Kayak storage on a 22 Cruiser

C

C-Pelican

New member
Hello everyone,

I happily purchased a kayak ( 12 foot ) this past week end and have a question for fellow kayakers, or c-brats who know how to use the search better than I do.

I recall threads and I think, photos, of how people stored their kayaks on the C-Dory's.

As shared, I used the search but could not seem to find what I am looking for. Does anyone recall some people posting pics of their kayak stored on their boat?
If so, can you direct me to the correct spot.

12 days left until freedom...and boating maximus!!!!

Jeff
 
Jeff,

C-Dory will soon come out with the Channel Islands Edition. This will include a rack for carrying a kayak.
Check the photo album for "Sealife", he had a rack on his old 22' Angler.
(looks like he removed the rack when he sold it)
Hey Mike- ya got any of your old pics with the rack?
 
I've got a little, 11' I think, sit-on kayak that we take occasionally. I made up a couple of Starboard mounts that slide over the stern cleats. The kayak sits across the stern on these cradles and is bungied down for security under way.
Kayak_Mount.sized.jpg
It works very well and keeps the kayak out of the way for most other activities. Since I used it last, however, I installed twin stern rails that may work just as well as the cradles. I just haven't had occasion to try it yet.
Al
 
As expected, great help and advice already!

Moose, great idea and a pic is always so much more helpful for me, thanks! Seems like a handy storage space while cruising. Mines a sit-on-top also and I can see it being a storage platform while stored there also.

Roger, thanks for that info, I will see if I can find his pics and maybe see if his rack is gathering dust and for sale!

I am curious about the rack C-Dory will come out with. Will write them also.

Hopefully I will be using that kayak in the painted cave you have pictured in your photos.
How did your Memorial Day boat get-together/picnic go?

June 15...June 15...June 15....

Jeff
 
Jeff,

If you get in a pinch, those foam roof pads work well for emergencies.

Yakima makes a neat, wobbly roller system called , "Hully Rollers" that will easily guide your kayak into position with a second, fixed holder.

Narrow holders like that posted above, leave dents in our hulls down here when the kayak is bungied to them, esp. in hot weather.

Alot of car racks can be substituted.

Seattle Sports has alot of Kayak stuff.

John
 
kayaks and C-Dorys...like peanut butter and jelly, I stuck a Yakima rack cross bar on the cabin roof and a oair of plastic rod holders in the motor well.. Gots some aluminum tubing that fits in the rod holders and makes up the rear crossbar. The contraption works good and can be easily removed and installed. If you have canvas, this wouldn't be a very good set up...Al's side mount system looks like it would be the shizzel with a canvas equiped boat.

kayak rigging
 
Hi there,
We store our kayak on top of our 23 venture.It is 16 feet long and about 2-2.5 wide. I haven't figured out how to post photos et(still learning this) but I have photos on my blog
http://voyageofsimplicity.com

I will try to start a tread and some pics under the encouragement of Greg. After all this is the time to learn since I am a full time cruiser now. :D
 
On my CD22 cruiser, I put a pair of Yakima crossbars across the cabin top and put some Yakima kayak cradles up there. I put my 13.5 ft Hobie on top the same way I do on my truck (or anyone would do on a car). I was going to make some custom towers to attach the crossbars to the C-Dory roof handrails, but someone mentioned that the standard Yakima roof gutter attachment towers work and I had some in the garage so I tried them. I put about a 1" thick wood spacer block under each Yakima tower foot between the plastic tower and the rubber roof pad.

The setup is working great. I'm putting off the custom towers until I finish some other projects, which have also been put off because......etc.....

The metal strap that's supposed to grab the underside of the car's rain gutter ends up grabbing underneath the C-Dory roof rails. The parts I have are probably 10 years old. I'm not sure what the new ones are like.

You want to use either properly shaped cradles to sort of match the hull bottom, or else turn the kayak upside down and mount it flat on something padded. If you strap the kayak down too firmly on an ill-fitting surface, especially in hot weather, you'll deform the hull pretty easily.

I'm assuming we're talking about the newer plastic roto-molded sit-on-top kayaks, and not the more 'serious' fiberglass or kevlar sit-inside types. I have no experience with the latter.

I frequently leave mine on top of the boat when towing on the road. I bought and modified a taller rooftop light pole because the kayak blocks the light from the standard factory light. Soon I'll need to make a similar custom radar tower.

Jeff
 
I just added 2 pics of how I carry my fiberglass kayak or my plastic kayak. I have taken a kayak on many local trips and several long trips to the San Juans and Lake Powell. Nothing better than bass fishing from the kayak at Lake Powell.

I built a front rack attached to the hand rails and use the tall radar rack for the rear. Works fine. I just wish I could carry an inflated dingy and a kayak without having to put one side of the dink on top of the kayak.

Steve
 
Jim,

Thankyou for the tip. Did you use the 4" riser with it? Or the standard height?

Interesting idea, and you say it's stable?

Can you please take some photos of the set up and post here or in your album?

Thanks,
Jeff
 
Greetings Jeff,

I used the standard 1A towers.

Considering that the clamp is straight and not made to attach to railing, it really locks down tight after attaching the crossbars. I will add the locksets not because I am worried about someone lifting the rack, but because it will ensure that the clamps will not loosen underway.
One thing I like about this style of tower is that there is minimal side pull on the rail vs the other tower design pictured in this thread (see B~C). Maybe others would let us know if this may be an issue?
The pros of this rack are the ease of assembly (no custom orders or finding someone to weld stainless) and the bizillions of attachments for canoes, kayaks, bikes, skis/boards, etc. I am excited to attach a rocket box that will hold skiis and snowboards and gear for longer trips. Also, I am hoping that rod holders can be easily attached and I see no reason why they couldn't be. There is also a lifetime warranty from Yakima and REI, which I like considering that the rack will be constantly covered in salt spray. The only cons so far are that they are butt ugly compared to a custom stainless and possibly the price - 140 for the towers + 60 for the bars.

I will try to get a few photos posted asap.

Jim
 
Thule makes a tower spciefically to attach to bars, called the 450. I was considering Yakama, but when I email Yakama factory they said there is no way they would support or recommend placing the rain gutter attachment system on bars.

The Thule ones are great, as they are specifically designed to go on bars, very strong once attached, very easy to install with no modifications, and only rises the bars about 2 inches off your roof, rather than 6-8 inches like the Yakama rain gutter towers.

Yakama and Thule both have the same accessories for your skis, yaks, surf boards etc.. The only diff is flat bars v. round.
 
I tried the Thule Crossroad (aka 450) and although they are a much preferable attachment method than the rain gutter attachment version, it did not have a high enough profile for the crossbar to clear the roof. I also took a look at the Yakima Lowrider (also a rail attachment), but it is approximately the same dimensions as the Thule, so I don't think it will work for my boat either.

I have an 2007 22 Cruiser with roof rails that are below the peak of the roof. Sounds like you didn't have the same problem with the Thule rack as I did - could we have different roof rail systems?

Also, I should note that although I think the gutter system will work just fine, I have not load tested it on the water. I'd be more than happy to give it a test run and post the results along with some photos.

Jim
 
For less than $50 in wood, brass screws and a little house paint I made a proto type rack that can do it all. It turned out to be quite durable and retains the salty look. And the color matches the boat. The canoe in the pics (bottom pg 2) is an 18 footer. The deck doubles as a sun deck (something I miss in the dory), a fishing platform and in a pinch a sleeping spot. I made it so that the center of the deck will rest on the center of the roof to spread out the load stress. It can carry anything within reason you can hoist up there. The deck also serves as a safari top (just like a Land Rover) shielding the cabin underneath from the hot southern sun.

I cut a channel in the two forward side rails. This allows it to balance on the two metal roof rails. Then just use band clamps (4 -5 per side) to hold it on. That is why the cutouts are in the deck. To reach the band clamps hidden to the inside. The whole thing pops on and off in minutes with NO holes drilled in the boat.
 
On my setup the Yakima metal hook that's supposed to grab under the rain gutter is instead hooked under the C-Dory roof rails. By putting a wood spacer between the bottom of the plastic Yakima tower and its rubber pad I end up with the rubber pad and tower pressing down against the roof of the C-Dory and the metal Yakima straps pulling up against the C-Dory rails.

This is exactly the same loading condition the racks would see if they were on a car. As a result, it works fine. I still want to make something custom, because I expect salt water to eventually ruin the Yakima hardware, but I'm certainly in no rush.

When a previous poster asked Yakima about the arrangement, the factory probably envisioned the user trying to do something the rack wasn't designed for, and they of course gave the standard "we can't recommend it" answer (I'm supposing here). Again, the way I'm doing it, the rack sees the same situation as it would on a car, and it's as happy as a rack can be....

I haven't looked to see what Yakima's selling nowadays, though. It could be different.

Jeff
 
Lots of good ideas for racks here. I guess I'm more interested in how you load to these racks while on the water. I'm especially interested in how it works with an arch. Maybe I'm overthinking it but I'm looking at loading two 17' fiberglass kayaks without going to shore. Currently I pull the kayak across the cockpit, step up onto a box/cooler and then lift/swing them directly onto a pad on the roof of the c-dory. Thoughts?
Les
 
Hi Les,

The way I load my kayak and dink is from the bow. I can lift the bow of my kayak with a bow line, then grab the boat and pull it up onto and across the bow rail. With the kayak across the bowrail I can grab the cockpit coming and lift the kayak and swing it around onto the front rack. I then slide it back to the radar arch.

Same with the dink. I pull up the bow and then lift the dink across the bow rail. Then lift the bow upside-down onto the front rack and slide it back to the arch.

I have done this at anchor many times and only fallen in once (just kidding).

Steve
 
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