Thank you so much for your quick reply. Yes I have seen them in action and figured that would be the way to go. Really not a bad cost considering. 

Interesting apparatus.   I watched two uTube videos.  One guy struggled with the device (loading a rather heavy SOT .. the wrong way up)  & the obvious sponsored video with a female loading a rather light SINK.  Seemed rather easy.

I think that I would try one out before outlaying that sort of money.

 

In my case I was lucky that my 30kg Viking Fisherman & 20kg Viking Javelin both slide up easily over the bullbar onto the roof racks.  Easy method even for a 77 YO 'old fart'!   I have seen set ups that use rollers across the rear of the vehicle that work similarly to my bull bar method.  I don't know what they are called.

Over the years, despite using blankets/rugs to protect the duco, I have quite a few scratches but that's no problem with an old GQ Patrol.  But I'm rather clumsy & I don't take much care when loading & unloading. 

I put two safety straps over the top of the kayaks & through the door openings to really secure them, reducing the chance of the roof racks letting go with the wind pressure. 

I use front & rear anchoring ropes as well.   

Don't be tempted to use ratchet straps as tie downs as they may distort the hull.  It's so easy to ratchet them up too tight. Use cam buckles instead. 

Twist the straps to stop them humming in the wind.

 

BTW, Sit On Top kayaks should be transported upside down to stop the hull flexing & splitting or being distorted.

 

There is another much cheaper system called Rack & Roll that is worth looking at.  They just extend the roof rack out 600mm or so.

To Load ..

- Lie the kayak on the ground parallel with the vehicle

- With one end of the kayak resting in a bit of protective material, lift the other end up onto the front rack extension. 

- Then lift up the rear onto the back extension.

- Finally roll the assembly back into position over the roof & tie down.

--- Just the reverse for unloading

easy peesy

-- Edited by Cupie on Monday 16th of April 2018 09:52:54 AM

Kim
I have front and back steel tube bars on the roof of our Landcruiser, both are fitted with Pool Noodles (the ones with the holes thru)

I fit a smaller tube into the rear roof tube, and this tube pokes out about 1m also fitted with a noodle.

At end of the smaller tube(1m out from the vehicle) I have a pole/post approx 6ft, with a hole in it to take the small tube and a clip thru the tube so the tube/pole do not come apart.

Then lift up one end of the Yak, load it onto the small tube/noodle extension.

Then lift up the other end of the yak and put it onto the landcruiser front roof tube.

Then slide the rear of the yak onto the rear roof tube support and tie down and remove/store small tube insert/pole.

Other details here.
www.kfdu.com.au/forum/viewtopic.php


Peter

Re ( The Qld Boating police have been known to ping people for having a twist in the straps.)

Thanks, Did not know that.

Peter

oh, and reverse the process to unload. Pivoting on balance points require little effort.

Yuglamron can you produce the Bylaw that state you cann't use ropes in Queensland

www.tmr.qld.gov.au/Safety/Vehicle-standards-and-modifications/Loads-and-towing/Load-restraint.aspx )

Have a read of this , If we give advice on the forum it should be good avice

This is from the TMR website.

 As the Load Restraint Guide (referred to below) notes, a safety chain should be used in addition to the wire rope from the trailers winch to the bow of the boat

and the boat should have a strap over the stern, attaching it to the trailer. If the boat is fitted with an outboard motor and its mounting to the stern is not designed to withstand bumps and other shocks encountered in road transport, it may be necessary to separately restrain the motor or remove it during transport.

A Kayak is considered a boat in Qld and the Water Police have and do issue tickets. I no longer have a copy of my ticket but be assured it does happen. No demerit points but if I recall it cost me a $230 fine.

My understanding is that Yaks in SA are different from boats. A yak can have a small electric motor and the owner does not need to have a Boat Drivers licence and you do not have to pay for registration. Not so with boats and small inflatables.

Thank you all. Now people getting back to loading a kayak and away from ropes and straps. My (husband ) used to load the kayak onto the roof with one of the types that Peter uses. I have tried it on my own but all good getting the front onto the extended roof rack bar, but the problem is when you are this short 4'11" getting the rear of the kayak up onto the roof of the 4wd vehicle -even using a step ladder. No, I think so far the Thule hullavator has it. Hope you all sort out your rope and strap problems LOL Thanks again for all your in put. May see you on the road.
Kim

With a Hullavator, make sure you are comfortable with the lift required to get the kayak into the cradle once installed on your vehicle. My Dad found that once installed on the roof of his Prado, the lift height was still excessive for the combination of his strength and the weight of his Hobie Outback. I believe that sliding it into the cradle appeared too hard on the mechanism. If your vehicle isn't as high, you're younger or your kayak is lighter this may not be an issue... but I thought it worth a mention. Happy paddling!

dabbler wrote:

---

What it you don't have a trailer ? The revelant passage referring to straps specifically mentions trailers. A strap across the stern of a yak would make it severely unstable. A yak might be a boat in Qld but that doesn't mean it has to be trailed behind.

---

 YAK??

You mean one of these?

Dunno how you could consider one of these a "boat". 

-- Edited by JA2340 on Tuesday 17th of April 2018 07:26:39 PM