Transporting a Sunfish on its side.

I wondered if anyone has thoughts about the wisdom of transporting a Sunfish on its' side? I'm thinking of taking one of my boats to Florida this winter, but because I have some other stuff to take, I'm taking my cargo trailer. To get the boat to fit, I'd have to prop it on edge in the trailer. The trip is about 1100 miles, but almost all on fairly smooth interstate roads. If it makes a difference, I could take either a metal edge or rolled edge boat...
(I have an 2003 4Runner.... Would it be better to try to take it on the roof?)
 
I wondered if anyone has thoughts about the wisdom of transporting a Sunfish on its' side? I'm thinking of taking one of my boats to Florida this winter, but because I have some other stuff to take, I'm taking my cargo trailer. To get the boat to fit, I'd have to prop it on edge in the trailer. The trip is about 1100 miles, but almost all on fairly smooth interstate roads. If it makes a difference, I could take either a metal edge or rolled edge boat...
(I have an 2003 4Runner.... Would it be better to try to take it on the roof?)
I made that trip 2 weeks ago, on I-77 and I-81. There are some Interstate stretches that are very unfriendly to those in the right lane. :( A family member saw that East-West Interstates are the worst seen in many years. At least, if car-topped, your Sunfish will ride as comfortably as those in the towing vehicle.
 
You can trailer a Sunfish on its side, as they are very robust, but as a practical matter and especially for long travel the problem I usually run into is that the splashguard gets in the way and prevents the deck from laying flat and flush against the trailer. If I try to position the boat so the splashguard doesn't interfere then I seem to get the watermelon seed effect. We see Lasers carried on their sides, for example, more than Sunfish because they don't have the guard and can be tied in a more balanced manner.

In any event if it were me, with the SUV I would tend to car-top the boat anyway. Just be sure to tie off the bow and stern to the bumpers as well as securing the boat to the roof rack. The bow tiedown is my main indicator of trouble. If it shifts or starts to go slack it's time to pull over pronto.
 
"... The bow tiedown is my main indicator of trouble. If it shifts or starts to go slack it's time to pull over pronto..."
That reminds me, I've always car-topped my Sunfish with the stern facing forwards. I felt that the modern rudder gudgeon—with a long 3/8" eyebolt run through it—was a much stronger attachment point than the bow handle. (Tighten two nuts together to lock the bolt to the gudgeon). I shackled a thin chain between two towing points below the front bumper, and ran a steel cable to the middle of the chain. I ran the cable through an old garden hose section to protect the paint. In order to check the battery and engine, I connected the cable to the eyebolt with a carabiner. The carabiner requires some "play" in the roof mount in order to open it. A shackle would have been better, but I've put over 4000 miles car-topping my Sunfish. (Actually, I'm "car" topping with a small pickup).

Pictured is version 1.0, with heavy chain and a 2x4 spacer. Note that the chain is attached to the spacer with lag bolts. At the time of the photograph, the "load" had not yet been tensioned by the rear attachment.
 

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