Lol, The blocks you refer to are best used with canoes. I've carried kayaks on two bags loosely filled with packing Styrofoam chips (we call it popcorn in the right side up part of the world). Make two cloth bags about 12" x 30" and lay them on the roof, rest the kayak on them and tie it down. The bags should be just full enough that they're tight with the kayak on them. Hope this helps. SEEYA Jack

I've used the closed cell foam blocks.  Dependable way to go.  As long as you strap them down good they will stay at highway speeds.  You will want to add stern and bow straps. Plus, sometimes the straps hum loudly from vibrating.  Put a twist in each strap to avoid the hum. Run the straps through the doors.  Not the windows.  I would not be afraid to travel cross country with the foam blocks. 

 On the tip above...I would be afraid during travel the chips would shift and what once was tight would be loose.  Ya gotta strap the yak to something firm and solid.

Kim

Just a word of caution about running straps through the doors of your car: this is a reliable method of transporting your boat, but will allow water to enter your car if it begins to rain.  I have a yakima roof rack and in my haste, I recently ran the excess straps through the doors instead of tying them to the rack as I usually do.  After leaving the boat on the car in the rain overnight, I discovered that my seats were soaked.

Mark 

I built this roof rack for my 3 kayaks with scrap wood/epoxy and some minicell foam for less than $100.  It has proven to be extremely rugged and holds the kayaks solidly during lengthy road trips (in extreme weather).   I designed it to attach to the basic rack on my Saturn Vue but the basic design could be configured to fit other vehicles.  If you want more detailed info let me know.  Chris 

Lol,

I use the foam blocks to carry my WD12 on my Corolla. Seems to work just fine. The flat straps do hum a bit, but I've gone to using rope on the bow and stern which seems to have eliminated the hum.

Don

Put a twist or 2 in the strap to get rid of the hum.

Kim

Hey Chris, 

Could you send me the details of the rack you built? It looks great.

thanks, 

Perry

[email protected] 

Chris,

Can you send me the details on the roof rack also.

Thanks,

Wood turner 

Great rack Chris!  Could you send me details also?

Thanks,

Scott

[email protected]

I'll put something together this weekend

I've used the foam blocks in the past, but I find they hit me in the head too much when I'm driving and are quite a distraction.  If you're taller than about 5'10" or you sit very straight in your vehicle while driving, I think you'll find they're fine for very short trips but not much more.

As for security, they'll hold the boat(s) just fine.  I used them to load 4 rental kayaks on a Hyundai Sonata before I got my own boat, and it worked just fine.

FrankP

The following link will give you some additional details for the kayak roof rack we constructed.  Click each picture then “ALL SIZES” for a full size view. Three Kayak Roof RackChris