fusioneng wrote:
We have had 3 yukons and car top many different Hobie models.
I don't recommend the towel idea, on all our yukons that rear area is all plastic.
I also don't recommend just putting a towel over the rear door (we caved in one of our doors on the top lip).
The best setup we found is the T-bar reciever hitch. The ones that tilt down are even better.
If you have the factory roof rack that's all you need. What we do is just slip some pvc tubing under the boat on the 11 inch grooves that run the length of the boat, then tie the whole works down. The T bar supports the majority of the weight. Definately use ratchet straps, I always secure the bow with V ropes (not 1" straps (they flutter in the wind)).
The nice thing about the pvc pipes and the t-bar is nothing is left on the roof or the car when not kayaking. We just throw the loose pvc pipe in the garage when not using them, Your only taking about ten bucks worth of pvc, you can also store your boat on the ground in your garage on the same pvc tubes. We just slide our kayaks around in the garage on the pvc, who cares if the pvc gets scratched on the floor.
Hope this helps
Thanks for the advice, I appreciate all the input. I'm not sure what you mean by "11 inch grooves " any possibility of a photo? I'm l leaning towards the t bar in the above photo. The movement would be helpful, I'll hopefully be using it once a week or so.