Carrying Bikes

[Markv108]

I am expecting to commission our new C302 Coup at the end of April. One of the many things I have to figure out is carrying two road bikes. I am thinking about using Yakima/Thule style "Rooftop Bike Mount" carriers on factory installed "roof racks".

Has anybody used racks designed for SUVs/Cars on a Cutwater/Ranger or did you utilize some other system? Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

 

[Red Raven]

The challenge with the roof top rack mount for bikes is getting them on and off. It’s really a challenge. After wrestling with getting the kayak on an off we went with (electric!) folding bikes that are kept in the quarterberth. Much easier!

On the roof the bikes also be abused with salt water spray.

 

[CaspersCruiser]

I have carried two road bikes on separate Thule racks, one on either side of the solar panel. If a dock finger is next to the boat, it’s fairly easy getting the bikes off/on. If not, such as in Florida where in many places there are short fingers and pilings, it can be a challenge. In any case, lightweight frames are a must for ease of handling. One of the bikes I carried in Florida recently is not so light. It’s going bye-bye!

 

[S. Todd]

I have a Rocky Mounts Roof top bike rack on our 25SC (fork mount). I purchased this rack because it expands to also carry our tandem (We have always taken the dogs the last three years so we have not yet taken the tandem yet). I have carried a 15.5 pound Scott road bike for about 140 hours. Works great and goes up nicely. The only tricky thing was mounting the rack so it sits level because the factory roof racks are not level but arched. Electrical tape wrapped on the lower side resulted in a level mounting. We always boat on fresh water so the extremely light bike is easy to load. Not sure I would want that many thousands of dollars on the roof rack in salt spray. Could still get a less than 20 lb road bike for 3 grand less and that would not be much harder to load.

 

[Navigator's Son]

I purchased a typical SUV/Car roof rack single bicycle carrier and mounted it on my R25SC as well. The downside, you have to be tied to the dock on the same side you mount the bike.

Even making sure you dock on the same side, I found getting the bike UP on the rack to be the more difficult task. I actually inadvertently managed to get the bike down with only one hand while holding the rail with the other.

Which brings me to my next tip. Get a small step ladder. I'm not familiar with the footing on a Cutwater, but on the Ranger there simply is no way you're going to balance lifting a bike over your head with 2 hands with both feet along the side of the boat. One foot on the provided boat ladder, the other straddled on the ladder securely planted on the dock.

As for the salt water. You can buy a relatively inexpensive bicycle cover to help protect the bikes. I got one off Amazon, I wanna say for around $20.

 

[CaspersCruiser]

The easiest way I have found to get bikes on/off is for me to be on roof and someone to be on the dock finger to to handle bike. Getting bike on/off solo definitely requires a step stool or fairly high dock finger.