HOW TO COVER A PAMLICO 135T AGAINST RAIN

I bought a Pamlico 135T, which is a tandem kayak with a very long cockpit. I bought the yakima hully rollers and the mako saddles, so when I have the kayak in the rack and it rains, with such a long cockpit it gets a lot of water (depends how hard it rains), anyway…, my question is: is there any good way to cover the kayak and prevent it to be filled up with water when it rains ? I bought the Nylon Sprayskirt & Cockpit Cover Size: T200 (www.sealsskirts.com) it fits ok, however when the car is moving (60mi/hr) that thing is loose and really does not cover from water on a moving car. Anyone knows a solution for this ???

simple
flick the kayak belly up when transporting.

High end ultralight shells (we are talking composite here) pretty much require that you transport them resting on the edge of the deck.

I can’t see why your Pamlico can’t be transported that way too.

also
try adjusting the skirt, it should be tight, other wise whats the point.

Upside down if possible or -
Upside down may not be possible depending on the spread of the bars - this is an awfully huge cockpit. And I suspect that it’d be very hard to find a cockpit cover that would be secure at that speed, though if you could you might be able to run a lot of bungies around the boat to help hold it in place.



I suspect your best bet would be to lose the rollers and saddles and go to stackers instead. RM boats are strongest on their edge so the rollers are not ideal with them anyway. That way you could carry the boat with the open cockpit facing to the interior of the car rather than out if it looks like it’ll rain.



You can make, and have been able to buy used from at least Yakima, extenders that go onto the rear cross bar and can help with loading a boat. That would make the stackers easier.

TRY
Pull the cockpit cover tight around the edges before you strap it down so that the straps keep some of the slack out of the cover. Also try hooking a bungee around the coaming and under the kayak to the other side of the coaming, this will insure that the edges do not come off. Another trick is to store your life jackets in the kayak to support the cover and prevent water from pooling.



I have the larger pamlico 160 and I have found these techniques have worked for me. I too expected more from the seals cover, I guess the other brands on the market are real junk!

buy a siphon
Most likely your boat has been wet before.



I use a siphon after a rain, it gets the water back out.

Fill it with grey things?
Never mind, just turn it upside down.

32 Tilleys
Arrange Tilley hats to cover the cockpit - waterproof and you’ll always have a hat handy to boot.



jim

easy–get one of those gray things

Seriously
You are really just looking for a cover that can stretch tight over the cockpit. Trouble is that you can still get water pooling on the cover for large cockpits and it may eventually collapse and dump water inside anyway.



A simple option might be to wrap a small tarp around the kayak and use rope/bungies to pull and keep it tight. I’m thinking an 8x10 tarp would be about right with the 10 foot dimension running the length of the boat. Setup drawstrings in the eyelets at each end and use bungies in the center to keep it tensioned.



jim

Drill holes in the bottom
and the water will just drain out.

Carrying kayaks with big openings
is just like carrying a canoe. Upside down works best. Covers suck, most sag if it rains, collecting water.

While moving you won’t catch much

– Last Updated: Aug-27-08 6:28 PM EST –

water.
Alternative I have seen that works well is put the cover on and then bungee cord it down. One lengthwise and 2 or 3 across will do it.
Caution: Put the bungees on and take them off on the ground. A friend was putting his on the boat, on the car,and one side popped loose. Trip to the E-room in the middle of nowhere to sew his lip back together.

1/2" gavanized pipe fit into my Yakima
Bars tight to extented them at a pretty low cost. Duct taped them in place and covered with 1/2" foam pipe insulation. Use a 5’ piece in the rear bar as a loading bar. Just fyi. Rick