Carrying kayaks

Does anyone on here ever carry their kayak by the coaming? When lifting my boat onto the Jeep today I grabbed it by the coaming to put it up on the roof. It seems a lot easier this way. By the way, has anybody else noticed that the older you get, the heavier your boat is?

Short distances
I do - for short distances. I can lift it to my shoulder, but then I get a bruise on my shoulder. So it’s easier to just carry it by the coaming.

Gravity
Gravity gets stronger every year. Thus the increase in difficulty lifting heavy objects.

yes
All those years carrying it by one end caused me to seek out another way.

Yes and yes
Yes, If I am loading it by myself onto J cradles, the balance point is at the center, so I’ll have one hand on the coaming, and the other under the side of the hull.

And yes, they get heavier ever year.



Jack l

but seriously though
I think I always have one hand on the coaming, it’s one of the few things to grip. On long carries I support one side on my shoulder and the other side (gripping the coaming) with my arm extended up. Then I can either switch or just rest the coaming on both shoulders.

Life vest as padding
Avoid the shoulder bruise by putting your life vest between the coaming and your shoulder. Makes carrying it on your shoulder much nicer!