Hello, im trying to find out what i can do in my situation.
i just bought some J hooks to place my kayak in but my roof rack crossbars bend and bow in an angular way. I guess this is some aerodynamic design.
Do they sell something where i can “straighten the angle” of my J hooks
if you can see the picture below:
The pink lines represents the curve of the cross bar. (notice its angular and curves)
The yellow line represents the center of gravity
The blue lines represents the J hooks (notice that its sitting in an angle)
If someone hasn’t shown you by tomorrow, I’ll load a boat and post photos but you should get several examples shortly.
I had some bungees with J hooks but never use a bungee to hold a boat to a rack.
A friend and his wife were traveling and a bungee came loose. They were trying to put it back when one end got loose, flew across and ripped a chunk out of his face.
He said it was hard to find medical help on I95 in nowhere Florida. In the dark.
Get foam blocks that you can stick on the cross bars and strap the boat directly to the cross bars - up side down probably best. Jhooks are a PITA for a solo load anyway.
carrying 1 for now… maybe in future ill get 2. im trying to see if theres a Kayak that can convert from tandem to single… one where i may be able to remove one chair and then slide the other to the middle for single but im not having much luck finding something like that.
im only allowed to post one picture at a time. Had to put them all in one photo.
The J Cradles are a cheap set from ebay… they’re like $30 for both but the metal and such seems strong. As you can see the J hook is sitting flush with the bar but the bar is all bent… i wish they would sell those foam blocks but with the aerodynamic shape instead.
I’d try reaching out to the seller to see if they offer an accessory to fix that. I’m not a fan of J-cradles on roofs, and especially not a fan of cheap accessories so I may not be the best person to help. My suggestion would be to send them back, go to a local shop that sells Thule/Yakima/Malone and/or other reputable rack manufacturers, and just bite the bullet on cost
Cheap J cradles are an accident waiting to happen, which could be very tragic for anyone traveling behind you. What kind of kayak do you have? If it’s plastic, you can probably just strap it upside down directly to your cross bars. Since your bars are angled, pads might be helpful. I recommend NRS cam straps - they do not stretch and they last a very long time. There is a method for doing this properly which isn’t obvious from guessing. Here is the way I do it with my whitewater boat:
For a sea kayak I use Marco saddles with the boat upright and with additional bow and stern lines.
well. that seems simple enough. Didn’t know it was that simple! I dont have a Kayak yet, i wanted to get the roof rack going first to make sure i can cargo the Kayak first… Can’t buy a Kayak if i cant transport it… i have a bunch of ratchet straps and bungie cords. i guess putting the Kayak face down and then strapping it in tightly would work. if anything ill buy me some NRS cam straps then. Thanks for this info!
right thanks for the advice, ill be reaching out to the to see if they have accessories… if not then i either have to buy a whole new roof rack or simply just strap the kayak face down on the roof rack
Do not use ratchet straps or bungees. Ratchet straps will likely damage your kayak, and bungees stretch so are entirely unsuitable for securing anything to the outside of a moving vehicle. Use cam straps.
Yes, NRS straps. Wider is better, but the 1 inch wide will suffice. They make them in various lengths. I think I generally use 12’ long straps for a single boat, but I am not sure. You can always make them shorter (cut and singe) but not longer if you guess wrong. You can order direct from NRS with no shipping charges. Please keep in mind that how you transport your boat depends almost entirely on the boat. Not all boats can be transported top down on bare racks. And, in my opinion, saddles are preferable to J cradles for those that cannot.
