Good points. I’ve always used rope and prefer to snug hitched webbing loops around the bow and stern to fasten the safety lines rather than running them through handles or toggles.
Just wondering, is there any downside to leaving a kayak strapped to a roof for extended periods of time. I am trying to figure out a way to get out frequently and the time will be in short supply. I can just park my car in the garage with the kayak on top until next time (say next weekend). This car will not be used for anything else and the kayak will be strapped upside down. I can drain and wipe everything right out of the water and leave the hatches open. And maybe loosen the straps some upon return.
As long as your vehicle is out of direct sunlight and the kayak is well supported - like having blocks/cradles right under where the bulkheads are - I really don’t see an issue. I would also loosen all the straps; it only takes a minute to snug them up again.
@kfbrady said:
As long as your vehicle is out of direct sunlight and the kayak is well supported - like having blocks/cradles right under where the bulkheads are - I really don’t see an issue. I would also loosen all the straps; it only takes a minute to snug them up again.
It going to be positioned exactly as on the picture I posted before (one with the bluish honda), except a couple of extra straps to secure the blocks to the hull.
Yes, provided you tend to everything kfbrady suggests. The biggest “killer” of plastic kayaks is leaving them in hot conditions with the hull resting on a flat surface or on rack bars or other widely spaced supports. The plastic will soften and stretch and create flat areas or dents (“oil-canning”) in the hull that can almost never be removed and will affect performance, sometimes severely. A woman that I often paddle with locally has a 14.5’ Riot Edge kayak and since she does not have a garage and has a house that has about a 30 step stairway from the street (not uncommon in hilly Pittsburgh) she had always left her boat on her roofrack, hull down, and using ratchet straps, which are an absolute no-no for kayaks because of the pressure that they exert. Her boat is so horribly warped on the bottom now, not just flattened in several areas but somehow twisted off-center, that she has to fight to keep it tracking remotely straight whenever we paddle. I feel bad for her but that is what happens when you don’t properly store a plastic kayak.
So as per my picture, in a garage, with straps loose, should be fine, no?
@SpaceSputnik said:
@kfbrady said:
As long as your vehicle is out of direct sunlight and the kayak is well supported - like having blocks/cradles right under where the bulkheads are - I really don’t see an issue. I would also loosen all the straps; it only takes a minute to snug them up again.It going to be positioned exactly as on the picture I posted before (one with the bluish honda), except a couple of extra straps to secure the blocks to the hull.
It’s impossible for me to be sure from your photo that the foam blocks are directly under the bulkheads but they sure seem to be. 
They are on each side of the cockpit ring, so on the bow side it’s not at the bulkhead level, the roof’s too short.
Should be fine. Even if you did have a softening issue (highly unlikely unless temps were sustained well over 100 degrees in the garage and you were NOT using the foam cradles), I don’t think warping the deck slightly would have any effect on a boat. One of the reasons I carry my plastic kayaks inverted.
Thanks guys.
My fiberglass boat often comes with me to work so that I can get out quickly for an evening paddle. Sometimes it’s a result of coming home late from a trip on the weekend and not having enough time (or motivation) to take the boats off the night before going back to work.
I have J-cradles on my truck and used to keep it on the driver’s side exclusively. I noticed that the gel coat was showing signs of fading unevenly. I fixed this two ways: a) try to randomize and distribute left and right side carrying, and b) I polished and waxed the boat, which helped restore the faded parts and provide more UV protection.
With my plastic boat I try not to keep it on the roof in the sun. If I do, it isn’t for long. Your benefit is the garage, which really shouldn’t be a problem if you don’t have those straps/ropes cinched up extremely tight.
On a related note, do you have the rear line tied to the spoiler? If so, I’d try to avoid that. These are notoriously not structural components of the car.
@Sparky961 said:
On a related note, do you have the rear line tied to the spoiler? If so, I’d try to avoid that. These are notoriously not structural components of the car.
No, it just rests on it while routed all the way down to a tow hook. Around the spoiler is just the excess of the free strap.