distance between Thule cross bars front
I see this is an old posting, but worth commenting upon. I paddle surfskis - 17" wide, 21 ft long and 25 lbs, ie, not your normal kayak. Wind shear is much more important than weight here. When I did a lot of boat hauling, I put 8 ft Thule bars lengthwise on the existing rack and 50 inch cross bars, all bolted down, and mounted the saddles on the extended cross bar. This solved all the problems. I never had any problem with wind.