I am about to take my first trip with my kayak. It will be quite a distance and I do not have a rack on my car. I purchased foam blocks. I understand the procedures for it to be secure and keep from damaging my car. But my question, for anyone who will offer advice is, how much of an issue is the wind if I am driving at 70mph? Or if there is a significant gust of wind with the kayak on top of my little Camry. I will be transporting a sit-in kayak. Desperate for your take on this. Thank you.
I used foam blocks and ropes for years. Tied down properly with a truckers hitch it works well. Perhaps not as well as a $$$ rack system, as you may encounter some shifting in strong crosswinds. It won’t leave your roof, but it may put some scratches in the paint. Keep the foam blocks clean and the ropes taught. Check the system every time you stop for food or fuel.
Best of luck!
You’ll be using bow and stern tie-downs, right?
@Rookie said:
You’ll be using bow and stern tie-downs, right?
@Rookie said:
You’ll be using bow and stern tie-downs, right?
Two on the front and back if that’s possible.
The blocks still have to be on a cross bar !! I have seen people transporting with the blocks laying directly on the roof and straps running through car windows.
Most definitely using bow and stern tie downs. I had not planned on putting blocks on cross bars. But I can see where that would be sooooo much better. I just do not have those on my camry. Thanks for your input.
I just did this with a 16’ kayak on my corolla. Foam blocks directly on naked roof with straps through the car doors and front & back ties. It worked fine. I drove 2.5hrs, 70mph and over a long bridge. I didn’t have any issues with wind. The person at the kayak outfitters showed me how to tie the kayak appropriately.
ETA: I had ordered a roof rack for my car, but it got lost in shipping and hadn’t arrived by the time I was supposed to leave. I was terrified of the idea at first, but the outfitter was completely comfortable with it, and says he does it for clients often. The kayak didn’t move at all during transport. I didn’t notice any scratches, but I’ll take a better look at my roof today and report back. 
This should not be read as a recommendation of putting the blocks directly on the roof. But if you do it, here is what I think you should do:
You should definitely take straps through the door openings, over the kayak. I would not trust tie-downs alone
You should protect the roof with some adhesive tape. The blocks will inevitably travel a a lot around on the roof, and over a long journey this will probably leave visible marks.
Where I live, we have something called “shotblasting tape”. It is 50 mm wide, quite thick and leaves no residue when pulling it off afterwards. Many use it for a cheap keel strip alternative. This would probably be ideal for protecting the roof if you can find something similar.
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About forty years ago I drove cross country with a canoe on a bare roof on foam blocks. I had front and rear tie downs and straps.
No matter how I tried, I couldn’t keep the canoe from shifting and had to stop constantly to readjust the straps and tie downs --NEVER AGAIN !
Traveling with foam blocks on a bare roof is a PITA in terms of prep, compared to having a rack. But per the above instructions it can be done. People around here regularly do that for a bit when they first get their kayaks, and it is difficult to go anywhere wo being on a multilane highway for a bit of the drive.
Clean blocks…
Make sure
- Go thru doors, not Windows
- Put blocks slightly forwArd of where straps are. The wind will force them in and won’t blow out
- Use sup blocks, they are wider, or a yoga pad works great with lower profile.
- Hull up, deck down
I would be stopping every 30-60 minutes to check the position of the boat on the roof. Boats transported with foam blocks tend to weathercock from the wind. If your going more than 30 miles you must use bow and stern tie downs. Keep your speed under 60 mph. Remember your responsible if the boat comes off the vehicle and causes a catastrophic situation! Good luck.
I’ve used webbing straps. Picture the straps (or rope) laid across the roof of the vehicle, with the boat on top of the straps. Wrap each end around the top of the boat and then in through the open door. If you’re using straps, give the strap a few twists between the top of the kayak and the car door entry. This will prevent vibration of the straps. Tighten down from inside the car. Then close your car doors.
Your boat will stay in position - it won’t move side to side.
Important note: How about I just run the strap over the top of the kayak, wrap it around the underside, and then in through the door?
If you do this, you will have straps coming in from underneath the kayak into the car. Ah, should be good enough, right?
I made that mistake once. Crossing a big bridge on a windy day, the wind managed to flip up the kayak from the side. Being rolled off of the foam blocks created enough slack in the bow and stern lines for the kayak to slide off the side of the roof.
Imagine me, driving 65 mph across a busy 4 lane bridge on a windy day, and suddenly my kayak slams down against the side of my car. Holy Mary!!! - Pray for us all today!!!
Well that’s all the further it fell. The end of the stern put a little dent in the side of my car, but that was it. I pulled over, lifted it back onto the roof, and made sure I had the strap coming down from the top of the kayak on both sides into the car doors.
So strap centered underneath the kayak, both ends wrap around the top of the kayak, and into the doors. Done this way, the boat will be very resistant to slipping side to side.
You will want to pay attention to the car’s door or window weather stripping/molding. The texture and ever so slight movement of the straps can chew up the soft rubber of the weather stripping. The result is water leakage into the car’s interior.
@CapeFear said:
I’ve used webbing straps. Picture the straps (or rope) laid across the roof of the vehicle, with the boat on top of the straps. Wrap each end around the top of the boat and then in through the open door. If you’re using straps, give the strap a few twists between the top of the kayak and the car door entry. This will prevent vibration of the straps. Tighten down from inside the car. Then close your car doors.
Your boat will stay in position - it won’t move side to side.
Important note: How about I just run the strap over the top of the kayak, wrap it around the underside, and then in through the door?
If you do this, you will have straps coming in from underneath the kayak into the car. Ah, should be good enough, right?
I made that mistake once. Crossing a big bridge on a windy day, the wind managed to flip up the kayak from the side. Being rolled off of the foam blocks created enough slack in the bow and stern lines for the kayak to slide off the side of the roof.
Imagine me, driving 65 mph across a busy 4 lane bridge on a windy day, and suddenly my kayak slams down against the side of my car. Holy Mary!!! - Pray for us all today!!!
Well that’s all the further it fell. The end of the stern put a little dent in the side of my car, but that was it. I pulled over, lifted it back onto the roof, and made sure I had the strap coming down from the top of the kayak on both sides into the car doors.
So strap centered underneath the kayak, both ends wrap around the top of the kayak, and into the doors. Done this way, the boat will be very resistant to slipping side to side.
I had the same thing happen at night in a storm. Wasn’t on a bridge but it was scary enough. Haven’t carried one without a rack since.
I transport my kayak on foam blocks on a trailer.
The kayaks tend to “bounce” a little in the wind
But the biggest problem I have is abrasion of the fiberglass from the straps. For now I put clean sponges under the straps.