: I have a good amount of 1/16 ash veneer, I bet it would be easy to
: build a mold and laminate the cradle. The sling could be made of
: 2" firehose. Now I have another project. :)

: Clayton Plunkett

My approach will be to laminate 2 or 3 layers of 18oz X 2" wide PVC cloth, cover it with 1/2" closed cell foam, and then a single layer of PVC as
a replaceable cover. That would make it quite similar to the Burnham slings. The 8ft X 2" X 3" aluminum shaft is available from various aluminum vendors,
though a laminated wood shaft should work also.

For the cradles, I'd prefer to go the hardwood route, or possibly plywood. I've drawn up a couple of possible solutions,
though your lamination idea should be a good alternative. (See pic)

I've always preferred slings to foam as kayak holders in my shop. The use of slings for cartopping offer a flexible hull or deck
conforming shape for rounded or hard chine kayaks that seems very secure / stable at high speeds. The wide spans possible between
slings adds greatly to overall stablity.

I like alternate solutions, and this appears to be a good one. It seems odd that this has been mostly a racing shell application.

Plus, it's pretty cool looking :) ... Tom