Car topper for a woman?

Hi.

Been awhile since I posted. I've been lurking here for awhile and posted early on. I looked at the rest of the sections before choosing this one as the most likely place to ask, even if it's not quite on topic.

I have a friend who has a Laser sailboat. It's about 14' long and is designed for 1 person although it will hold both of us.

We both live in the Chicago area. The issue here isn't with the boat, but with hauling it. Right now, she's car topping it and I have to be there or she can't use her boat. We don't always get along so well though.

I've tried to convince her to get or (have me) build a trailer, but she's resistant to that idea because she doesn't really know how to use one -- and it's Chicago, so if she wants to stop and eat it will be impossible to park. She's inclined toward a dolly and storing it at a harbor, but then she's stuck with one harbor and an annual fee that's comparable to the price she paid for the whole boat.

So I guess I'm here for ideas. She's not that strong, and the boat weighs about 150 lbs dry. She has a Rav4. When we use the boat, it's mostly on me to load it, and she's freaky about her car and boat getting damaged.

So I'm thinking right now if there's a way anyone figured out to car-top a boat single-handedly, for a woman who has a rough time picking up 50 lbs.

I have a welder and have built a trailer for a bigger craft.

One thing I thought of was a sort of T bar for the trailer hitch (she doesn't have a hitch yet, and is resistant to that too for some reason) that would turn, so you could put the boat up on that and then walk the front of it around. I doubt she's strong enough for even that, and she's not very tall.

So then the idea came to have some sort of track that mounts to the rack, with a boat winch involved and a removable track that comes down the side of the car when parked. That could be managed by one person, and stopped at any point to rest or adjust things.

Have any of you actually built something like this, or have you found some other solution for a single person of small stature to car-top a small boat?

Thanks.

 

Over here in the UK we have a neat gadget available that makes this task easy. I've no idea if it's available over there, but with some ingenuity you could probably make one.

Take a look at this clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVtdBZaDnmg&feature=player_embedded#!

I have an acquaintance who uses one of these to load a sailing dinghy. He just tips the dinghy on it's side, against the rack in it's "down" position. He then just uses a couple of tie down straps to hoist the dinghy slightly off the ground and tie it to the rack at the same time. It's then just a matter of pivoting it up, which is pretty easy as he's only lifting part of the weight of the boat, the rest being taken by the rack pivot.

Here's a similar idea using home made stuff: http://www.songofthepaddle.co.uk/loading_and_transporting.htm

Jeremy

 

Jeremy,

That's very very close to what I had in mind. I don't think she could quite muscle that top link up, but what I was thinking was a winch-operated version of that same exact thing.

How reliable is this thing? It looks super simple, I can't really think it would have anything wrong with the design.

Thanks a lot!

 

This problem is easiest solved with a new girlfriend.

She may have a point about the trailer (although that's my best solution to her/your dilemma). I run the wheels off my small boat trailer, but in my Mazda pickup, I can't see the darn thing in any of my mirrors. And when I'm carrying a small boat, I want to be able to see ALL the straps and ropes.

Of course I can drop the tailgate on my pickup to see the trailer in my inside mirror, but she won't be able to do that in her RAV4. It gets even worse when you need to back up with an invisible trailer.

 

Tinhorn,

You may have a point on the girlfriend thing. She's not really, more like a wife without benefits. I get all the honey-do's and none of the fun, and she stands there and bitches at me while I do them.

I know all about backing an invisible trailer. And you really don't want to see her do it, she has this certain genius for causing a brand new car to no longer be drivable, even without the trailer. All I can say is I'm glad I'm not the one buying those cars.

The real nature of this post is to make it so I don't have to help her load and unload every time.

Thanks.

 

There is a Aussie version with a winch, but it's more complex and takes longer to load/unload. Here's a link to a video clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ibO70Tl6XU&feature=related

You may be able to fabricate something, maybe using a combination of the simple rails shown on the Song of the Paddle link plus a rack mounted winch to haul the boat up.

If you want the really easy way to do it, then this would take some beating: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGqt04oAPak&NR=1&feature=fvwp

Jeremy

 

Jeremy,

That rear-load one is awesome!

I can build that. The others too, but the rear load one is the one.

Thanks.

 

Still, you should have her buy a bonafide one and you can install it. It will be harder to make than you think, and then if there's problems, you're the one to fix them. It'll be all your fault. Google "boat loading systems" for a US made system.

 

Sam,

I'm caught between my enthusiasm for building stuff and my certainty that you are dead on center with her personality and tendency to blame anyone who was ever nice to her.

Oh, the humanity!

 

You have described this person as an individual best left to their own devices. If this is your mother or your sister or an ex who is blackmailing you, then you are stuck on the horns of a dilemma. Perhaps you could move to Atlanta or Omaha.

Anyone who can not, or will not, independently see to the transport of a Laser, has no business whatever in sailing a Laser. They are great little boats but they are not a smart choice for weaklings or anyone who is too stubborn to learn, or too perverse to appreciate help from a friend. The Laser is a spirited boat that under some circumstances is a dangerous boat. A Laser in a 20 knot blow is no place for a person with limited strength. I presume that Chicago is not called the windy city for nothing.

 

Messabout,

Maybe I'm just a little bitter? Or a sucker.

IMO, the windiest aspect of Chicago is the political scene.

Oddly enough, my tiny little brain has composed a solution to the problem that I might have to try anyway. I need:

1. Rope
2. A blanket
3. A 2x4 with a groove in it.

I just GOTTA try it.

 

I am 70 and never was blessed with a lot of physical strength, so when I cartop my small sailboat I proceed as follows. I put a small frame, a kind of table only a few inches high, close to the back of my minivan and rest the boat's transom on it. Then I lift the bow until the boat is vertical, and use the painter to lower it against the back of the van. A small rug here helps avoid scratches. Then I lift the transom (the frame allows me to get my fingers underneath) and slide the boat onto the roof rack. I am only lifting half the boat at a time which puts it well within my limited capabilities. The roof rack has a couple of 2 x 4s across it which provides a smoother surface for easier sliding. I also have a kind of short daggerboard with a wheel which fits into the trunk slot, so I can wheel the boat around using the oars and handles.

However, my boat is lighter than a laser.

 

I was thinking of taking the 2x4, router a groove in it to match the lip under the transom and then tie that on with a rope. Then the 2x4 gets 2 ropes going to each end of it, one to each rear corner of the roof rack so it forms |X| to keep things from swaying too much.

The blanket gets closed into the rear door of the car (it's a rear door, not a tailgate) and the rope harness gets flipped down, the board gets tied to the transom at a height so that when the boat is vertical the transom is maybe an inch off the ground. The whole works can slowly ride up to the rack (because you have the leverage to control it by grabbing the transom) and then get level, then you can push it forward as needed.

Thanks.

 

Ken: I read your possible solution that involved a rope a blanket and a two by four. My first thought was; Yikes!, those are all items that are used in murder cases. That would be an extreme way to solve the dilemma (however effective it might be). I'm glad to read your description of the much more gentlemanly use of those items.

Keep thinking, you will surely conquer this Gordian knot of a problem.

 

Messabout,

You made me laugh out loud! I'm not like that, but sometimes she can be frustrating. For example, I started telling her about some of the ideas (including my one with the "murder weapons") and before I could even get started, she insisted that she would get a slip and leave it there, and that's the end of it.

After all the research and brainstorming I did for her, it was very frustrating, especially since I think I can do it with my idea for $30 or so total materials cost.

So basically I told her that whenever I go boating with her, she will have arranged to have the boat floating in the water before I touch it, and have it stowed when we're done.

And I'm fine with that. But I might have to start building a boat soon.