: Hi there

: I decided to have a go at building my own custom cradles, but using
: 1" x 1/4" strip aluminium instead. It worked really
: well. Each cradle is rigid and very strong. In my case, I was
: able to bolt it through the rack, because the rack crossbars are
: thick enough to accommodate two holes and I could slide an
: insert into the crossbar tube to support the bolts.

: Each cradle is in two parts - a piece tailored to fit the hull, and
: then a J shape outside that to hold it rigid. Bending the
: aluminium was easy using a vice. Three stainless steel bolts
: hold it together, and also bolt it to the crossbar.

: It cost about NZD20 for a 3 metre strip of aluminium, plus some
: stainless bolts. I fitted a plastic clip onto a short webbing
: loop, with a bungee to haul over the kayak, and used contact
: adhesive to add strips of minicell foam onto the aluminium to
: protect the hull. The angled cradle makes it easy to put the
: boat on the rack myself, leaves space for more, and accommodates
: the J shape which is integral to the strength of the cradle.

: Make sure you tether front and back as well though. I did this
: using John Caldeira's nifty idea of adding a webbing loop on
: either side of the car's bonnet (hood), for a tether up to the
: bow, and a further tether from the tow ball to the stern.

: For the trip home from our holiday, I took a "she'll be
: right" attitude because some idiot had pinched my front
: tether. I drove home without it. After 100km of open road
: driving, we hit a very strong cross wind while crossing a bridge
: ... and the rack exploded. The cradles held fine, but the force
: of the crosswind sheered the bolts clamping the crossbars to the
: car's roof rails, and the whole assembly took off. Fortunately I
: still had it tethered at the back, but the kayak took a bit of a
: hit. A lot less damage than I would have expected (tip of bow
: was crushed, and a few scratches where the kayak was pivoted on
: the tow ball-mounted bike rack - it bent a 1" pipe on the
: bike rack! By rights the kayak should have snapped in half ...
: phew ...).

: I was most embarrassed to have had an unsecured load though. So
: many people transport kayaks without bow/stern tethers. So
: please do learn from my mistake!

: Regards, Ian

I don't use bow and stern lines around town, but if I'll be on the road at speeds over about 45 mph they are in use always. Have had way too many show up at the shop after getting away from someone over the years to not pay attention (though we all make mistakes occasionally ).

Bill H.