As I put my finishing touches on my Panache, I realized that my "kayak fund" was about empty and I had not purchased any type of roof rack cradles or padding to transport my beloved yak to the lake yet. So, inspired by my daughter playing in her backyard kiddie pool with a foam water noodle, I ran up to the store and purchased a $3.99 foam noodle. I cut it down the middle length-wise, giving me two semi-circular tubes. I strapped these securely (flat side facing the car, curved side facing the yak) to the kayak and then strapped the whole boat to the top of our cars. One car has a factory-rack on it, the other car does not. The cheep padding works perfectly and protects both the cars and kayak. I suppose I could spend $40 for foam blocks or a few hundred for Thule/Yakima gear, but the $4 option seems to do the trick just fine.

Hope this helps some other 'budget builders.'
-Mark

p.s. - the initial voyage of the Panache was great! It takes almost no effort to move through the water. Great design, Rob.