Transporting a kayak

I purchased a used Heritage Redfish 14 yesterday and drove home with it tied down on the roof rack of my wife's RAV4. I was astounded at the noise and not at all sure where it was coming from. It sounded like something was vibrating but the kayak was well tied with rope fore and aft and at both cross racks and then strapped at one cross rack. At 25 mph the noise started and was loud enough I stopped to check the rope. At 35 mph you couldn't hear the radio or have a conversation. I only got above 45 twice and I couldn't stand the sound. It took me 55 minutes to drive to where I bought the kayak and about 2x that to get home.

The good news is I made it home and still have most of my hearing left and I put the kayak in on the lake and I really like it. I've been thinking about the noise and I can only think of two or three sources. I tied the kayak on stern forward and right side up. Stern forward because that would blow the seat into place and up right because the rod rack in the center wasn't readily removable and my wife wouldn't like the dent in the roof that it would have left. The noise could have been coming from strap but I can't imagine it would be that loud, it could have been the bungee like material over the cargo area in the rear of the kayak vibrating (but I doubt it) or something could have been vibrating against the hull or the car roof (not sure what and there's no paint damage).

Anyway, I wanted to take the kayak to Emerald Isle at the end of October (about 5-6 hours away) and routinely take it to Briary Creek lake about 2 hours away and the Eastern Shore of VA about 2.5 hours away. With the noise level as high as it is I wouldn't go more than 30 minutes with it! I'm willing to get a real car rack like a Malone for it (I refuse to pay more for the rack than I did for the kayak so Thuele is out). Does anyone tote their kayak around and is there a reasonably quiet way to do it?

Greybeard

Fwiw, my first 30 minutes in the yak have me really looking forward to time on the water. It was only my second time in a kayak (not sure the first time 30+ years ago counts) but it seemed really stable and like something I could easily get very used to spending time in.

That is the nature of the beast. I bought a Ultimate Kayak that I transport on top of a Jeep Liberty. The same thing happened on my way home. I found out that the noise was comming from the straps, and the cross bars on top of the car. Tri twisting the straps or tying a zip tie of some type to kind of roll them into a tube shape instead of the flat shape, and that might get rid of some of the noise. If not get use to it.
Good luck.
Larry

I have a 14' redfish too... and mostly likely the vibration sound is the ropes/straps you're tying the boat down with. Those things can give a good hum. The bungies over the rear cargo area wouldn't make that sound... they'd have to be hitting something.

Also, I transport it bow forward and upright, and have never had the seat flip up. the wind will go right over it due to the shape of the boat. Not really something to worry about (of course, I write this and now will have problems). I use straps to tie the boat to the roof rack, and then one line from the bow to the front of the car. You don't need to crank down this bow line, as it's really just there incase your roof rack fails. Putting a line from the stern is overkill, in my opinion (obviously won't hurt anything either). But do crank down on the straps that attach the boat to the roof rack.

I use the yakima cradles with my redfish (cradles in front, rollers in back), as the boat is a little awkward to put on j-bars. I would have gone with the thule cradles, as I feel the yakima rubber ones sort of flex too much. I have malone j-bars and they work well for my other kayaks. I think malone makes a cradle, right?

Good luck and have fun on the boat... it's a very stable fishing boat. Get used to leaning over the side... you'll really have to try to fall out of it.

I have a Hobie Mirage Outback, I can go at least 65 without the bow/stern tied down, but maybe I've just been lucky.
I use a Thule Hullavator. When the kayak is atop the car, it is upside down, bow forward. My straps make noise too, but it isn't horribly bad. I should try twisting them.

i have two hobies, an outback and a revolution. i used to car top them on a chrysler t & c using thule load bars. i carried them upside down,strapped to the roof with both front and back bumper lines. i would get a lot of wind noise from the straps across the top. i think the noise was caused by the doubled up straps vibrating against each other. i started runnig the loose end of the straps in between the doubled straps to seperate them and this seemed to cut down on the noise. sounds like twisting the straps would do the same thing. i now have a malone down easter that i trailer them on and use malone gull wings , i think it is , to cradle the revo. the outback goes rail down on the load bar that is encased in a pool noodle. i prefer the gull wings to the thule cradles, i think it gives it better support.

anyhow, as long as you carry your yak on the roof, you are going to get some wind noise. thru trial and error you should be able to eliminate a lot of the strap noise.

now if someone can tell me how to eliminate the roof noise caused by a recumbant trike, i would apprecaite it.

Thanks for the comments and suggestions. I'm looking at getting a Malone J cradle for the Rav4 factory racks and I let you know if they work any better. I will certainly twist the straps to keep them from vibrating.

Twist the straps many times before tightening. My canoe straps are so loud they cause the roof of the truck to vibrate. Twisted they mace hardly any noise.
Roy

I have a Hobie Revolution that I carry on the roof of the truck using Yakima racks. My kayak is carried upright & the straps run across the kayak in such a way that the front one is quiet but the rear one makes lots of noise. I solved the noise problem by folding a towel over the strap. The towel is placed under the strap and then, once the strap is tightened, up over the top. It might be overkill but it works.

A resonating chamber with cords strung tightly across is commonly known as a guitar. You've got a giant guitar on the roof of your car.

As others have said, you just need to prevent the strings from vibrating. Guitarists mute the strings with their palm. You could use a towel, foam, or run the straps across a section of the boat that doesn't leave them at the mercy of the wind. I carry mine upside-down, which has the additional benefit of being more aerodynamic (for my kayak, anyway).

By the way, this is my first post. I've long appreciated the knowledge and experience on this forum, but this is the first time I've actually had something intelligent to contribute.

I have carried my yaks on my vehicle for many years. Twisting the straps is absolutely mandatory and I never tie down without twisting. Once in a while you need to stop and adjust your twist if you still have hum. Twisting always makes the noise go away. Sometimes I fish with friends who defate their pontoon boats and carry them in their trucks. When we leave and they don't see me anymore, they know I have had to stop to readjust my straps. At its worst it can sound like you have a helicopter following you. Twisting is the easiest answer for this problem.

God Bless,
Don