After reflecting for a couple of weeks of our Pedder Bay kayaking experience, Robyn and I decided that we are going push forward and make kayaking one of our new hobbies for the future. We spent a considerable amount of time researching on the internet on different types of kayaks, personal gear etc but one decision that we made first was to get our truck fitted with a rack system to transport kayaks. Since expressing our interest in kayaking, many of our friends have offered us the use of their boats to try out and since the fall weather is coming we really don't need to purchase our own kayaks at this time. So in our case...the rack came first! LOL
Last weekend we checked out the Ocean River Sports"Gear Sale" and also the number of vehicles in the parking lots with rack systems. There are primarily two keys manufactures of systems (Thule and Yakima Racks) and both companies offer similar products and options. We also stopped by All Seasons Auto Racks on Gorge Road and Rick demonstrated the the various mounting systems that could be used on our fiberglass truck canopy.
We settled on a Yakima Rack system that included the cross bars and removable locking towers, 2 sets of Mako Saddles and Hullyrollers which will make loading and unloading kayaks easy. The rear mounted Hullyrollers seem to be very popular in the kayaking community and one feature that I really like is that they have a locking tab for when the kayak is on the rack. The front saddles come with felt backing which also helps in loading the kayak as well protecting the hull.
Installation was only an hour and the Mako Saddles and Hullyrollers come complete with adjustable kayak straps and bow/stern tie downs as well! The perfect kayak system for our truck all for $940 plus tax, which will enable us to transport our kayaks with our RV in tow! Just in time too as we have been offered the use of a couple of Current Designs glass boats for next weekend at Pedder Bay where we can put to use the paddling skills that we learned yesterday at the Ocean River Introduction to Kayaking Skills course.
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