Kayak roof mount

[oc1]

If you gotta use clamp-on then Thule is probably the best.

[JasonGotaProblem]

Doesnt look bad. Minus the recently missing honda symbol from the front of my car. There are definitely things I'm looking forward to about moving out of the city.

[JasonGotaProblem]

Follow up on this. I brought my 2nd kayak across the state. But the first (which I haven't used yet it's a bit of a project) felt super secure in travel, it was the result of messing with the straps for like an hour and a half. Part of that problem is a lack of a hard attachment point on the yak. I wanted it to go a bit smoother/faster so i decided to create a good attachment point.

So I got a pack of 6000# rated D rings and some stainless steel hardware, including 3/8" bolts and some big beefy washers on the inside, with silicone caulk between every layer. Through that i loop a tow strap that hooks to the two half inch steel loop tow points at the front of my car. I got to test it on a nice open/empty stretch of road, and it's still solid at 100mph with a 20mph cross wind. Probably excessive but you cant feel confident in something unless you test it.

Yes, I have a kayak stack in my garage currently. My wife LOVES it.

[Gfish]

Your car + racks looks really good. My Subie, don't look look anything but like an outdated SUV, but then when I put the yak up there, it looks cooler to me. Probably my imagination.

[6thMichCav]

I used a pre-packaged set of soft mounts for my kayak back in 2003 when I had a car whose roof would take it. I used fore-and-aft ropes along with a ratchet strap through the doors. At the time, the speed limit was 65, and I could get away with going 60 to the places I wanted to go.

This setup requires careful mounting, and I always stopped before the highway entrance (about two miles) to recheck the ropes and yak for stability. I didn't have any problems. However, with highway speeds increasing, I don't think I would be comfortable with that setup at 75 mph just to avoid getting run over.

That said, as soon as I ditched that car, my next vehicle had a large sunroof and roof racks. I bought a Thule and used that on the last three vehicles. I still use fore and aft ropes in case the rack or ratchet straps fail.