How to Haul a Kayak

Hauling a kayak is not a difficult task, it is a matter of tying or strapping the kayak to your vehicle's rack. While not particularly difficult, it is surprising how many kayaks have fallen off the tops of vehicles and onto the road over the years. Hauling a kayak is a matter of having the correct number of ropes or straps, ensuring they are the correct length, and fastening the kayak to the rack properly.

Things You'll Need

  • 2 straps with cams or 2 ropes with trucker's hitches
  • Kayak rack
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Instructions

    • 1

      Lay the kayak -- hull down, right-side up -- perpendicular over the two bars of the kayak rack. Overhang the length of the kayak evenly over the two bars. Put the cam of the strap -- or the loop of the trucker's hitch -- on the center of the bow of the boat. This will ensure you have enough length to properly tighten the boat down. If you put the cam/loop too close to the crossbar of the rack, you will run out of strap/rope as you tighten the kayak down.

    • 2

      Hold the cam/loop on the bow of the boat as you wrap the strap/rope around the rack's crossbar. Make one turn around the crossbar on the far side of the kayak as you stand next to your vehicle. After making the wrap, pull the strap/rope all the way across the bow of the boat, make a wrap around the near side of the crossbar and go back up to the bow of your boat and put the loose end of the strap/rope into the cam/loop. Do not tighten the cam or tie the trucker's hitch tightly.

    • 3

      Tie the stern of the boat down using the same method: center the cam, wrap around the far side of the crossbar, come up and over the stern with the strap/rope and wrap around the near side of the crossbar, then feed the loose end through the cam/loop. Tighten the bow and the stern of the kayak down in increments, alternating from one to the other, until it is tightly secured to the rack.