Roof-Racking the Island

Sorry for the delay. I have moved across to an Imac and don't have the website on which to attach the pics. Can somewhere help me out on suitable sites. JollyGreen the foam is the insulation used by refrigeration companies to lag the pipes. You can buy it through any of the refrigeration or plumbing people like Reece Plumbing. The beauty of the stuff is that it does the job beautifully, is not expensive and does not hold a memory for long...........Pirate

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Master of the galleon 'Pirates Lot'

http://imageshack.us/index.php

or

www.photobucket.com

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Thanks Twerto for the memory jogger...Pirate

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Master of the galleon 'Pirates Lot'

I must say, I'm not impressed with the thule set-to-go and hydroglide saddles for car topping the AI. At first they seem fine, but it appears the weight of the AI is too much. I've transported it twice and both times I get dents in the hull at all four locations that eventually pop out when warmed up, but just kind of annoying. I have the hydro glides set just outside of the rear scupper holes with the rudder hanging off the back of the car.

I tried to find materials for the pirate pillows at the local hardware store, but no luck. One store had spare water heater insulation tubes, which I think are what pirate used, but only had two, I need at least two more, they gave those to me for free because they were part of the packing of a water heater and the store doesn't sell them. I checked out some pool noodles and the water heater foam was a little stiffer, I also didn't want pink racks on my car

Just realized you are in AUS...have you ever seen pool noodles? think those would be good? I don't think I'm going to find the stuff you used here in Hawaii.

Yeah we have pool noodles, thats what I use. I split them down the middle so they are in a half moon shape then velcro them to the racks

For my pillows I also couldn't find pirate's kind of foam, so I used an old yoga mat. Nice material, no memory, works great. Guess what color?

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skua

do pool noodles have memory?

I tried a different position on the thule saddles. I had the rear hydro glides set just outside the first set of scupper holes and the front right under the mirage drive hole. It looks like that position works pretty well and doesn't cause hull denting. Placing the hydro glides outside of the rear two scuppers dents the hull pretty quick, even with very little pressure. I'll let you know how it goes with future transports.

Yep, mine have.

Pirate, how are you doing with your pics? Don't make them wait too long, otherwise pics of my pink and ductaped ones will become famous as your proud pirate pillows!

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skua

just recieved my ti and took it out for the first time had great time, the issue is after i was done getting back onto my vehicle. i own a gmc 2500 silverrado 3/4 ton and the 7 foot lift up to my temp rack i built just about killed me and the bride. I cannot use a trailer as i use my ti when i go camping and tow a 25 foot travel trailer to various lakes and rivers for weekends. The hullavator looks like a solution but still it might be to high to use and did not find any specs for it with my vehicle. need help and will take any suggestions possiable.

thanks

This is somewhat of a shotgun approach.. but I basically used the hull to make the cradles shown in the picture. The cradles are made from fiberglass matt and polyester resin and since they were made "on" the AI hull (not "exactly" on the hull, plastic wrap and wax paper underneath) , they exactly fit the shape of the hull and have pretty much perfect load distribution. I partly did this because Im going to car top the AI nearly 2000 miles this summer. Not an approach I would recommend for anyone else - but it works perfectly for me (the glass had been sitting in my basement for about 8 years - finally got some of it used).. These old racks have carried windsurfers, kayaks, ice boats, land sailers, home and deck building material, (which is what slightly bent them)..

Have you looked at Roadrunner's post on cartopping the TI? viewtopic.php?f=71&t=22849
If lifting it is the problem, his suggestions of rigging a hoist on an A-frame, or using a T bar as an intermediate support, might help.

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I don't think the Hullivator is any match for the TI at any height. As Chris mentioned, a double purchase 'A" frame cuts the lift weight in half and requires no overhead lifting at all. It rotates forward and out of the way as you shove the boat forward.

The information in Chris' link are all solo lift methods. Have you tried a team lift? Start with the bow overlapping the back of your truck and rear cradle -- you simply pivot the boat over once the lift height is reached so you don't have to drag the boat forward to the cradle.

1. Support the boat in the rear cart position. This bears some of the weight up to at least 5 feet of bow lift, allowing you to get your shoulder under the boat. This also helps stabilize the boat once the stern is grounded, preventing the TI from flipping on its side.

(Note: the alternative of having one person lift the stern while the other lifts the bow, makes the loading process unnecessarily more difficult, as it bypasses the cart fulcrum and transfers more weight to the bow!)

2. Place a carpet down where the stern will rest once the boat is lifted.

3. With your partner, get on opposite sides of the bow, bringing it up to the rear cradle.

4. One person goes abeam to help stabilize the boat while the other goes astern and starts to lift and shove.

5. Then, with both at the back, finish the lifting and shoving.

6. Reverse the procedure to bring the boat down.

Here's a pic of our recent Bay 2 Bay Race entry (thus the orange stickers) showing the "T" bar, rear wheel position and cradle positioning:


You get better at this each time as you discover the best grab positions, etc.

thanks for the info, i'll start doing some modifications to my rack