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Transporting Your Hobie Kayak
The most compact and common way to transport your kayak
is to deflate it and place it inside the storage travel bag
provided with the kayak. Follow the folding instructions on
pages 9 and 10.
Another way to transport your Hobie kayak is on a roof rack
purchased from your dealer. This normally involves a set
of crossbars that attach to the car via the rain gutters or
adapter clips mounted to the door frame. They come with
a wide variety of attachments from kayak saddles to stack-
ers. The racks can be used without the attachments but the
racks should be padded. To help prevent distortion, place
the kayak, cockpit side down, on top of the rack. It is best
if the crossbars contact the cockpit sides and not the deck
areas. Straps can then be laid across the boat and tied to the
bars. Saddles cradle the boat and often come with their own
straps. Stackers allow multiple boats to be placed on their
sides without falling over.
An alternative to a traditional rack systems is a soft rack. It
tends to be less expensive and will work with most cars. It
has pads mounted on straps that sit between the kayak and
the roof of your car. Some styles have a strap that wraps
around the kayak and others strap the pad to the roof. To tie
the boat to the car, straps are run through the car doors and
the boat is tied to the roof as well as the bumpers, front and
rear. Over-tightening the straps may cause dents in the roof
of the car. Be sure to consult your owner’s manual for the car
and roof rack system to ensure compliance with all recom-
mendations, precautions and specifications.
A line run from the bow and stern of the boat to each
bumper is required. If your bumpers do not have a gap
to pass a rope around, look underneath. There should be a
loop of metal, which is used by car transports such as tow
trucks.
Many people like to use the Mirage Drive well to tie the boat
to the car. This helps prevent the boat from sliding back and
forth or the tie-down rope from slipping off the kayak. This is
a perfectly acceptable method for tying the boat down.
IMPORTANT NOTE: When tying to your roof rack, a
decrease in tube pressure could loosen the tie downs. Make
sure that it is secured in such a way that it cannot move if you
lose air in the chambers.
About PVC
Continuing Hobie’s tradition of offering the latest in technol-
ogy at an affordable price, your new kayak is made from a
durable PVC. This material will give you years of enjoyment
with minimal care and maintenance. If a tear or puncture
does occur, PVC is very easy to repair.