Yo Scott

Thats a fine looking kayak. Definately points for trying. Keep up the good work.

I might have been carting my 5.7 m long, fibreglass/kevlar, down river racers (that comprise an ex champion seagull outboard motor racing catamaran) up the North Island of New Zealand once maybe. The guy who built them said he never tied his kayaks down at the ends when he shifted them (turns out the nong has van, so his kayaks don't over hang his industrial grade roof racks much at all).

I figured that since these kayaks were really skinny and light: maybe I didn't need to lash them down fore and aft to the tow points beneath the bumpers after all those years.

Anyhow, eventually a mighty gust of wind got under both the bows and started them-a-flying. They wrenched the roof rack completely off the car and then flew about 30 clear foot into the air and sailed about 100 yards across the road and into the scrub - still nautically tied together and to the roof rack.

The incident dented the car, wound the missus up something nasty (maybe that is why I am not allowed to build any more kayaks) and did some minor damage to one of the kayaks that took the brunt of the landing. Nothing that couldn't be patched up with a little epoxy and cloth the next day.

But the point is kayaks, roofs at speed plus launching is fairly spectacular and just be concious of the consequences that an uncontrolled 7 foot/ 20 foot flying projectile might have before you try it at home.

Best, just to avoid the flying off the roof scenario in the first place and severly reduce the possibility by using jolly good lashings of bows and sterns to the bumpers ...

Cheers Pete