Touring kayaks and a skoolie

[waywardfool]

Anybody play with touring kayaks? How about carrying two 16-footers on a skoolie? Design to go inside, or build a roof-rack?

[nyrockingchairs]

I am in the process of building a 19' strip canoe. That was one of the main driving forces in getting a skoolie. The plan is for a roof rack and hoist and pulley system using a boat trailer winch. The roof rack will also house the bikes, extraneous stuff that doesn't fit in the canoe, and the occasional drunk friend/relative we want to tie up there and go looking for overpasses...

[beekay]

My 14ft rec kayak takes up alot of room. I have yet to complete my interior so it can be stored inside for now. I can't see being able to do that when finished unless you use a large portion of the back as a garage for your toys. Seems like the roof is the way to go. I haven't even thought of a pulley system yet, but would imagine that would be necessary to loan and unload solo.

[boojiewoojie]

We carried a 16' sassafras strip canoe to CA and back with no problem. I used a 6' step ladder to get on the roof and used two ratchet straps to hold the canoe down. My 12 year old son and I were able to get it on and off with very little hassle. Solo would have been more difficult, but doable. If you have a FE or dog nose bus, just put a ladder on the back. Oh, you may have to drive a little more defensively. It's amazing how many people stare at it when they drive past. I had people veer into my lane at least five times just because they were checking it out. The two straps held fine, even when we encountered 70mph crosswinds in Wyoming.