Hauling Kayak WITHOUT Roof Rack???

So I recently bought one of those foam block haulers to haul my kayak around. I got a chance to use the kit this past weekend, but was less than pleased. I noticed when putting the kayak on the roof the metal instantly stated to sag. Am I doing something wrong? I am worried about damaging my roof permanently. I am trying to haul my 10’ Vapor Angler.

You should be worried
You should be worried for your roof if it is flexing. Once or twice, probably not an issue, but repeated, and I suspect you will get paint peeling eventually. And scuff marks almost for sure where the foam rests on the roof and where the straps go through the doors.



The boat will probably be secure enough being 10 feet long only, but a front/rear tie down might be a good idea too.

there is a frame
A solid frame of your car roof will be around the perimeter. So the front block goes right up close to your windshield, and the back block right up close to your back window. It might help some.

Also the roll bar
The roof is only rigid near the perimeter and at the roll bar. The roll bar is right about where the driver and passenger head rest is. If you push down on your roof you will find the rigid area where it is.



So, put the foam blocks at the front, back or over the roll bar to avoid flexing and you should be fine. Also use a Bow line, cause its good form.

Bow and Stern Lines
I should of added in my original post that I am using a bow and stern line when hauling.

articles
I agree you want to be close to the front and rear windshields as possible with the foam. With my car I try to avoid any major scratches, light scratches are gonna happen regardless IMO but those can always be removed every now and then. I use some 2x4 that I wrapped in foam scrapped from some furniture, been using them for years. If you haven’t already go to the article section of this site>guidelines>transporting boats. Both the car topping and DIY loops are worth a read.

Yup, mine looks like the surface of the
Moon.

Can you spring for a third party rack?
Yakima and Thule both have a tool on their respective web site that allows you to look up the equipment for a rack system by car model and year, including if it is a bare roof. Have you looked at these or is that not on the table right now?