Hello Tandem Island fans,
I learned everything from this forum, so, I thought I would give back and show how I have setup my TI. I bought a 2015 TI about a month ago from Southwind Kayak. They are a fantastic dealer, I have nothing but great words to say about them. They really helped me a lot. Great People, Great family run business.
So, I robbed my piggy bank and drove to Southwind
At Southwind, I found my new boat
I bought this block and tackle from ebay and wood 4x4s
Then, I found a way to squeeze it into the attic of my garage... There is a pipe and a garage door opener in the way, so, the only way to make the fine tuning I needed for the "hang" was to double up (for strength) two angle bars with 8 lag bolts screwed into the ceiling stud.. This way it was easy to make fine adjustments in the "hang" by moving the hardware around.
For my Landcruiser, I bought two more Yakima bars, for a total of 4 and keyed them together. Then, I bought those snap around fittings and used them to secure two 2 inch black abs pipes - each pipe is almost 7 feet. I only secured the pipes at the ends, so, they adjust naturally and fit the hull perfectly. Where the hull might touch during loading or unloading, I grinded down the edges of the snap around fittings. I used a heat gun to melt the ends of the pipes and to add a depression for drain... I learned all this from this forum.
Note: the damage you see on the garage door, I did a few years ago... It was not part of this project.
Loading and unloading is easy by myself. I use the cart on the back scuppers, put the bow on the bottom tailgate with the top tailgate down, then lift it onto the back crossbar which at the back of the LC. Then, it is easy to just slide it on.. Then I use the standard "surfboard" strap technic to tie everything down.. I color coded the straps and cut them.. 4 straps for the hull, 2 for the sail, and two green ones for each ama. For Security, I use my dirt bike cable locks, I lock the hull to the front Yakima bar through the mirage drive hole. I lock the amas to the Yakima bar by putting one cable through an aka hole in each one . In the picture below, you can make out the cable around the hull in the middle of the first strap. The second pic is older, and I had not worked out locking the amas yet, but, it turned out to be simple..
With this setup, the TI car tops very well. I can go at speed, travel the car pool lanes, 4 wheel, and launch anywhere. I do not even feel it up there.. It feels very secure.. Now, that the work is done, it's all fun !!!
