Stern mount for kayak?

[Oregon Trail]

Has anyone mounted a kayak off the stern? We are thinking of getting a shorter 9' or 10' kayak and mounting it off the swim step, possibly on the "patio rails" of our CW28. This would keep it off the roof and more readily available. Any thoughts or suggestions?

Thanks,
Mike

 

[elan]

Good evening Mike,
This does not directly answer your question, however we have put two Pongo 10ft with Yakima J racks on top which has worked out well!
Will have picks in a couple of weeks.
Mike
M/V Elan
Cutwater 26

 

[steven_ickman]

One thing to consider Mike is the your CW28 is only 8.5' wide. If you have something 10' wide hanging off the back you'll need to watch out when you go to dock.

-steve

 

[Oregon Trail]

Thank you Mike & Steve!

Steve, that is a good point about the width of the boat at 8' 6", and one I have considered. I am hoping that at less than a foot sticking out on each side it will be doable. I also think 10' would be about the longest kayak that might work for this. Anything longer would have to go up top, which may not be a big deal since others obviously do it all the time. If we were to get a pair, one would have to go up above anyway.

We tend to leave our cockpit canvas (the top part) up all year which seems like it would really get in the way of accessing the roof rack. I am curious if others have found that to be a problem. I don't really want to resort to installing a crane like some have done.

Mike, Elan looks very similar to our 28, even the same color, but with a little shorter cockpit. How do you go about lifting your kayaks to the roof?

Thanks,

 

[elan]

Good evening Mike,
Good question, I take the stearn of the kayak & the wife takes the bow we very carefully move to the fore deck,
then we tie lines to the bow & stearn of the Kayaks lift them(50lbs) over the bow pulpet & lower them into the water.
We then pull them to the stern open the gate & get in, short changes in anchorages we just tow them.
Hopes this helps?
Good luck,
Mike
M/V Elan
Cutwater 26

 

[pleeson]

Our 14 foot singles are always loaded and unloaded through the bow pulpit using a line to lift/lower one end. Then only one person has to shuffle along the side deck with one hand for himself, and one hand for the kayak. The other can stay on the bow. Will work until we are too old and feeble - mind or body...

 

[Oregon Trail]

Thank you all! This sounds about how I envisioned it would have to be done.

My only remaining question is how does one keep the kayak from filling up with rain water when stored on the top of the boat? Store it upside down? Keep a waterproof cover over it?

Thanks,

Mike

 

[pleeson]

Mike, any specialty paddling outfitter of major outdoor recreation outfitter like REI will have good quality waterproof covers for your kayak cockpits - neoprene or coated nylon. Ours even stay on going down the Freeway at 70 mph or so. Just tie them on just in case. You'll need to take cockpit dimensions to get the right size especially for mail order.

 

[Paul and Tanya]

We store our upside down on the starboard side cabin roof rails. At the dock, easy to take off from the dock. When on the hook, we shove the aft 2/3 of the bimini forward by pulling the pins on the supports. We then unzip the bimini flap over the starboard step in the cock pit. One person stands on the step sliding the kayak aft, while one is in the cockpit to take the end of the kayak and walk it through the transom door and through to the swim step. Putting it back up is just the opposite. That process has worked well for us.

 

[scubabob]

We just a 10' Ascend kayak and have been keeping it in the back. Docking (tie-along and stern-to) are doable but require finessing.
Just got a Malone J rack for the top. Will see how that works on our C26