I own a 2006 Pontiac G6 coupe and am interested in purchasing two 10ft kayaks. However, neither Yakima or Thule make racks for my car. How do I go about transporting my kayaks?
Your local outfitter should be able to
come up with some pads and straps, and front and rear tie downs, that would allow you to transport the little yaks. Or, you could do like I did and just drill holes in the roof and mount Yakima’s universal bases that will take their bars and towers. I keep my wheels forever, and will paddle till I die, so it wasn’t painful. R
foam pads
Your kayak dealer, or for that matter the big box sporting goods stores, should have foam rooftop supports. Along with straps across the roof and bow and stern tie downs will work ok. Better than drilling holes in the roof!
Bill H.
Get a trailer
A small, lightweight, trailer is might be easier.
Foam blocks…
If you use foam blocks, make sure you get them dead on the support structure for your roof or you could put a nice, permanent, dent in your roof.
I concur with the trailer option. If you have access to someone who welds, a friend or a welding shop, you can get a cheap trailer from Harbor Freight and have it modified a whole lot cheaper than commercially made kayak trailers cost.
inappropriate vehicle
That’s why racks are not available. Just look at the roof line. Now if you wanted to install rocket launchers…sort of like in Mad Max.
Thanks
Thanks for everyone’s help so far!
Anybody know what is the cheapest trailer made for kayaks? (and it has to be able to hold 2)
rocket launchers
If you mount them on the roof, be sure to use tie downs to front and rear bumpers.
Personally, I prefer mounting them under the front wheels.
Cheapest
Adapt a utility trailer. Or a boat trailer. Some ideas http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/75339788oTcAIx
i second the trailer
my girlfriend has a g6 coupe and I don’t think that you would be able to get the straps far enough apart to hold the kayak securely, also because the roof is arched I think that the kayak/kayak seat would hit your roof even with pads. Getting a utility trailer and adding something to attach the kayaks I the best way to do it, especially if you want to take two kayaks, I don’t think there is any way to get two kayaks on the roof of the g6.
Thanks
Thanks for that suggestion!
Another Option
I have a 2000 Toyota Celica Coupe, and had some similar problems getting two kayaks on it(thule makes racks for my car, but not for kayaks since the weight limit for the roof is too low). I decided I didn’t like the trailer idea though and ended up using a hitch mounted cross bar usually for pickup trucks (http://www.orsracksdirect.com/thule-997.html). I then rested the kayaks between that and foam blocks on the roof of the car. This may or may not work for you though. We had 16 foot kayaks so they easily stretched the distance. Also we had the goalposts at the lowest setting and it was just the right height (if your car is lower then mine it might not fit).
But for me its worked great and it breaks down quick to store in the trunk of the car.
packable option
Have you considered getting a couple of the Advanced Elements inflatable kayaks with the semi rigid “backbone” option? Price is comparable to mid range rec boats and from what I hear, performance is supposed to be as good or better than what you would get from any 10’ rec boat (even in moderate white water, some have reported.) And you can stick them both in your trunk, no fuss no muss. I’ve never paddled one but have seen them in shops and they look like a well-made product. Good reviews on this site too.
When hauling your boat is a hassle it greatly limits the number of times you’ll use the boat.