Car Topping For A Laser??

Macià

New Member
Dear friends,
I'm looking for an existing car topping device to pick up my laser on the roof of my car. I need a device that is possible to load and unload the laser from the side of my car to the roof by one person. Sometimes in winter I'd like to training in some beaches or in another clubs and I need to do it by my own without help. Also if I get it, it will be to load and unload the laser at home without waiting the family :). It could be an alternative to the expensive road trailers.
Is there any existing device??:eek:

Regards and fair winds!!
Macià
 
Dear friends,
Nobody load/unload his own laser alone over the top of the car?. Is there any other option or the only option to do it alone is using a trailer?.
Ideas are welcome!!
Regards,
Macia
 
Hi Macià,
use the "Search"-Button above at the toolbar of TLF. F.e.: searching there for "cartopping" you find 30 threads or posts that could be interesting for you.

Ciao
LooserLu
 
YES!!!!!!!

You can certainly load and unload a laser onto a car top.........single handed!!!

I have a Yakima Dry Dock. It is a device that fits into my car's trailer hitch.

http://media.rei.com/media/692391Lrg.jpg

I simple back the laser on it's dolly up to the back of the car, a few feet from the bumper. Then I lift the bow all the way up. I put some foam on the ground to cushion the transom of the boat. I use a yoga mat folded up. I then lift the boat up all the way verticle and then lean the deck forward up against the dry dock going beyond verticle. The boat then pivots forward and onto the front roof rack.

It is fast, easy and safe. The boat is very solid on the boat with the Dry Dock and barely moves when driving. I paid $75 for the dry dock a few years ago, but it was a store display.
 
I have a Safari van which is fairly high and have often loaded my Laser on it solo using about the same method that Mike uses with the dry dock.

I put a couple boat cushions on the ground to pad the transom, wheel the dolly so the transom is towards the rear bumper, lift the bow, walk the boat up to vertical and then lean it on the van. Then I lift the transom and slide the boat forward onto the roof rack. I do pad the back corner of the van roof as the boat does hit there before it touches the roof rack.

I did loose it once on a very windy day so prefer to do the operation on grass rather than concrete or asphalt. I also prefer to have the wind with me rather than sideways to the vehicle.
 
Ward Bell, 105 year old laser sailor, used to put an attachment on the front roof rack, which extended it out further to one side. Lift the bow (deck down) onto the front rack extension, then lift the transom up and onto the rear rack.

I personally just have very wide racks 80" off center(I do hit my head a lot) I am able to use the same technique, but it does scratch the roof of my car (which I dont care about, so long as it does not scratch the boat). The wide racks are also nice for tying spars.

I have done the push up from behind method with cushions and not a roller, and it can get heavy.
 
Thanks for your replies!!
Michael,
I understand that you do it like Fox, wheel the dolly so the transom is towards the rear bumper, and you lean the deck over the Yakina Dry dock (Y.D.D.).
Is the transom strong enough to hold all the weight of the hull?.
Once the hull is over, are you able to put BY YOUR OWN the dolly over the hull using also de Y.D.D.???

Thanks in advance for your help!!!!
Macià
 
Ward Bell, 105 year old laser sailor, used to put an attachment on the front roof rack, which extended it out further to one side. Lift the bow (deck down) onto the front rack extension, then lift the transom up and onto the rear rack.

..

Sounds like a really good idea.

Do You know what kind of attachment he used, how he attached what to the rack?
 
Please post pictures of whatever clever contraption you have for loading the boat on roof racks.
 
Both Thule and Yakima make a side extender. I have the yakima extender and it is way too flexi and even bouncy for a Laser. I used it once and almost dropped the boat. The bar is too thin and flexes downward, so it does not work.

http://www.yakima.com/racks/kayak-rack/product/8004018/boatloader.aspx

In general I have found Thule products to be far superior to Yakima. The hitch mounted "dry dock" I have is a Yakima, so go figure?

The Thule side exender may work better, but I have not tried it. The problem I see is the boat must be flipped before loading it. Not impossible, but a little bit of a hassle.

I think the Thule version is the Outrigger, but I don't think it is beefy enough. Someone needs to try it first with a friend incase the boat drops!
 
Please post pictures of whatever clever contraption you have for loading the boat on roof racks.
It has been in 2005/2006, there have been two auctions for cartopping racks for dinghies. I found the photos (see the ".zip" files in attachment) but I have no descriptions how they work, sorry.

@ michael_s_garman
I have seen such a system at ebay. Someone did perfection it and offered a selfmade rack at ebay. If I ever find photos of it I add them here (can't find them now).

Ciao
LooserLu
 

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  • Roofrack 1.zip
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  • Roofrack 2.zip
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Those are really scary! WOW. They just seem to really over complicate something so simple. Seems like a lot of extra weight on the roof, and alot of heavy lifting.

Seems like overkill when there is a much simpler solution - hitch mount.
 
The Drydock sounds like the most workable option, though I'd like to see it in action.

I agree that the eBay roofracks look like overkill. It's probably easier to find somebody to help you lift the boat.
 
Those are really scary! WOW. They just seem to really over complicate something so simple. Seems like a lot of extra weight on the roof, and alot of heavy lifting.

Seems like overkill when there is a much simpler solution - hitch mount.

and

The Drydock sounds like the most workable option, though I'd like to see it in action.

I agree that the eBay roofracks look like overkill. It's probably easier to find somebody to help you lift the boat.

Yup, thats why I did add it. :) Wasn't it Albert Einstein, who once upon a time did say:
"A perfect solution is always simple, but a simple solution often not is perfect ..."?

Those two rack's for cartopping, that I did posted, are not simple and definitely not perfect, but obviously their inventors thouhgt a lot (I say: a bit to much) about how to car top a boat....

I am happy, that I just found the photos of 3rd rack, that I mentioned before. It has been at an auction at German Ebay at the end of August 2006. The selfmade rack (not a Laser, but the same wight and nearly the same dimensions, I guess) is much easier (/more simple) and is carried not on the roof all the time, perhaps inside of the caravan. In attachment are all the 3 photos of it, I do have.

Ciao
LooserLu
 

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Wow!

The problem I see here is the boat has to be dead lifted up the side of the car.

Flipping the boat over the back of the car, the weight seems far less than 120 lbs. The boat is either resting half on the ground or leaning up against the rack. It does not seem like much wieight at all.

A side rack, unless there is a winch or something, seems like alot of weight to lift. I would not do this alone.

Go out and buy a Dry Dock or Tailgator!

Time to go for a sail.
 
Wow!

The problem I see here is the boat has to be dead lifted up the side of the car.

Flipping the boat over the back of the car, the weight seems far less than 120 lbs. The boat is either resting half on the ground or leaning up against the rack. It does not seem like much wieight at all.

A side rack, unless there is a winch or something, seems like alot of weight to lift. I would not do this alone.

Go out and buy a Dry Dock or Tailgator!

Time to go for a sail.

Personally, I am working without any rack, just with the gravitiy as my friend (and not as an enemy) to car top my Laser alone from the side of the car (to difficult to explain for me in english, how it works, sorry). I not much more lift than a good box of German beer bottles.
At that 3rd rack, it is a bit more to lift, but definitly able to handle for a Laserite. About the half of the weight of the Laser is hold by the car aft some degrees of lifting. Its also a good training for the muscles of the arms ;)
Those parts that are needed to construct the rack, every home store has cheap. For me it is not full clear, how the hull is pushed to the side without getting scratches to the deck of the hull during it is already lifted, and also, how the beams are fixed to the roofrack of the car.

Ciao
LooserLu
 
Thanks, Merrily. Not everyone is familiar with that jargon.

I suppose it's a 2 x 4 because it was cut form that volume of lumber and that's what they want you to pay for...

LooserLu asked me to translate how he an his personal friend Gravity cartop his boat alone.

This will probably only work if the cross bars of your roof rack are little less apart than the width of the boat, as is the case with most roof racks sold in Europe (I was told there’s a norm for this).

I haven’t tried it yet and haven't seen anyone doing it. So do it at your own risk (just like life in general).

1. Roll the hull on it’s dolley to a position abeam or perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of your car with the transom maybe 1.5 to 2 meters (that's roughly 5 to 7 feet for you Americans) away from the side of your car and next to the cross bars of your roof rack (from above hull and car will look like a T with a gap between the two lines).

2. Lift the hull by the bow until it is standing vertically on it’s transom. If you do it on grass, you shouldn’t necessarily need a cushion under the transom unless you want to keep it clean. If you use one however, it should not be slippery one. Once the hull is vertical it may be a little tricky to hold it in balance, especially if the ground is not perfectly level. It’s probably a good idea to be quick with transitioning to step no. 3 and not light up a cigarette now, answer a phone call or go for walk.

3. Walk around the hull and lower it past vertical until it leans on the ends of the crossbars of your roof rack. The ends should be cushioned well. They will be the pivoting points or bearings of the seesaw you just build.

4. Lift the hull by the transom – this will require some strength initially, however part of the weight should already rest on the crossbars so you should be lifting less than the weigth of your hull - and tilt it until it rests completely on the crossbars, still perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of your car.

5. Turn it on the rack by 90 degrees and slide it around by alternately lifting bow and stern until it is aligned with the longitudinal axis of the car and in the desired position to be fastened. Be careful not to damage the cleats on the deck and the roof of your car while doing this. It might be a good idea to use a blanket to protect the paint.

Of course your cross bars should be cushioned well, using tubing insulation for instance.

Unload in reverse order.

Gravity is your friend here because the boat will always rest partially on the ground or the car so you should be lifting considerably less than it’s weight. Choosing the pivoting points well will make a big difference.

It’s probably a good idea to practice this with a friend.

Lu told me somebody in the States once build himself a lifting aid for this method that would result in minimal power needed. He would load the hull over the back of his car with the method described above, using the (cushioned) trunk lid as an extra rest for the hull (to bridge the trunk) and using the following lifting aid made from two wood blocks and a line: the blocks had a groove on one side that fitted snugly around the hull-deck-joint on the transom. He would place the blocks on either side of the joint on the transom to protect the rudder gudgeons when the boat would be turned and rested (probably because he was doing this on a hard surface like a parking lot). He then connected the blocks with a line led through holes in the blocks and led that line to the roof rack on either side. This kept the blocks in place and, if the line was adjusted just right and under tension, would carry the weight of the laser once it was in or slightly past vertical position. Imagine a giant swing maybe. Neat idea.
 

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