Kayak Capers

[seasiren]

We have a Lunar 630 Roadstar with a Fiamma bike carrier (pro c) on the back. It is rated to 60 kgs. The current Mr 'seasiren' has a dagger kayak he would like to transport on the bike rack instead of the roof-rack, the kayak weighs 20 kg and is 8'1" long. Has anyone tried this before, can the bike rack be modified, or is it just a case of lashing in on!!

 

[Kontiki]

I think the weight should be ok as it is much less than the rated weight but how are you going to fix it on 8'1" if you fit it across the van it would be sticking out & probably illegal (also would end up being broke) if you stand it on end I would think it would stick up above the van. Thinking about it you might be able to make some sort of cradle you fix on the bike rack so the kayak could be mounted onto it Have seen tandems before now fasten vertically to the back of a van .

 

[lenny]

We have a Lunar 630 Roadstar with a Fiamma bike carrier (pro c) on the back. It is rated to 60 kgs. The current Mr 'seasiren' has a dagger kayak he would like to transport on the bike rack instead of the roof-rack, the kayak weighs 20 kg and is 8'1" long. Has anyone tried this before, can the bike rack be modified, or is it just a case of lashing in on!!

Or maybe try mounting it verticle on your fixed ladder, If you have one fitted

 

[Pioneer]

We have a Lunar 630 Roadstar with a Fiamma bike carrier (pro c) on the back. It is rated to 60 kgs. The current Mr 'seasiren' has a dagger kayak he would like to transport on the bike rack instead of the roof-rack, the kayak weighs 20 kg and is 8'1" long. Has anyone tried this before, can the bike rack be modified, or is it just a case of lashing in on!!

Hi,
does your Roadstar 630 not come with a rear ladder and side racks on top?
We had a 620, and was able to manufacture a frame to fix between the side racks, and fit a solar panel, just a thought. If not sometimes these are available on fleabay, might be worth your while investing in one.

Happy Camping

 

[Belgian]

Or maybe try mounting it verticle on your fixed ladder, If you have one fitted

.... and beware for everything lower than 9" ....

 

[Deleted member 5759]

.... and beware for everything lower than 9" ....

Kayaks 8' plus the height it is mounted............ More like 10' PLUS

Sounds highly dodgy to me trying to carry it on the back of the van.

Peter

 

[derekfaeberwick]

We have a Lunar 630 Roadstar with a Fiamma bike carrier (pro c) on the back. It is rated to 60 kgs. The current Mr 'seasiren' has a dagger kayak he would like to transport on the bike rack instead of the roof-rack, the kayak weighs 20 kg and is 8'1" long. Has anyone tried this before, can the bike rack be modified, or is it just a case of lashing in on!!

Hi, your canoe is 2.46 metres which should be less than the width of your van MIRROR to MIRROR.

I wouldn't fancy it myself but can see no legal problems with it.

 

[Deleted member 8180]

Asking for trouble IMHO - bikes have relatively low drag and don't stick out far. Putting a kayak end out in the slipstream is likely to put a lot of unusual stress on the rack. I always put my boats on the roof, mind you at 17' 6" I think someone would complain if I stuck it sideways on the back...

 

[Hezbez]

We decided it would be too difficult to transport a hard shell kayak on our van.
So we splashed out about 300 quid for a good quality inflatable Sea Eagle kayak.

Everything including paddles, seats etc goes into one bag and fits neatly into one of the lockers in the van.

 

[urbtaf]

inflatable is a good idea, Ive moved kayaks on cars, vans,trailers. The trick is to transport them upside down so they are not being pulled up by the wind, putting them on the back of a van sounds dangerous if even a few inch sticks out.
Once saw a kayak that had been strapped across the middle to a strong roofrack, once the car hit 60mph the front lifted and snapped the kayak in half.

 

[Deleted member 207]

I'd be very careful - rear mount bike racks and their mounting points are designed for vertical loadings and no (little) horizontal drag from wind. My bike rack uses 4 pop rivets to mount the clips - I'm positive that wind drag from a kayak poking above the roof line at 100kph would be enough to pull them through the roof.

In the dim recesses of my memory I seem to recall that there is a formula for aerodynamic drag which doubles the forces for every 12kph (I think) of wind speed.

 

[Norris]

In the dim recesses of my memory I seem to recall that there is a formula for aerodynamic drag which doubles the forces for every 12kph (I think) of wind speed.

Double the speed you quadruple the drag.

 

[Deleted member 8180]

drag is proportional to the square of the velocity in my book. Think that means if you double the speed you quadruple the drag, but if you treble the speed you ninetuple (technical term) the drag. I keep my 15' canoe in the boot. Yep, inflatable...