: I have a 14' Great Auk that I have been working on the past 2+
: years. I have the hull and deck stripped and am in the process
: of planing and sanding it. I want to take it with me down to SC
: (from upstate NY) this winter to work on it, when I'm not
: golfing. It still has the 2x4 strongback and forms in it.

I'd put a ladder on the ladder racks and use that as a base under the kayak.

Get the big roll of saranwrap and wrap it tightly around your work. The slight tension from this will help keep the strips tight against the forms. This also is your first line of defense against rain.

If you don't have a convenient ladder, make one from two 8' 2x4s tied together with "steps" made from 18" pieces of 2x4. Use screws to hold on the end steps. the ones in the middle you can secure with nails or screws.

You'll tie the kayak to the ladder, atach the ladder to the ladder rack, and attach your bow and stern tie-down lines to the ladder (not the boat) as well.

Make packing material which fits the shape of the boat. This can be styrene foam blocks, cardboard, plywood, or something similar. You can put strap clamps (nylon or poly webbing around the hull, and tighten it down with as much force as you want, IF you put the straps directly over the areas where the forms are under the strips. Wrap the straps under and around the ladder and you'll tie boat and ladder together into a solid arrangement.

Throw a tarp over the whole arrangement, and even if it flaps like crazy you'll get the boat safely south.

PGJ