…while travelling
We have a couple of holidays coming up, we usually take a roof box (full width) but because we will be taking a kayak (perception Carolina 14) the roof box is out
Has anyone ever stored anything in the hatches while driving?,
Nothing heavy just life jackets etc
We have a cockpit cover but wont be storing anything in there
First holiday in June is around 6 hours away from home
Second holiday is 10 hours drive, over night stay in hotel 2 hour ferry and 1 hour drive that side (isle of Harris/Scalpay, Scotland) - return journey without the overnight stay
I have done it lots of times
We carry two kayaks and many times I have both compartments on each kayak loaded with paddles, PFD’s, dry bags, and all sorts of stuff.
Been doing it for years on long distance trips.
Cheers,
JackL
Ditto
A good cockpit cover keeps stuff from littering the highway…
reassured
At the minute I just have a yak universal cockpit cover, which is a very tight fit but looking to replace it as I’m a little scared of this ripping
Thanks, have reassured me
Probably won’t rip but…
the real danger is that if you are meeting a big vehicle (semi or bus) on a 2 lane road, the bow blast from the other vehicle can pop (implode) the cockpit cover off. You’ll hear it soon enough but to avoid this make certain that you attach the safety clip at the front to a deck bungee and, if you can, run a strap over the while thing.
Had it happen once, won’t happen again. But your gear will be safe up there unless you are overnighting somewhere and then I’d recommend putting stuff in the car trunk. (the boat WILL be locked to the rack and the rack to the car, right?)
good idea
Thanks for that will do as you suggested with the straps, Good Idea
We are staying in a hotel on the isle of Skye for the 1 night but will put the stuff out of hatches and cockpit in the car over night,
The roof bars are screwed onto the inside of the car door, fitted with locking covers and we have a kayak rack, very similar shape to the Thule cradle but cheaper not j or straight bars) with 4 or 5 straps for securing the kayak and paddle, Would you suggest securing these further or locking somehow?
Luckily for the second holiday we have use of an empty boat house which is right next to the house we are staying in and at the top of our own private slipway so secure storage there is ample
great thread
Looks like our family vacation secret is out! Kayaks make a great extra storage space. We pack ours full of everything light–pillows and sleeping bags for five. Stuff that takes up a lot of volume but is light. That frees up space in the car immensely. Just be sure to secure everything in the cockpit. I tie it down with rope and seal it with a neoprene cockpit cover. By putting our “night gear” up there, we avoid the theft issue brought up by Tootsall (we’re going to be using our pillows and sleeping bags at night anyway). Next morning, just stuff 'em back in, seal the hatch, and go! That’s our regular MO now. We do it all the time.
this is
our first year away with a “bigger” car, its a Skoda Octavia, our car before that was a Citroen c4 so we will probably notice a huge difference in boot space anyway
I have a big 44l dry bag so I was thinking I could pack the few clothes/toiletries etc needed for the hotel in there and put that in the kayak
We don’t need pillows or sleeping bags but will be taking a couple of towels, other than that mostly kayaking gear, clothes and a few bits for the son
thanks for the replies
old Skoda jokes
How do you double the price of a skoda?
Fill up the tank.
“I’d like a new gas cap for my Skoda.”
“It’s a fair trade.”
Why do Skodas have heated rear windows?
To keep your hands warm while you’re pushing it.
What’s the difference between a baby and a Skoda?
Some places a baby goes without a rattle.
What is the difference between Brad & Jennifer, and a Skoda?
Brad & Jennifer break UP.
It’s a hard life
luckily my hubby has a great deal going on at work (its a company car) he gets a fuel card to, so no paying for petrol unless we are abroad, he just has so much tax to pay
another plus is they are almost all Volkswagen these days and a bit more reliable
however I still prefer the Citroen c4 we had, unfortunately he gets a new car every 3 - 4 years so it means we have new roof bars to buy to fit each car.
Its a hard life 
Old jokes
That’s funny, I’ve heard all those jokes, but with Trabant as the punchline. Of course, they were being told by a Czech, so I guess the substitution is not surprising…
1 Like