns are key for allowing the driver some measure of confidence, otherwise you just keep craning your neck to see out the windshield if your yaks are still there.