Kayak racks for Trawlers?

[kchace]

Now that we have 2 kayaks, we need a good place to put them where they are secure but not in the way. We don't have a hard top and I would greatly prefer not to drill into the forward deck for mounts. I also don't want anything that might rub against the teak top rail. Although if I had to install a simple piece of foam on the teak rail that would be ok. I've seen a couple of "rack" styles that mount to the rail uprights. This one from Magma seems like it might work. I'm thinking of mounting them inboard just aft of the major curve of the bow. Does anybody have any experience with this style or have any other ideas?

R10-626

Thanks,
Ken

 

[Seevee]

Now that we have 2 kayaks, we need a good place to put them where they are secure but not in the way. We don't have a hard top and I would greatly prefer not to drill into the forward deck for mounts. I also don't want anything that might rub against the teak top rail. Although if I had to install a simple piece of foam on the teak rail that would be ok. I've seen a couple of "rack" styles that mount to the rail uprights. This one from Magma seems like it might work. I'm thinking of mounting them inboard just aft of the major curve of the bow. Does anybody have any experience with this style or have any other ideas?

R10-626

Thanks,
Ken

Kinda hard without more details about the dimensions of your boat.

However, perhaps if you had some sort of hoist that could get them above the walkway onto the racks you linked to attached to the side of the flybridge.... would work.

I do that on my mainship, however, with the flybridge overhang, the kayak just sits on the overhang. Also, my kayak is 90 lbs, tandem pedal kayak... way heavier than most, but works excellent. The racks would take the place of the overhang.

I could argue against mounting them on the rail.... get in the way when locking or docking.

 

[kchace]

Kinda hard without more details about the dimensions of your boat.

However, perhaps if you had some sort of hoist that could get them above the walkway onto the racks you linked to attached to the side of the flybridge.... would work.

I do that on my mainship, however, with the flybridge overhang, the kayak just sits on the overhang. Also, my kayak is 90 lbs, tandem pedal kayak... way heavier than most, but works excellent. The racks would take the place of the overhang.

I could argue against mounting them on the rail.... get in the way when locking or docking.

I definitely would not want to mount them so that they might interfere with docking - which is why I mentioned mounting them inboard. My boat has so much flare that there is essentially a "dead" space that the kayaks might occupy inboard just aft of the major flare of the bow. I did consider the upper rail which certainly could work, I just would prefer not to have to lift them up there as I would have to do that manually. The kayaks I have are about 30-35lbs each.

Ken

 

[FlyWright]

How about outboard of the rails on each side in a hammock-like netting? It keeps the fore and side decks open. They might need repositioning for some docking/rafting.

 

[DHeckrotte]

We keep ours on the flybridge. We have a ‘Europa’ styled boat with unused space outboard of the flybridge. Kayak to starboard; folding bikes to port. I built a davit which makes them easy to get ‘em up or down.

 

[markpierce]

We keep ours on the flybridge. We have a ‘Europa’ styled boat with unused space outboard of the flybridge. Kayak to starboard; folding bikes to port. I built a davit which makes them easy to get ‘em up or down.

I've heard the flybridge is great for storage.

 

[GoneFarrell]

Temp rig them where you think you want them, then go to your lower helm (if you have one) and check your sightlines for occlusion, esp to port!

 

[Waterford]

I had the Magma folding kayak rack on my previous Nordic 32 and it worked very well. It did not interfere with dock structure and folded completely out of the way when the kayak was elsewhere.

 

[mdstrum]

https://www.storeyourboard.com/stainless-steel-SUP-boat-rack-rail-mounted/

we have this style give or take on our boat one kayak on each side
here is picture from a distance. works great, easy to launch and restrive

 

[Rusty]

We carry ours on the flybridge railing. They are 11 foot Hobie kayaks. My wife has to stand on her tip toes, but we can get them up and down without undue effort.

 

[Ken E.]

We went through this process, where to put the kayaks that will be secure but not cause a back injury. Many boats use J hooks outside the flybridge or boat deck railing, which may work in your case. I'd suggest, though, that you test the ergonomics of the lifting required in securing and deploying the boats before making a decision. We have a big foredeck to lay them down on, and it doesn't impair the view forward from the lower helm. Easy to launch and retrieve in our case.

 

[AKFish]

I tig'd up an aluminum rack for the boat deck...4 kayaks worth of stowage.

 

[Benthic2]

There are some pretty impressive inflatable kayaks available if you don't already have your kayaks or are considering replacing them. West Marine carries these for $499.

 

[koliver]

The stern of your boat is similar to ours.
When we were bringing a Laser (13' x 5' ) I had a 1" SS (same as other railings nearby) support added above the sliding hatch from the aft deck to the aft cabin. My criteria were to get the Laser up high enough to walk under it, keep from interfering with the sliding hatch, strong enough to support the 150# Laser far enough from the upper deck so nothing further aft would be required.
Once we bought a pair of Kayaks, that was a natural to stack both kayaks on it. Each kayak weighs under 45#, the smaller one closer to 35# so getting them up there is still not an issue.

 

[O C Diver]

This is what I have for a kayak rack.

https://www.garhauermarine.com/stanchions-accessories/kayak-racks.html

They clamp to the station posts and can be mounted inside or out. Because my railings are mounted quite close to the edge, I mounted them on the inside. They are extremely well made out of top quality stainless steel. The only difference should be the size of the station they clamp to.



Ted

 

[Spinner]

My kayak is mounted with a pair of Magma mounts on the boat deck (roof of the salon). It is inside the railings because it would obstruct walk-around access if mounted outboard of the rails. I have a crane on the boat deck that I use to raise and lower the kayak and the
Portland Pudgy which also lives up there. My kayak is a 14-foot Hobie mirage.

 

[Lollygag1]

You may want to consider inflatables. We keep ours in duffle bags which allows us to move and store them easily.

 

[dirtdoc1]

Now that we have 2 kayaks, we need a good place to put them where they are secure but not in the way. We don't have a hard top and I would greatly prefer not to drill into the forward deck for mounts. I also don't want anything that might rub against the teak top rail. Although if I had to install a simple piece of foam on the teak rail that would be ok. I've seen a couple of "rack" styles that mount to the rail uprights. This one from Magma seems like it might work. I'm thinking of mounting them inboard just aft of the major curve of the bow. Does anybody have any experience with this style or have any other ideas?

R10-626

Thanks,
Ken

I've noticed that most cruisers keep them on the flybridge rails, as do I, I use the Magma Kayak Rail Mounts. They are very sturdy and do not require and drilling or modifications to the boat at all. They are very easy to install and very secure. I use my davit crane to raise and lower the kayaks.

 

[C lectric]

Friend of ours, now out of boating, had a rack built for his two 9' kayaks.
These are the best shot I have of the setup as I was not taking the shots for this purpose.
It was built of aluminum, square 3" tube , two arms carpet covered for each kayak with tie down provision..
The kayaks overhung the walkaround at the back so interfered somewhat but they were still able to get around.

His boat was a 40' tricabin so your boat should be able to handle somethign similar depending of course on kayak size.

I have no idea what the cost was so can't pffer any guidance there.

 

[Gordon GB]

Here's how we carry ours. The kayaks are fairly lightweight (about 32 lbs) and by putting one end up and then the other, my wife and I can get them up and down pretty easily.

 

[janice142]

I wonder how many use their kayaks? (And no, that's not to be rude!)

A few years back I swapped for a bicycle because I was sure that was a good idea. It was a Dahon, stainless steel (and heavy, but that's another story). I found I didn't use it more than a few times. It was too much hassle to get to shore, couldn't leave it (shiny!) and well, more of a liability than an asset.

As for any storage system, I recommend that your choice be easy to deploy and retrieve. For myself, if things are not easy I tend to delay or miss the experience.

And as long as I'm chiming in, I have NEVER met a kayaker who owns a pedal powered one that was sorry for upgrading. Invariably, when discussing their new kayak the only regret is that they took so long to buy it.

Just a thought. Good luck.

 

[Rusty]

I wonder how many use their kayaks? (And no, that's not to be rude!)

A few years back I swapped for a bicycle because I was sure that was a good idea. It was a Dahon, stainless steel (and heavy, but that's another story). I found I didn't use it more than a few times. It was too much hassle to get to shore, couldn't leave it (shiny!) and well, more of a liability than an asset.

As for any storage system, I recommend that your choice be easy to deploy and retrieve. For myself, if things are not easy I tend to delay or miss the experience.

And as long as I'm chiming in, I have NEVER met a kayaker who owns a pedal powered one that was sorry for upgrading. Invariably, when discussing their new kayak the only regret is that they took so long to buy it.

Just a thought. Good luck.

We have two Hobie Revolution kayaks. They are in the water most everywhere we go. We use them all the time. And yes, pedalling is the way to go. Nice to have both hands free, easy steering, and cup holders.

We also bought Dahon folding bikes. Thought it was a good idea at the time. The problem with my plan was that everywhere we want to go is up hill from sea level.

 

[diver dave]

We have two Hobie Revolution kayaks. They are in the water most everywhere we go. We use them all the time. ...

what is the draft on these?

 

[Seevee]

Janice,

Lots of choices.... I've into the Hobie Pedal kayak since they came out around 2000 and have had many of their different models. Today I have two singles and a newer tandem and really like them. Took the tandem on the loop trip and didn't use much at all. Wasn't any harder to launch than the dink, but the dink filled the bill better. At home base, use the kayaks all the time (and they dink, too).

Have lots of friends with kayaks (and paddle boards which is another choice). The downside of the Hobies is that they are heavy. If one ends up portaging the Hobies are a pita. The upside of the Hobies is that they are really easy and hands free to operate.

As for the bike, I used that a LOT on the boat. It also is a tandem, and electric, and a tad hard to launch, but a ton of fun for touring, shopping etc.

Lots of choices.

Back to the OP..... one of the issues is to have an easy way to launch all of the above. I've got a St Croix lift which works pretty well for the kayak and bike.

 

[Seevee]

what is the draft on these?

Diver Dave,

The draft on the Hobie pedal kayaks, without the pedals in is about 3 inches, similar to other kayaks. Of course you'd have to paddle then. (you have paddles clipped to the side.

With the pedals in, the longer turbo fins are 15" below the hull, so about 18" total.

Now, one can "feather" the pedals (push one pedal all the way forward) so the fins line up parallel to the bottom and draft about 5 inches. But would have to be careful in shallow water so the fins are not damaged. The pedals are super easy to put in and out.

I've been in lots of creeks that the water is so skinny that I have to drag it thru a few feet of 1 to 2" water and works well and just put the pedals in when in deeper water.

The gray one is the original tandem and can be had used for perhaps less than $1000. The yellow one is a later version that's a bit more stable and hauls a bigger load. There's one version later than that which has mesh seats so you're sitting a few inches above the hull.... way comfy! That's my current one.

Later they came out with reversible pedals, which I couldn't see any value in, as one can simply put the old ones in backward, but rarely is that needed.

==

Now there's some competition our there with other forms of propulsion for kayaks, props and other things, perhaps worth a look.

 

[O C Diver]

While I really like the pedal kayaks, the places I paddle to are just too shallow. The keel of mine bares too many scars from wonderful adventures.

I've also been told that launching and retrieving with the dinghy crane makes me despicable.



Ted

 

[diver dave]

Interesting; thanks! I'm looking for diver transport thru skinny water that does a bit shallower than my 10' with 15hp avon. Which is about 10".
Kind of funny. My deepest dive ever required us to hand tow in the boat.

 

[Fletcher500]

I wonder how many use their kayaks? (And no, that's not to be rude!).

About 1,000 miles per year when my lower back and worn out shoulders are cooperating. More when I was younger.

 

[O C Diver]

Interesting; thanks! I'm looking for diver transport thru skinny water that does a bit shallower than my 10' with 15hp avon. Which is about 10".
Kind of funny. My deepest dive ever required us to hand tow in the boat.

Mine are Scupperpros which were made by Ocean Kayak. Instead of a second dry compartment behind the paddler, there is a recessed trough that either hold a single tank rig or a cooler. Have only dove out of it a couple of times, but for warm water single tank diving it works ok.



Ted

 

[Dougcole]

I'll chime in and be a grump here, I guess. I'm one of those people who bought a kayak and almost never used it. I just don't enjoy being that close to water level, I feel like I can't see anything. I also find kayaks to be confining and uncomfortable. The kayak sat in our yard collecting leaves for about 15 years until I finally cleaned it up last year and sold it at our neighbor's garage sale for $200. It went really quick.


We have a pair of SUPs on the boat now, we keep them in Magma racks on the aft rail of the FB deck, parallel and directly above the transom. We had them on stb side FB rail for a while, but found the current location easier for launching and retrieval as I can stand on the swim platform and lift them up from the water.


We use them more than the Yak. In a 3 week Bahamas trip we use them maybe 4 or 5 times. I'd be ok with leaving them behind, but my wife likes them better than I do, so I'm cool with lugging them along. I've thought about rigging one for fishing, I'd use it more then. I've surfed with it a couple of times in small waves, that was tough but pretty fun.