Our local county has added a few launches that have these rollers so you can launch off the dock and not even get your feet wet. They are great and I have uset them several times with my plastic kayaks. I just picked up a new to me Kevlar kayak. Has anyone used these and will the rollers damage the hull?
I did climb in and out of the boat while floating.
I refused to use them with my Kevlar boat. Also will not use them with my thermoform boat. Getting my feet wet has never bothered me as my Astral shoes drain and dry quickly.
It’s too much weight on too little support. The top of those rollers touch a tiny spot on the boat. Those 2 spots have to support the weight of the boat and you. Things will flex and cracks will start to form.
That Sparrow Hawk is a nice kayak. It hasn’t lasted this long in that kind of shape without care. Abusing it like that might just bring a tear to my eye.
Hard no on using that boat with that launch.
The sparrow hawk has a few years on it but in very good condition and a good looking boat.
Our Club refers to these as the Roller Ramps of Death. They work fine with rotomolded boats but can cause severe damage to composite boats. One of our members used one of these and ended up with $700 in damage to his Kevlar boat.
Jurisdictions with little or no knowledge of kayaks often install them because some are certified as ADA compliant. There are better ADA certified ramps that don’t use rollers.
Our Club and others stopped these types of ramps from being installed in MD at public launches although some that were installed early on still exist.
A $700 repair would bring a tear to my eye.
I have been paddling roto mold boats for a while and they are rather indestructible.
I suspected these rollers would be bad for the Sparrow Hawk. Thanks all for the confirmation.
