Open side up on the roof racks? Better have a good cover for rain ...

Old Yeller

Good idea but don't limit your options.  I have the same storage issue as you.  Yakima makes a great canoe/kayak trailer that's very easy to store.  The tongue comes off & the entire trailer stands up to lean on the wall.  It even has rollers to move it around the garage.  A bit pricey but outstanding trailer......

I built a wherry a little over a year ago, so I'm going to speak from experience here.  I found the process of moving the boat around a mixture of daunting/wearisome.  I was able to roll it down to the lake about 5 blocks away, but if I had to rely on a process you descibed, I would probably hardly ever use it.  This size boat would be ideal to have stored dockside, atleast during the active season.

I ended up selling it to a fellow in Canada who lives lakeside up in BC, and this year built a shearwater sport hybrid (14 1/2 ft and 40 pounds), that I can much more easily move around, and store.

My 2 cents.

But do what you think will work for you!

I transport the wherry on top of a pickup on a regular basis. Developing a system that works for you is important, in my opinion, so that you can enjoy rowing it regularly. Otherwise you may tire of the "hassle" of getting it to the water. There is no one right way, trailer or cartop, both have their advantages & disadvantages.

Here are some old posts to read on the subject.

http://www.clcboats.com/forum/clcforum/thread/6814.html

I have been car toppin my wherry on my Toyota Tacoma with a Thule truck bed rack and a Yakima on top of the cab. I lower the boat upside down with a Harken hoist and have to travel about 5 miles to Marina Del Rey to launch. I have been able to slide the boat off the rack single handed and get it on to a set off wheels to get it to the water. The biggest pain is rolling across the soft sand and clean up after the row. I row out of the UCLA Marine Aquatic Center with rental single sculls and they were offering space to renters to store their boats. I had a cover made and was hoping to be able to move itt there where launchuing and clean up would be easier, but now there is a hang up with there insurance- so it goes. I will use the boat more frequently if this can happen. It's a pleasure to row it out in Santa Monica Bay.

On another note. Has anyone flipped their Wherry and righted it? Nott much of an issue with a single scull, but it looks like it may be an issue with the Wherry.

Thanks

I transport the wherry atop my Tacoma. I use Thule set to gos mounted on a forward load bar and hydro glides mounted on a rear "T" bar that utilizes the hitch receiver. I leave the wherry upright with the boat dolly attached so that all I have to do is slide it off the racks and roll it to the water, i.e. no flipping.

Regarding flipping. I've never flipped the wherry on the water. Although nothing is impossible, I would imagine it'd be hard to do under normal circumstances. I've stood up in it to stretch on long rows and it's pretty stable. Plus, the 9.5' sculls are great stabilizers.

regarding flipping , hate to belabor the obviuos but there's one way to find out' just make sure your close to shore to experiment

I built the tandem wherry last winter. I don't know how much the thing weighs exactly, but I'd say 120lbs. I car topped it a couple of times, but the on/off process was nerve wracking with two people and not something I would have wanted to do solo. 

I ended up going with a small canoe-type trailer and a rain cover for the boat. The trailered boat sits in an inconspicuous place behind my garage with a lock on it. When I want to row, it's literally a matter of a few seconds to hook up and go, with easy one-man float on an float off at the local boat landing. 

I like the Yakima trailer solution, but I found it pricey, and worried about the durability of that trailer on the open road over long distances (not that I travel far with my wherry...), and whether there was enough support for my 19' boat. 

I agree with others that if its cumbersome or inconvenient you probably won't use it. 

Good luck!