Hi, just bought a 1990 Laser on e-bay. I have a Mercury Villiger Van and hoping someone could give me some advice on how best to carry it on top of the car. Will it hurt the boat if I just lay it deck side down on the rack on the roof? Any input appreciated. I bought it on impulse. Hope to learn to sail with my 12 year old daughter. Thanks Mike.
Hey, I did give some good information, you gotta make sure your roof rack is strong enough!
True. My delusional comment was meant to express affection.
Hi, just bought a 1990 Laser on e-bay. I have a Mercury Villiger Van and hoping someone could give me some advice on how best to carry it on top of the car. Will it hurt the boat if I just lay it deck side down on the rack on the roof? Any input appreciated. I bought it on impulse. Hope to learn to sail with my 12 year old daughter. Thanks Mike.
Get a 12' long 2x4, cut into 2 6' pieces, tie securely across your racks to use in place of the factory cross bars and your good to go. (the factory crossbars usually have the reverse bend in them compared to the Laser deck)
Or, look into the Thule/Yakima options - you can use their crossbars on the factory racks for a neater appearance.
Tie the Laser to the crossbars, and bow and stern to the van itself under the bumpers
We've hauled everything from 4 -Optis, to 2- Lasers to 470s on dollys (400 + pounds) on thule racks attached to factory racks. You will have no problem with a Laser on factory racks. Try to pick up some roof rack pads (or pipe insulation) and make sure in addition to strapping it to the racks you tie the front and back of the boat directly to the car (bumper, hitch or whatever).
As far as I understand it, the attachment location of factory racks is not as strong as anchoring to special anchoring points or the raingutters like a Thule rack.
That is true, never trust just the factory rack to hold the boat on. That is why I make sure I tie the bow and stern directly to the car not the racks so in essence the boat is tied to the car. The Thule racks on most SUVs just attach to the factory racks so you need to make sure the boat is tied direct. Scott