hauling ur oc1

Even better, invest $219.00 (+ shipping) in a Burnham Boat Sling and haul your cherry OC-1 in style with good support. The span between bars on a Civic is gong to let the OC-1 wiggle way too much which will probably cause damage on anything longer than a 5 minute drive to your put in.

I wouldn't tie down the the bow or stern to bumpers like you would with a kayak or regular canoe, I think given the distances you would run the risk of cracking your hull if the lines were over tightened.

This question is asked enough it should be part of the Intro to OC-1 Paddling article. Oh wait, it is. ;-)

Also, Jibofo, sorry for stealing your thunder about Burnham, but you convinced me to buy one. And they are also cheap for what you get, especially compared to similar setups (I checked around last year and found one for over $400).

#2 Wed, 06/03/2009 - 10:52am

yankee,
My OC1 fits either way on the Burhams. Usually carry it upside down. Don't think it makes any difference.
anowara,
Good to have someone else who knows how good these are. Got to get Burnham to start paying us.

#4 Wed, 06/03/2009 - 11:25am

The guy to talk to is luke does anybody remember the set up he had on his civic.

#6 Wed, 06/03/2009 - 4:15pm

If your rack system is strong there shouldn't be a reason to tie bow to front bumper, plus there's likely no place to attach a painter to boat.

If you already have racks and they are spread apart on roof as far as possible (without bottoming out on roof in between racks), the system I like best is using home-made cradles cut from Minicel foam.

You want something made of firm, but soft material that "cradles" the shape of hull right-side up without denting it. These boats are stong on water and very delicate on land. The hull is stronger than the deck, that's why I orient boat deck-up.

Shape foam to match hull at the locations of each rack when boat is balanced on roof-rack. You can then tape blocks on (or leave unattached) and put boat on top. Use your surfboard straps to and loop through rack, tighten and go.

#8 Wed, 06/03/2009 - 5:39pm

shamu
Because the Burnham carriers are 8' apart there is very little need to crank down on your straps like for a carrier with closer spacing. Plus the boat rests on a sling that conforms to the hull shape. Mo betta than a rigid carrier that has a larger surface area. As for the long lever arm, think about it, the lever arm is the length of your canoe, not the carrier.

#10 Wed, 06/03/2009 - 6:57pm

Thule Set-to-go kayak saddles - $90 per pair, you need two, $180 total

I don't own an SUV and I really want more distance between my cradles. Let me head over to McMaster-Carr and see what I can find. Hmmm, well I guess this will do…

Aluminum bar, 6 ft length, 3" x 2" cross section, 1/4" walls, $87.97 + shipping

This aluminum bar is the same cross section as what Burnham uses, but two feet shorter. I still need to buy mounting hardware and figure out how to mount my cradles on my extension. Maybe Thule makes a rack extender but I couldn't find one at REI, Amazon, or a couple other sites I checked.

Anyway, right now, without shipping, I'm at $270 (approximately) and I still haven't purchased tie down straps, mounting hardware, or even tested my setup. Long story short, Burnham is a ridiculously good deal and proven for hauling very expensive boats.

Shamu
I don't really see how your setup is any different than the Burnham (or any other potential rack extender). You would still be vulnerable to the mount at the cross bar failing like in your Mercedes example. It's hard to tell from your photos, but your extension bar looks to be pretty similar to what Burnham is using (or any of the other manufacturers of boat slings, and there are a few).

I've tried the Thule cradles and found they are too wide to effectively cradle my canoes. This was without an extender and at the widest part of the boat, so it would be worse with an extender.

Omilu7, whatever you choose, just make sure you test your setup before going on a high speed romp to your favorite put in. Plenty of options to fit a variety of budgets and you'll find something that works for you.

#12 Thu, 06/04/2009 - 7:56am

I just wanted to share a couple of racks I've had built. They've been mounted on a Honda Odyssey, but the reason for them was similar in that I felt the factory racks were too close together. These racks allow me to adjust the distance between the saddles up to 8 feet.

The ones under my Fusion use old fire-hose as the saddle (though I found the coarseness of the hose left tiny marks) and hold the boat rock-solid. I built the other set to accommodate any type of boat (OC-1s and OC-2s). In this picture the cross bars have been moved in to support my wife's C-Lion directly under the iako attachment points. It was flat, and I figured it would be a strong part of the boat.

As you can see, it's a bit over-built. But I'm freaked about losing a boat on the highway. I know the factory rack will likely be the place to fail if anything. But at least I've done all I could do.

The Fusion rack cost about $300 canadian. I haven't got the bill for the second one yet, but I suspect it will be less. I'm sure if I build any more they'll be cheaper still as the first one took some extra "tinkering".

This forum is a great place to share ideas, and if anybody could think of an easy way to pad the metal parts of the rack that would help. I'm trying to not stick anything onto it permanently, as it'll just degrade in the sun and get brittle. But I would like something that slipped on and off the cross bar easily. I'm also looking to cover the metal "gull wings" of the fusion rack to protect the boat when I'm loading/unloading.

#14 Sat, 06/06/2009 - 2:17pm

Here's a rack that I've made for my GTI. I've made these for other people also. Fit on Thule or Yakima bars w/ U bolts. I've found a place where I can buy the aluminum stock (square, hollow "bar") and flat bar. I bend the flat bar on my vice. I then put padding and nylon straps to "cradle" the hull and prevent pressure points. Material costs me around $80 U.S. including stainless steel hardware. I make them about 7 foot long. They work great. I hope the pix attach. I'm working on a new Mac and am a bit clumsy w/ it.

#16 Sun, 06/07/2009 - 7:21am

Hey drewp I love the antler look. Quite the "rack" for a GTI. Looks like your GTI can do some serious rutting in both directions.

#18 Mon, 06/08/2009 - 8:39am

The foam I used was pipe insulation bought at home depot. When I flattened it, I was able to slide it down over the aluminum bar w/o cutting the seam. I put the tape around to secure it just in case the seam ripped. The first few racks I made didn't have the high sides "antlers". I later had an OC2 blow sideways in a crosswind off of a rack. Besides better strapping, I thought the high sides might keep the boat from being blown out of the cradle. So far..so good. Like Kahuna mentions, I feel the first place for rack failure is going to be the rack on the car.

#20 Tue, 06/09/2009 - 2:04am

New custom rack! I call it the okole rigging system.

front rack is a hand me down Thule that I bought the feet for. Feet were $45.

Added custom made 2 x 2 wood to Thule racks for added width: $5

rear rack is made out of two iako tubes purchased for $45.

rear rack extended with custom made 2 x 2 wood for added with: $5

wood secured to metal parts with old bike inner tubes, free at local bike shop.

racks padded with scrap pieces of seat foam, also free.

truck was $1900

total price for racks including vehicle = $2,000

average price per canoe held on rack (5 boat capacity) = $400

price for rack $100, or $20 per canoe.

other facts:

1) handles speeds of at least 50 mph with 20 mph head winds
2) spread between anchor points 7 feet.
3) can be used as fire wood
4) rear bar is 100% aluminum for easy recycling
5) will happily make custom for any vehicle for $300.*

(*production times may vary as hand me down parts become available)

#22 Fri, 06/12/2009 - 8:21pm

you are correct novice c. no matter how you analyse them, the Okole Rigging System racks (ORS for short) are simply amazing.

#24 Sat, 06/13/2009 - 1:40pm