Re: Cheap

Posted by terry on Dec 10, 2004

Lots of stuff in this thread for potential rack buyers to ponder. I also went through the rack selection process some years ago. I already knew the saddles wouldn't conform to a hard-chined hull enough to make them worth the $. I also didn't like rollers, as I prefer to load the boat from the side if I'm by my lonely.

My ride (2000 Subaru Forester)happens to have a nice factory rack already. I padded the crossbars with pipe insullation (which means ny kitchen pipes will now freeze) and tried lashing two boats to the rack. Not so good, in that they shifted and needed padding between them. So I bought a pair of Yak stackers that are essentially just center towers and padded them with more insullation from the bathroom pipes. This gives the boats something to lean against and really stabilizes them for high speed travel. Much cheaper than a whole new rack system and easy to side load. They flip down when not in use, and are not noisy.

The older Subarus also have holes at each end of the rack rails that make installing safety lines easy, and elimintates the need for fore and aft lines.

Maybe a better arrangement than Thule or Yak racks, maybe not. Cheaper, beyond a doubt . . .

except for the plumbing bills for the frozen pipes.

terry

In Response to: Thule by Robert N Pruden on Dec 9, 2004

Replies:

• Re: Cheap by RogerJ on Dec 10, 2004