GIS Cartopping?

[CCBB]

I am sure that the MSD rowboat is cartoppable, but what about the GIS? Is it practical with two strong guys? It is very high sided on a car top...does it work OK? For the beam of the boat it is a simple matter of long enough cross bars...and I think I can get a good spread between cross bars on my mini-van if I installed a Thule or Yakima rack instead of 1 x 4s bolted to factory rack. My primary concern is the pressure from windage on the boat going 70 MPH down the highway. Tell me about it...

Cheers,
Clint

[Boatmik]

Howdy Clint,

Big problem is the boat is so BIG - you really get a feeling of size. Weight is not a problem ... just width and bulk.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2230/2540439320_9064c9f93b.jpg

http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/showthread.php?t=73473&highlight=roof+rack+gis

http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/showthread.php?p=747207#post747207

Michael

[arbordg]

I am sure that the MSD rowboat is cartoppable, but what about the GIS? Is it practical with two strong guys? It is very high sided on a car top...does it work OK? For the beam of the boat it is a simple matter of long enough cross bars...and I think I can get a good spread between cross bars on my mini-van if I installed a Thule or Yakima rack instead of 1 x 4s bolted to factory rack. My primary concern is the pressure from windage on the boat going 70 MPH down the highway. Tell me about it...

Cheers,
Clint

Clint,

We cartopped ours with Yakima racks - on top of an older Mazda MPV - for two years. This van has welded on rain gutters, and therefore the rack attaches to the vehicle much more securely than the new style towers. The bars were long enough (in theory) to carry it upside down, but we only tried it once. Gunwales were too close to the end of the bars... too precarious. So we carried it right side up. The only potential problem with that would be a rainstorm filling up the boat. Our boat has a drain plug amidships at the st'bd chine, so it wasn't an issue for us.


The furthest we ever carried up that way was about 150 miles away. Generally, no problems except for gas mileage. We also carried it once through the Columbia River Gorge - one of the windiest spots in the U.S. There were gusts that day in Klickitat County that were recorded at 45 mph. Scared the wheee outa me!! A gust would hit and it felt like the boat was jumping sideways under the tiedown ropes. I stopped and checked the rigging frequently, and everything was always secure, nothing loose, nothing ominous. But it still felt like the boat wanted to come off the van. It also felt like - if it didn't come off the van, maybe it'd take the van off the road. I'll never do that route again while cartopping.

Ours is a bit heavier than designed, and we never had a lot of problem lifting it up or down, off of a tall van - and our family is short. I can tell you though, it went on a lot easier at the begining of a long weekend, than after a whole weekend of boating, camping, drinking, touch football, swimming, rowing, and general carousing. It always seemed - that putting it back on the van - it had somehow doubled in weight. But we were always able to do it with only a modicum of cursing & bitching. I even put it up by myself one time. It made me glad for the glassed chines as I drug it across the concrete. The van suffered, the boat suffered, and I suffered, but we got it done by lifting the front end up first then dragging it slowly foward until it touched the rear rack bar, then lifting the stern of the boat and bumping it slowly foward.. Hopefully a feat never to be repeated.

We now have it on a trailer, and life is vastly improved. Very easy to launch. I can take it out alone quite easily. Don't have to wait on one of the kids, or another sailing partner. Don't have to do my Hercules impression when all I want to do is get home to a hot shower and clean sheets.Don't have to worry about wind gusts. A huge improvement.

Here's the same rig, with the Goat on a trailer, and with a Puddle Duck Racer and two sets of spars/sails on

http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t4/auroradan/Timothy%20Lake%202008/PICT3026.jpg"What we call 'progress' is the exchange of one nuisance for another nusisance" -- Havelock Ellis
"

[CCBB]

Thank you very much for the information. This helps me visualize bringing a Goat on top and trailing my faering behin when going places. I appreciate the info.

Cheers,
Clint

[arbordg]

Looks like I didn't provide the link I intended to. Here's the foto:

http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t4/auroradan/Timothy%20Lake%202008/PICT3026.jpg

[DALukens]

Clint:

Hope to see you this weekend. I think you"ll agree that a GIS would be pretty difficult to set upon a car. It is pretty damn big.

Dana