cartopping two canoes

Advice
#1

Hello, wondering if it is possible to cartop two canoes at once (thinking of a Wenonah Vagabond and another smaller solo boat). Doable?

#2

width of rack
minus the beam of the 2 canoes equals the possibility I imagine. Not doable with my Dagger/ Swift/Dadge Dakota combo. Thankfully the Dagger can go in the bed.

#3

Before you give up
Before you give up on carrying two 36" beam canoes, because your rack is less than 72" wide, draw two canoes, side by side, on paper. Creating a formula would be quite a challenge, but you can intuitively see that, at the point where the boat gunnels would rest on the racks, you would only need something less than 72". Easiest/fastest way to get a close number would be to set the two boats on horses, or even upright on the ground, and take some measurements, outer gunnel to outer gunnel, at the points where racks would intersect. Actual dimension will vary by distance between racks, boat length and shape. Tumblehome will work against you. Please note that, at max limits, you will have to load the second boat from the side, and unload the first boat from the side. If necessary, you may be able to gain another inch or two by offsetting max-width points of the two boats.

#4

We got the long bars from Yakima and can
haul two tandems. We’ve had a prospector and Penobscot up there, no problem. Also room for a couple of Grummans. Since the racks are under the narrower parts of the boat, they fit.



You can stagger them so the total width fits the rack if you have smaller racks.

#5

Sure
Cheers,

jackL

#6

Just ordered a Yakima rack
I ordered the Yakima 0118 Low Rider brackets and 78" bars on-line today from Rack Warehouse for $155.18 free shipping if ordered by April 30.

I ordered it for our Suburban, will attach to raised side rails of the factory rack.

I’m sure Yakima make a complete kit for your truck if you’d rather buy one.

http://www.rackwarehouse.com/yakima-complete-list-pageall.html

#7

thanks
Thanks all! Appreciate the advice.

#8

longer racks
Longer crossbars for a rack work fine, but they are a real headknocker both to you and to people walking by in a parking area. I used a long Yakima bar for years to cary two boats. The gunnel rested on the bar outside the roof mounts, but that never caused any problem for me.