14.5 touring boat on a VW GTI (Golf)

To avoid damage
to the roof of your GTI, you should probably keep your kayak as near the roof seam as possible,(this is where the strength is).



An afterthought, t.george

long boat, short car
I’ve seen an 18’ sea kayak on a Smart Car, so your situation is hardly extreme. I’ve found the greatest hazard with long overhangs of boat vs car is that you as the driver are apt to hit things fore and aft with the boat. This is another incentive to ALWAYS use bow and stern lines tied to the bumpers or sub-bumper structures. Not only is it insurance against having the boat windmill off the car (damaging itself and anyone around you in traffic) but the visual of the lines reminds you where the end points are AND gives you a constant monitoring of the boat’s position on the car.



Fastening bow and stern lines takes only seconds, especially when using self-ratcheting ropes. I don’t know why so many people avoid using them. I always do, no matter what my travel distance and speed will be.

bow and stern lines
That makes a lot of sense, thanks. The problem is that I could not find ANY place to attach a hook to, either in front or in the back! It’s weird, but all this car seems to have is the soft plastic bumpers. I hope I never need to get towed… Any other owners can tell me if I’m missing something?

GTI has both front and back anchors
There are small removable panels in the front and back bumper and the car comes with one anchor bolt. I got a second from my dealer. I use a small flat head screw driver to pop the panels off. They are on the passenger side of the car. Rear above and to the side of one exhaust pipe. Front above and to the side of the fog lamp.

Aha!
So that’s what those things are for! :slight_smile: I swear I’m not as technically inept as this makes me look :slight_smile:

Rocdoc,
it’s called an owners manual. “always use bow and stern lines”…as predicted…

As predicted? Hardly.
What you predicted was “a plethora of horror stories and chastisements.”

Now, now…
let’s all play nice!

Thanks for all the advice. Funny, I’m usually the nerd who always reads the manual, don’t know how I missed that. Don’t believe me? The first thing I did when I became even marginally interested in paddling was buy the ACA Kayaking book and read it!

Yes, I was in the chess club too, WHAT!?!

Options exist for ““hooking”” in
Where ever there is a door, latch, hatch, trunk, hood



http://www.prolineracks.com/thule-quick-loop-straps-530.html

long boat/short car - extreme!
I have a 21’ hawaiian outrigger canoe. It weighs 22 lbs at best. My car is a 13’ honda fit. The canoe has no bow or stern tie down hardware - and I wouldn’t secure it that way anyway because I can easily snap the fragile boat. I have Yakima Mako saddles that keep it fairly secure, but I worry about transporting at speed. Any suggestions for effective tie down on this crazy configuration (reminds me of Fred Flintstone and his giant rack of ribs!)

Rack Extensions

– Last Updated: Oct-11-12 3:25 PM EST –

There's a guy in my town who transports a long, fragile racing canoe on a small, four-door sedan using an extended rack system. Basically, attachment points on the roof carry a special rack which supports two lengthwise bars, one on each side. That pair of lengthwise bars carries the actual crossbars which in turn carry the boat. Thus, the rack is a two-stage contraption - a rack which supports a rack. The front crossbar is about 4 or 5 feet in front of the windshield and the rear crossbar is about as far back as the car's rear bumper, or maybe a little farther. Total spread between the crossbars is around 8 or 10 feet. I think there are two pairs of diagonal struts which stiffen the lengthwise bars against side-to-side flexing.

Wind pressure against a long boat puts much greater stress on your rack-to-roof connections than what happens with a short boat, so those connections must be very secure. Using this super-long rack system does not change stress applied to the roof (assuming that the boat is securely fastened to the rack regardless of what amount of bar spread you have), but what it DOES do is reduce the stress on the boat itself, since stress occurring at the boat-to-rack connection points is much less when there's a lot of spread between the crossbars.

If it were me, I'd build one of these extended racks. It could be built right onto an existing rack. However, the one I've seen carrying the racing canoe is obviously commercially made, but I can't tell if it's Thule, Yakima, or something else. I'm sure a search would turn up something.

what a joke
Have you seen how comprehensive auto owners manuals are lately?

well done, gbg
I think it’s Cardelo who carries a ski on his mini, with an extender.



You did a great job of explaining the true benefits of the extension. Well done.

Kayaks on Smart Cars
I found this picture on my Facebook page. Visual proof for what the person said in the post above.



http://www.yakfisher.net/smffiles/index.php?topic=6033.0

extended rack
I made quick extended rack system for carrying my 17-ft Folbot Cooper (both flexible anf fragile) by using an aluminum ladder with foam block saddles attached to my Yakima rack. There is about a six foot spread between the saddles. I have had no problems at highway speeds.

extended rack
I made quick extended rack system for carrying my 17-ft Folbot Cooper (both flexible anf fragile) by using an aluminum ladder with foam block saddles attached to my Yakima rack. There is about a six foot spread between the saddles. I have had no problems at highway speeds.

This is awesome!
thanks for the smile - loved the comments in that thread

VW front back tie down info
On the back bumper of the VW, probably on the passenger side, is a place to screw in a tow hook. Your VW dealer should have one to give to you.



My 2009 Rabbit had one on the back, there was supposed to be one on the front too but I never found it. It could have been there, I just tied the front under the hood. I carried a Pungo on my Rabbit, and later a 75 lb Sit On Top.



The 2012 Jetta I’m driving now has one of those screw in eye bolts both front and back. When a Thule J carrier broke, the front and back tie downs kept the car, the kayak, and other drivers safe.


No Problem!
I’ve got a Thule rack on my Golf TDI and some 2x4s to extend it for 2 boats without issue.



My buddy (also with a Golf) just uses foam blocks and straps that went through the passenger compartment and he was hauling a 17 footer without serious problems. The only issue was that at around 120km/h the straps started vibrating so loud you could swear there was a swarm of angry bees following you. Just add some tape to them so they arent so flat and prone to vibrating in the wind and you’re golden.

follow up on the actual experience
Hi all,

Just wanted to follow up here, I’m glad to see this generated so much interest. I actually ended up with a different boat, a 13.5 Liquidlogic Inuit, but from what I am experiencing I am sure a longer boat would work just fine too.

These sea-to-summit thingies really work! And I love that I can take them off and put them on in no time, for when I don’t want to have the added drag. I use a nose strap and a solid bomber tie-down on each of the removable racks. Without the nose tie-down I kept the speed under 55-60, because I was getting too much bounce for comfort. With it, I have gone up to 70 without any hint that there was any movement or risk thereof.

Thanks!