This is a reprint of an old blog post but I don’t think it got the recognition it deserved so I’m posting it again.
When I travel around with my kayak on my roof rack and people see the wheels attached, they drive by and give me a thumbs up because right away they can see my method for loading and unloading my kayak by myself.
1. Put a bath mat on back of your vehicle where your kayak will touch it, so that it won’t scratch your car ( the rubber on the back is so it won’t slide of your roof.)
2. Put a V-shaped kayak foam block on each of your roof rack rails.
3. Attach a wheeled kayak cart to the back of your kayak.
4. Lift front of kayak up on roof.
5. Go to back of kayak, lift up letting the front of the kayak rest in the V of the foam block, and push on.
6. Leave the wheels attached so they are ready for you to unload again.
To unload:
Grab hold of the back of your kayak and pull it off and down so the back is resting on the wheels.
When the back is resting on the ground on the wheels and the front is resting on the top of the roof rack, go to the front and just lift the front down to the ground.
Now you are ready to wheel your kayak to the water.
Very innovative, and love the drawings! I hadn’t heard of leaving the wheels on while the kayak is on the roof rack. I imagine you are using Washburne Sternwheels or something similar?
I don’t know what they are. I think I bought the cheapest kayak wheels I could find.