Car top a boat

[Wherry Jack]

How big of a boat can be safely carried on top of a car like a small honda Civic? Length and weight? What kind of rack would I use? i am trying to decide between a canoe and a small row boat. :eek:

[Dave Wright]

The biggest boat I carried frequently (for 2 years) on a cartop was a 14 foot Laser sailboat weighing roughly 130 pounds plus additional weight for mast and boom. (Yeah , I know, fiberglass). I'm just a little guy and it was awkward getting the boat on and off the car without risking scraping it - I had a chunk of all weather carpet to put down on the ramp and got the car as close to the water as possible. I carried the boat right side up on two wooden cradles U-bolted to the standard roof rack on a two door American Motors Gremlin. If you can remember that car, the roof was not very long - probably shorter than the Civic.

I secured the boat with two lines forward to the front bumper, and two lines aft to the rear bumper, plus two lines around the hull to the roof rack. After roughly a year of hauling it this way I had quite a surprise. I went over a substantial bump at about 35 MPH, and heard a strange noise from the roof. When I stopped and looked, I found that the factory roof rack was secured to the roof with rubber expansion plugs in simple holes in the roof. The rack was secured at four places with these plugs - both front plugs had popped out of the roof and the rack was not adequately secured. Fortunately the boat stayed in place and I was young and resilient. I used "Quick and Easy" brand clamps to the rain gutter after that and never had another problem.

Someone remarked to me that he had seen the local Laser champion and dealer carry two Lasers on the roof of his car, one on top of the other. I can't imagine doing that.

For me, 130 pounds and 14 feet represented just about the maximum I'd ever want to haul on the roof again. It's just too much of a pain getting a big awkward object up and down. I'm sure as heck too old to ever do that on a regular basis again.

Good luck to you; let us know what you finally haul.

Dave Wright

[NormMessinger]

Kinda depends on how fast you corner.

[rbgarr]

Honda Civic, huh? What year? Some of the older ones are tiny, while newer ones are the size of older Accords.

You probably don't have a factory roof rack in any case, so you're looking at making up or buying some kind of rack of your own. I'm nervous about carrying boats on top of cars so I'll just talk about racks, which I think are the best, most responsible way to carry loads on top of cars. Thule and Yakima racks are built specially for most model cars, but can get expensive, although I had time and got the different component parts very inexpensively on eBay over time. People seem to sell their cars, yet keep rack parts that won't fit their new ones. Go figure. Be sure to check the mfr's websites or get catalogs to make sure you're getting the right parts for your car if you go that way. Ask specific questions of ebay sellers before bidding, too. They don't always describe things well or accurately.

In any case, the main issue is not weight quite so much as securing the boat firmly to the vehicle, and being very mindful of how much wind resistance is exerted on whatever boat you choose, especially on top of the car at speed. Earlier this year, I saw a boater who had forgottten (?) to lower the bimini top on his outboard motor boat on his trailer. The entire thing, stanchions, straps, etc. ripped off the hull and went sailing off down the highway into the traffic behind him. :eek: You may not be talking about travelling at highway speeds, but who knows.

As far as a canoe is concerned, which due of the length might be most problematic on a Civic, I'd suggest this way of tying it to the front and back of your car: Plan on carrying the canoe upside down. (This may seem obvious but I've seen kayaks carried right side up that get a lot of rain water in them on the highway. That's a lot of weight sloshing around up high, not to mention a strain on the boat and a pain to bail out before taking the boat down off the car.) Fit substantial wood sticks between the gunwales (temporarily) across the bow and stern in a way that ropes tied from that 'bar' to the corners of the car will keep the canoe securely on the centerline of the car. You'd probably want the angle of the ropes to lead so that the bow of the canoe is pulled toward the front of the car while the stern of the canoe is pulled toward the back. On newer cars finding places to tie down to is sometimes difficult with the smooth pllstic bumpers, etc. you may have to go over the bumpers to the frame underneath. Wrap the ropes with some old cloth if it looks like there might be some chafe anywhere.

A Maine guide I know has heavy wooden dowels with rubber bumpers on each end that he jams in place for this purpose. The dowels have eyebolts in each end that he has ropes tied to for strapping the canoe down to the car. Eighteen wheelers fly by him and the canoe only shudders a bit. The canoe is then strapped to his rack. He also has what he calls safety straps that go over the canoe and through the car (before closing the doors!) for an extra sense of security. A real belt and suspenders kind of guy, but his attitude is if he's got to maneuver suddenly to avoid an accident, he wants to be able to concentrate on his driving without wondering whether his canoe is going to take a different route than the car.

Another tip: he stops about five miles after starting on any road trip to check the rack and all lashings to see if adjustment/tightening is needed. Not a bad idea. Finally, be prepared to clean the boat thoroughly before using it. Highway grime, especially water thrown up from an oily road in a rainstorm will coat everything it can get at. Just one of those things, I guess.

Good luck!

[Paul Scheuer]

As Norm says, it all depends on how you drive.

I've done a Grumman 17 canoe on a VW Beatle, carefully.

My plan with any load is to tie so that I can see all of the knots from the driver's seat. I use real rope tiedowns with eye splices for the hidden end. I always tie so that I can loose any one line and not have the load shift. I snug up the lines after the first few hundred yards.

Big, fat, 3/4", cheap, soft, nylon lines look like a cartoon, but they make it a lot easier to see the knots and re-tie if necessary. (think, cold, wet, dark). They also provide some chafe protection all by themselves.

[JimD]

I used to top an 18 foot plywood kayak on an old Honda Accord, no roof rack except a couple lenths of pool noodles to protect the boat. Of course it caved in the roof a bit but the car was such a piece of junk by that time I didn't care :D

[carlg]

It looks a little funny, but I carry a 21' shell on a Ford Focus with Yakima racks. The racks and saddles are expensive, as mentioned above, but they are solid and do the job right.

[Dave Carnell]

I started cartopping boats back in 1946. Used homemade roof racks until the 1985 Escort had an OEM version. Had to put extension bars across it because the "$200 Sailboat" had 4' beam. Did a 16' canoe atop a VW bug with vertical supports on both bumpers. Nylon parachute cord works best with two half hitches for the knots. They don't jam as square knots do and can be cinched up to make the lines really tight.

Singlehanded loading is the real problem. I made rigs with lawn mower wheels I coul bolt to transoms or rudder fittings, turn boat over, and trundle it up behind the car. Then pick up the stern and shove it onto the rack. 150# is about max, even for a young guy.

Never had a problem with boat or rack coming loose. I cannot imagine carrying a boat on the roof other than upside down. Suppose you get caught in the rain and have all that free water sloshing around.

Have thousands of miles in trips from local hops to 500-mile destinations. Quit doing it at about 78, 4 years ago.