Yakima Kayak Rack Instructions

Yakima manufactures a modular rack system designed to fit multiple models of cars. The system allows a user to carry many types of gear, including kayaks. Yakima's racks provide three basic ways to carry a kayak: level in saddles, cradled upright or strapped to a stacker. The first two work best for sea kayaks and recreational boats. The stacker style works best for white-water kayaks. The key to getting a Yakima kayak rack to work with your car is to determine proper fit.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

Yakima rack system
Screwdriver
Kayak rack

Step 1

Use Yakima's fit list---available at a retailer or at Yakima.com---to determine the basic rack system and fit kit. The fit list tells you three things that your car needs: the fit kit part number, style of towers and size of crossbars. A tower, installed at each corner of the roof, raises the crossbars above the roof. The crossbars run perpendicular to the length of the car. On each end, the crossbar is inserted into a tower. The front crossbar runs between the two towers mounted in the front corners of the roof, and the back crossbar runs between the two towers mounted in the rear corners of the roof. The fit kit attaches the towers to your vehicle. The kayak rack attaches to the crossbars.

Step 2

Follow the Yakima instructions for installing the basic rack system. Yakima provides measurements for the position of the rack on the top of the car, and you should follow these for safety.

Step 3

Secure your rack to the crossbars using the supplied bolts. Make sure that the front and back components of the rack align so the kayak rides parallel to the length of the car. For saddle style racks, like Mako Saddles and HullyRollers, consider putting a roller on the back bar and the saddle on the front. This makes it easy to roll the kayak onto the car from the rear.

Step 4

For a stacker, place the first white-water kayak onto the car with the cockpit facing inward. Push the boat up against the stacker. Place the next kayak bottom to bottom with the first. Run the supplied cam buckle strap around the stacker. Pull both sides of the strap over the top of both boats, and run the loose end around the crossbars. Secure the loose end in the cam buckle and pull tight.

Step 5

For a cradle style rack, like the BowDown, HullRaiser or HullRaiser Aero, run the cam buckle strap around the top of the rack and set aside. Place the kayak into the cradle. Pull both ends of the strap over top of the kayak, and run the loose end around the crossbars. Secure the loose end in the cam buckle and pull tight. Secure the bow and stern of the kayak to the front and rear of your car using the supplied tie-down straps.

Step 6

For saddle style racks, place the kayak into the saddles. Pull the rack's attached straps over the kayak, secure the loose end into the cam buckle and tighten. Secure the bow and stern of the kayak using the supplied tie-down straps.

Tips & Warnings

Specialty outdoor retailers have trained sales associates who will help you get the correct fit for your vehicle. Buying the basic rack from a local store may save you time and money by getting the fit correct the first time.

Look for a specialty retailer that installs racks and ask if you can watch. If you learn how to install it, you can take it off your car to save gas mileage and reinstall it when needed.

A common mistake when installing Yakima is to over-tighten the towers, which causes the rack to be loose on the roof. Slowly tighten the tower screws and check for tightness often to avoid over-tightening.

Any Yakima kayak rack will carry any style of kayak. If most of your boats are white-water, you can still use your white-water stacker to carry a sea kayak.

Have a trained professional install your rack to guarantee it is properly installed.

Improperly secured boats can fall off the car.

Article Written By Bryan Hansel

Bryan Hansel is a freelance photographer and kayaking guide who began writing in 1993. His outdoors articles appear on various websites. Hansel holds a Bachelor of Arts in English and religion from the University of Iowa.

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