Kayak Wing-kayak carrier

Advice
#1

Have any of you used the Great Lakes Wing Kayak Carrier? I am looking for a new carrier and this one appears to be what I am looking for. I can’t tell from the pictures, but it appears as though the strap goes under the kayak as well as over it. Just wondering how this works.


#2

Give us a link to pictures.
Even if no one has used or seen one, people might spot things that advance your thinking.

#3

instructions here:
But first you have to sit thru my $0.02. IMO the product does not represent a significant improvement over foam blocks, which can be had for about $30.



Now, here are the instructions. I’m off for lunch (maybe a flying burrito…):



http://www.greatlakeskayak.com/wedge_wing_instructions.pdf

#4

Yeah, I use foam thingies that have
a shallow V for the hull and a notch to fit on my Yakima crossbars. They are cheap and they work well enough.



I almost always carry kayaks and c-1s cockpit down. It makes the foam V fit better and I don’t have to fool with a cockpit cover. Aerodynamics are better too.

#5

Two flavors
"Flat" and “angled”.



http://www.greatlakeskayak.com/kayakwing.html



The flat ones look about the same as the Malone Sea Wing http://maloneautoracks.com/seawing.php

#6

Yep

– Last Updated: Sep-17-12 3:45 PM EST –

Hard to call these 'the best kayak rack made', when there are so many options out there. They do look very similar to the Malone. Nothing special about either one, really. I found the Malones didn't hold any of my kayaks particularly well, so I gave them to a friend.



#7

Thanks, but…
Been there, asking if anyone has an actual experience using one.

#8

mm hmm, same here
If you wrote that previously, you may have been the one who inspired me to change from hull-up to hull-down.

#9

Hull down doesn’t work well for pointy
decked boats using those kayak transport foam blocks on Thule load bars when the load bar spacing just barely more than the length of the cockpit.



It works well for my relatively flat decked Epic Touring cruiser 16, but doesn’t work at all for the pointy decked QCC 400X, Perception Sea Lion or Shadow 16.5.



The width and shape of the foam blocks also matters, and they vary significantly across the industry.



A system that I’ve found works pretty well for deck down carry of relatively pointy decked boats - Thule Set-To-Go saddles in front of the cockpit and foam block behind the cockpit, which is usually flatter than the front of the cockpit on all kayaks. Even with this set up, I have the rear of the cockpit rim just a little on to the rear foam block.