Roof Rack for Aluminum Boat

[carpeweekend]

Just bought a new 270 Raider. It has a huge roof with two rails running the length of the roof. I want to be able to carry kayaks on the roof and would love to set it up to carry other gear too - prawn traps, crab traps, etc.

I got a kayak rack set up from Thule but the cross rails are not long enough to span the width of the roof between the rails and the dealer advises that they don't make cross rails any longer. Anyone have any thoughts on how to proceed? Seems like I should get a custom rack fabricated for it? Can anyone share pictures of what they have done.

And if custom is the way to go, can you recommend a company that does custom fabrication on the South Island that may have some experience?

 

[zurk]

be really careful on weight. i got my tower/rack from riptide marine on vancouver island for $2.5k-ish and it works well but your cg does go up and therefore instability in waves. mine was 32lbs. if i load it with more than 150lbs the boat leans more in turns.

 

[MadJigga]

Liquid metal in Sidney. Top knotch work but expensive
Oceans West Marine Fabrication in Sooke for quality but more competitive prices

 

[Cookie's Cutter]

hi Zurk, the big boys are talking about hardtop roofs here, not soft tops with towers. lol.

I have been pondering this same question all week. I have been using the cheap foam pads with some straps that you can get to go on the roof of a car but the kayaks tend to move around quite a bit. And in my situation the kayaks can rub on the corner of the radar tower. My worry with the Thule Kayak Racks is that the cross rails or the rack itself will not be meant for the marine environment and turn to rust within a year. And they aren’t cheap.

 

[ryanb]

Just bought a new 270 Raider. It has a huge roof with two rails running the length of the roof. I want to be able to carry kayaks on the roof and would love to set it up to carry other gear too - prawn traps, crab traps, etc.

I got a kayak rack set up from Thule but the cross rails are not long enough to span the width of the roof between the rails and the dealer advises that they don't make cross rails any longer. Anyone have any thoughts on how to proceed? Seems like I should get a custom rack fabricated for it? Can anyone share pictures of what they have done.

And if custom is the way to go, can you recommend a company that does custom fabrication on the South Island that may have some experience?

You can carry one kayak down the middle on foam pads, but your radar arch and rocket launchers prevent you from carrying more. You would need a very high rack to get above the rocket launchers and radar arch.

Traps on the roof will be hard on your paint, so put down a coat of non-skid or maybe some of that nice foam decking stuff they have now. Skip the rack, if you protect the paint the roof is the best spot to keep them, and a rack just adds unnecessary weight up high on what is already a somewhat Roll-ey hull design (I know).

 

[carpeweekend]

Thanks guys. Some great advice. I will post pics once I have made a decision and had something installed.

 

[ryanb]

You buy that white one from Sherwood? It's my boat on steroids... They've made a lot of nice improvements to them since I bought mine 6 years ago...enjoy!

 

[carpeweekend]

Yes, took delivery a couple of days ago. Going out for its maiden fish tomorrow.

 

[advTHXance]

Unzipped and resized for you sir

 

[advTHXance]

Love the Netminder graphic btw!