Car topping the Sunfish, Suggestions Please

gatrplbg

gatrplbg
Hi
I am an new member with questions about car topping my sunfish.
Currently we lash it to some old universal car top carriers my 97 year old dad has for his 94 Honda Accord.
Are there better alternatives out there?
Does anyone use plastic pipe for sail and spar transport?
I am not really interested in towing a trailer.
Thanks.
 
Hi
I am an new member with questions about car topping my sunfish.
Currently we lash it to some old universal car top carriers my 97 year old dad has for his 94 Honda Accord. Are there better alternatives out there?
If your car has rain gutters, Quick-N-Easy makes towers you can mount any crossmember of your liking to. These are a particular favorite of whitewater outfitters because crossbars can be made to fit whatever you want to carry and the load range far exceeds the other racks available. No gutters, at a distant second for load, but the price leaders are Yakama and Tule. Their heavy duty towers and basic crossbar can be made to work.


Does anyone use plastic pipe for sail and spar transport?
PVC pipe storage is common on trailers. When you measure the beam of your boat, have you got room on your rack?
 
I cartopped my Sunfish twice, only because I had no choice at the time, I now trailer it. The problem with car topping is that you will need two reasonably strong people to lift the SF onto the rack, and off again. The SF is nearly 14ft. long and if you have roof racks that are only 3 or 4 feet apart you are going to impart some nasty loads to the boat, particularily if you travel on anything but smooth roads. You could probably locate a good used trailer for the price of anything Yakima or Thule makes. It's the old story, the more hassle it is to go sailing the less you will go.
 
I'm using a Thule rack with pool noodles for cushion (the ones the rack came with aren't long enough).
In the front "feet" of the rack I've mounted some eye bolts so I can slide a 1/2" pipe through them that hangs out to the side so that I can load and unload by myself. I just move the bow to the pipe, go to the stern and move it to the ground, then go back to the bow and set her down and she's unloaded.
 
Wow!
it is amazing how creative and inventive necessity makes us.
Thank you for all the suggestions.
Where have all the gutters gone...
I hate to fork out the dough for Thule or Yakima but there is no place to store a trailer.
I love the 1/2" pipe extensions.
Thanks much all. I am sure I'll be back with more questions as we use the Sunfish more this summer.
 
I'm using a Thule rack with pool noodles for cushion (the ones the rack came with aren't long enough).
In the front "feet" of the rack I've mounted some eye bolts so I can slide a 1/2" pipe through them that hangs out to the side so that I can load and unload by myself. I just move the bow to the pipe, go to the stern and move it to the ground, then go back to the bow and set her down and she's unloaded.

I'd LOVE to see a pic of this in progress. It's a little hard to visualize.
 
I had to do the same thing to get my SF home. I have Yamika tubular roof rack bars mounted to the gutters woth pipe insulation and a cushion. I took off the end cap from the front bar, slid a 3' or 4' section of iron pipe into it, so it stuck out, and lifted the bow onto that first. Thule or Yamika, or both, sell something similar but $8 for a piece of pipe from Lowes did the trick.

To load, slide the pipe into the front rack bar so it sticks out from the car about 2.5'. With the boat next to the car (bow forward and upside down), lift the bow off the ground and onto the pipe. Then lift the stern and place it all the way onto the rear rack. Then lift the bow over onto the rack. Remove pipe and store in car (you don't want it sliding out into someone's windshield). Tie down boat. Reverse process to remove.
 

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