surf ski holder

I'm not happy with what's available on the market regarding surf ski racks and in particular security . I have devised a method of utilizing existing yakima kayak holders and I have eliminated the straps and replaced them with aluminum brackets that provide additional security by providing a locking device. I'm going to have one available for viewing soon and need to know what interests there is for a product of this nature for production purposes . The Yakima rep's were interested but wanted the idea al la carte without any promises of retribution so i say F@$#%^ em .. are you interested ? the price will be reasonable !

Definitely post some photos!

I've found that the cradles from Thule are great until there's some wind around - when the ski simply breaks the cradles as it twists sideways.

Wake up mango !
Bring those pics. please.

Check out Didier from Brittany with his ski holder and other surf ski innovations-
dplouepic.skyrock.com/3.html
Owen

Am I missing something? What is wrong with strapping your ski upside down on plain bar racks like 90% of the paddling population has been doing for the past 50 years?

I just use regular racks with pipe foam insulation. Been over a year and some nasty crosswinds (use bow and stern lines of course) and no issues yet with rack or boat (V10S).

Xpat wrote:

Am I missing something? What is wrong with strapping your ski upside down on plain bar racks like 90% of the paddling population has been doing for the past 50 years?

In summer here in Cape Town when the SE is blowing 30kts every day, you have to crank down the ski extremely hard in order to stop it blowing sideways.

My old Mako6 started getting stress cracks around the cockpit after a couple of years of this treatment.

As noted earlier in the thread, Thule cradle holders tend to break in our windy conditions so they're not an answer.

I have just installed K1 cradles - metal wedges with a bit of cushioning. They are supplied with holes pre-drilled such that you can mount them so that the long side sticks up... I'll take a photo. The result is that the ski sits right-way up and the front cradles secure the ski so that it cannot move sideways. The overall effect is that the tension on the straps is much less than it would otherwise be. Seems like the best solution I've found so far, most secure, least harmful to the ski.

Xpat wrote:

Am I missing something? What is wrong with strapping your ski upside down on plain bar racks like 90% of the paddling population has been doing for the past 50 years?

As Rob says, we get HECTIC winds in summer.
Now my Nissan X-Trail's racks are all of 800mm apart from each other, which means a 6.4 metre ski is supported by roofracks LESS than a meter apart!

Solution was to attach a T-Bar on the towing hitch, and now racks are 2.20 meters apart, AND there are 3 of them (although I only use 2 tie-downs).
(this equates to a much better 1/3rd unsupported at rear, 1/3rd supported in middle, 1/3rd usnupported at front).

It is remarkable how less tightly I need to tie it down now, simply moving the fulcrums (plural???) apart has given massive lateral stabitliy.

Previously I had the Thule cradles - which I liked, but they just ADDED complications, and would break in very strong gusts. The rear T-Bar also makes tying the ski on a cinch, since it's so much more accesible than standing on top of the rear whell to reach up over the ski.

Voila!

I had the same thing happen, cockpit stress cracks from tying a ski inverted. Since then have used EZ VEEs for the last 5+ years many thousands of miles. www.kayakpro.com/ The spreader bar combined with the deep V requires essentially no pressure to hold your kayak securely.