Drop me a line if you want more info about building the rack.

The rack enables me to load the 35 kilo double easily and safely (for both me and the boat) unassisted, which was my main objective, but there are a few other benefits.

The rack makes the boat easy to clean and store. I have thought of adding a few short lengths of alloy tube so that I could install fibreglass tent poles and throw a cover over the lot (like a mobile “hoophouse”) for storage, but have not bothered because at present I have a covered space to “park” the boat.

The cradles are only on my car when the boat is on the car. The cradles last longer because they are not out in the sun, I have fewer clearance problems with the car, and I suppose I save a bit of fuel.

Perhaps the best bit is the expression on my friends’ faces as I wheel the boat down to the surf unassisted, while they are doing the “all hands on deck” routine to get the boats onto the beach.

It may not be apparent from the photos, but the spacing of the holes in the rack into which the wheel uprights slide is slightly (about 2mm) different from the spacing of the uprights, so that they lock in with friction. Otherwise you have to strap or bungy the wheel assemblies onto the rack.

The rack is simply held on the car by additional straps over the whole boat and around the roof bars, just as if the cradles were a fixture to the bars.

The wheels are old golf club-buggy castoffs that slip into the axlen tube and are held by wing bolts. I take two of them out of the axle tube and take 'em with me when I paddle. They fit into a little trolley for the boat, so I can wheel it up the beach. I see Richard Kohlstrom has made a similar trolley and has pdotos on his site.

In case you are wondering why all this "solo" stuff for a double boat, my wife has a neck injury and cannot lift stuff. She does paddle a bit, enjoys the water, and provides outstanding aesthetic and aerodynamic contributions:)

Regards, Tony