Canoe and pop-up roof

Moosehead · Mar 26, 2014

We are looking to carry a 16 foot wood-canvas canoe weighing approx. 32kg on our cali roof. We are considering a Karitek to carry it but the combined weight will be very close to the maximum 50kg.

We have read about possible issues with the weight plus wind resistance of a canoe causing deformation of the cali roof. Does anyone have any experience of this?

We wouldn't want to raise the roof with the canoe on top.

Any advice on carrying open canoes would be very welcome.

Thanks

Moosehead

jamie · Mar 26, 2014

Hi
After talking to people at the southeast cali meet at the hop farm, several people asked how i load my kayak onto the roof so I made a writeup and video :- http://k3yak.com/load-canoe-kayak-on-to-the-roof-of-vw-california/

Not sure if the above is much help? but i have also carried a plastic touring double kayak in fairly high winds without problems that weighed about 30 kg without any problems.

John · Mar 27, 2014

Hi Jamie,
have you looked in Paddle Power where there are several topics and post on Canoe and Kayak roof racks ?

viewforum.php?f=64

John

Moosehead · Mar 27, 2014

Thanks Jamie,

It's reassuring to hear that you have transported 30kg of kayak in windy conditions without problems. I couldn't view the video (I got a privacy message) but I think I get the idea.

Best wishes

Moosehead

jamie · Mar 27, 2014

Hi Moosehead,
The video should work now.
I think I transported a horizon for a friend from Nottingham to Kent, about 2-3 years ago. it shows it as been 36Kg. i do remember it took 2 of us to load and unload it safely, and it was windy on the drive down.
I also made sure it was loaded in the middle of the roof.
I have raised the roof with 2 play boats on top weighing about 12-15kg each without issues.

Woody135 · Mar 28, 2014

We routinely carry two P&H Quests (50kgs) on a Karitec Roof system on our Cali and have had no problems what so ever.
However if we were camping at the same time them I would probably remover boats prior to lifting roof just in order to lessen the load on the roof hydraulics….don't really want them to fail hey!
Best part is the fact that our boat are well out the way of any traffic and the van is almost long enough to protect their full length.
Precise (to the mm) alignment of Karitec roof bars is also required if system is to run as smoothly as you would ideally like.
Well recommend from us.

Thestowe · Mar 28, 2014

At the end of last summer we toured Scotland for two weeks with a Old Town Penobscot 16 RX (30kg with a bit of kit stored in it). When I first put her on, I lined the bow up with the front of the California....looked great, but the roof was very heavy to lift and did not stay up. So, I slid the canoe back so the bow was just over the windscreen.....the roof was now pop-able and just about held up. The kinematics of the roof are very clever. I then added two wooden struts to hold the roof in position....I was worried that as the gas assisting struts cooled down at night, the roof might collapse....and, it just made me feel safer.

I did not raise the roof in strong winds....except one night when we woke to force7 and flat tents all around. And I always park with the wind blowing onto the tailgate. This minimises any twist on the roof (and buffeting of the canvas sides).

To put the canoe on the roof, I put the rear roof bar as far back as it would go. Then, put the bow on it. Walked to the back of the canoe and slid it on. Easily a one man job (and not a very strong man at that).

Hope this helps.

Mark

Moosehead · Mar 30, 2014

Thanks everyone for your very helpful replies. Plenty of good ideas.

Moosehead

Yorkshire lass · Jun 6, 2015

Thestowe said:
At the end of last summer we toured Scotland for two weeks with a Old Town Penobscot 16 RX (30kg with a bit of kit stored in it). When I first put her on, I lined the bow up with the front of the California....looked great, but the roof was very heavy to lift and did not stay up. So, I slid the canoe back so the bow was just over the windscreen.....the roof was now pop-able and just about held up. The kinematics of the roof are very clever. I then added two wooden struts to hold the roof in position....I was worried that as the gas assisting struts cooled down at night, the roof might collapse....and, it just made me feel safer.

I did not raise the roof in strong winds....except one night when we woke to force7 and flat tents all around. And I always park with the wind blowing onto the tailgate. This minimises any twist on the roof (and buffeting of the canvas sides).

To put the canoe on the roof, I put the rear roof bar as far back as it would go. Then, put the bow on it. Walked to the back of the canoe and slid it on. Easily a one man job (and not a very strong man at that).

Hope this helps.

Mark

View attachment 2660 View attachment 2661

Mark

Thanks for post and photos really useful. I am new T5 california owner and looking at doing same as you. What roof bars do you use for carrying the canoe?
Regards
Sue

Moosehead · Jun 26, 2015

We now have a Karitek roof bar system and its brilliant. Taking the canoe on and off is easy with the lifting mechanism.So if we need the roof popping up we simply take the canoe off. I wouldn't like to lift the roof with a canoe on top because of the weight. Imagine the expense if anything happened. The only thing to beware of is getting the karitek aligned just so.

Yorkshire lass · Jul 16, 2015

Agree I would probably take canoe off when roof up and store under van.

Hotel California · Jul 25, 2016

Just saw this in the news , seems a smart fellow Belgian disigned a foldable canoe!
In Dutch a canoe is kano so he named it onak!

http://onakcanoes.com/