Sunday, January 20, 2013

Kari-tek Easy Load Roof Rack test and review.

I have not been out sea kayaking recently. The weather has not been good but the real reason is that I have hurt my knee again. I depend on other people to help me get the kayak off the roof at the beach and when I get home I have a pulley system under my carport. However, in November and December I was staying at my mother's house in Ayr as she was recovering after an operation. I had no alternative but to get the kayak off the roof myself. On the last occasion I had very nearly done it when my left knee dislocated and I fell to the ground in some pain. I dropped the kayak and the stern hit the car bonnet denting it. On the previous outing David was helping me load at the beach. David also has arthritis and we both managed to drop the kayak. This time it hit the roof above the doors and the wing mirror and scratched both. Admittedly the kayak was a Delphin RM which is not light but enough was enough. Some action was necessary so I drove up to Kari-tek and got myself one of their Easy Load Roof Rack systems (ELRR). Due to having a really sore knee I chose to have Kari-tek to fit it but when my friend Mike saw one the next day he also bought one, which we fitted ourselves (with me directing!) in a couple of hours.

The ELRR runner bar attaches to your existing rack and stays fitted to it. It sits slightly to one side so that the sliding carriage, which carries the sea kayaks, can be lowered down the passenger side of the car but not lean against it. If assembling the ELLR yourself, check that your roof bars are parallel and that the runner bar is fitted horizontally and that the ends of the runner bars are parallel (on many cars the rear cross bar may be narrower than the front so do not just measure from the ends of the runner bar to the car roof rack mounts! Kari-tek supply a really clear illustrated instruction manual.

This is the view from the driver side. The sliding carriage has pulley wheels which run on the inverted "Vs" on the runner bars.

When the carriage is slid onto the roof rack the end of the carriage engages with  (and is secured by) the heavy duty white nylon "T" piece at the driver side of the runners.

This is the view of the sliding carriage from the passenger side when fitted to the roof rack runner bar . A heavy duty brass roller (just visible) runs in and is retained in the lower channel of the carriage. The roller is attached to a heavy duty...

...triangular aluminium plate which is bolted to the runner bar. Once the carriage is slid onto the runner bar, the driver's end is secured by the T piece and the carriage is held in place by the locking pin which you can see attached to the black retaining cord.

Note that the stainless steel securing bolts (which holds the triangular plate in place are not threaded directly into the aluminium of the runner bar. They screw into hard metal threaded inserts. This is much more durable than screwing a bolt directly into a soft metal like aluminium.

The triangular plate has two slots. The innermost one slides into a bolt which has a large washer and a spacer just a little thicker than the plate. This means that this bolt does not need to be loosened. The outer bolt needs to be loosened (it and its washer are retained in a recess at the head of the slot) then it can be swung up to release the plate and the carriage from the roof bars.  The only issue I have with the construction of the ELRR is that one of the spacers on the inner bolt (out of the four on the two ELRR  
we fitted) was cut too small and the triangular plate would not slide into it without the bolt being loosened off.

To remove the carriage from the roof bars I find it easier to remove the two hand rails (which hold the halves of the carriage together) and remove/replace them one at a time. This involves loosening 4 bolts (2 each side). At the top right of this photo you can see that the handle mounting plate slides into the upper channel of the carriage where a bolt on the top secures it. Kari-tek provide two quality spanners and an allen key to fit all the fasteners.

This photo shows the carriage pulled over to the passenger side and lowered down the side of the car. The angle of the triangular plate prevents it hitting the car side.

Here the carriage fully lowered over the side of the car and the first kayak is loaded at chest height. It is much easier to tighten the J bar straps in this position. You can say goodbye to struggling to uncross jammed straps where they loop through the top of the J bar high above your head and on the far side of the kayak (as happens when J bars are fitted to a conventional roof rack).

This is the really magic bit so watch very carefully.  You use the handle on the carriage to lift and slide the first kayak onto the roof before loading any other kayaks. You then put two more pins through the carriage between the first and second sets of J bars before...

...pulling the carriage back off the car roof and lower it back down again.

The extra pins stop the carriage sliding right down the side of the car. Not only does the kayak change into an entirely different kayak, it is now sitting higher than it was before. Being above the roller on which the carriage rotates, the first kayak now acts as a counter balance for any others that you add to the rack. If you are just carrying two kayaks the second will be perfectly balanced as you swing the carriage up onto the roof.

If you are loading three kayaks you are really just having to lift the weight of the last as the first two are counterbalancing each other on the temporary pivot. If you attempted to load all three in one go it would take a lot of grunt to slide them up in a oner!

An easy lift and I now had three kayaks on the roof rack with minimal effort, no strained back and, most importantly, no dislocated knees or more dents on the car.

When loaded the kayaks are held securely in the J bars. You can either buy Kari-Tek J bars for the ELRR or Kari-tek sell adapter kits to reuse J bars from other manufactures, such as these KCS ones. I had to drill two more countersunk holes in the midline of the KCS J bars. Kari-tek thoughtfully supply a paper template to position the new holes.

The J bars are secured by two bolts and captive nuts which slide into the upper channel of the carriage. When travelling the carriage is secured by spring loaded locking pins which go right through the carriage rails and through the triangular aluminium plate, which is bolted to the runner bar on the roof rack. These locking pins are the only metal parts of the rack that are not corrosion resistant aluminium, stainless steel or brass. The pins are plated but it would be worth spraying them with something like Corrosion Guard.

On the road, the rack holds the load securely and there is little increase in wind noise compared with just crossbars and J bars. There is minimum bounce even on bumpy, rutted roads. With at least one kayak on the rack there are no rattles but if you leave the carriage with the J bars on the rack when unloaded, it does rattle. The noise comes from the passenger side of the carriage in the region of the brass rollers. This is easily fixed...

...by wrapping a bicycle toe strap with quick release buckle round the carriage and the runner bar at the passenger side.

Conclusion.
This is an ingenious, superbly engineered and effective solution to getting kayaks onto a car roof. At £335 I think it is superb value for money (but note that you either have to use your existing J bars or buy some more). Once loaded the kayaks are held securely and safely. Any small or older person should have one of these but I would go further and say that any fit kayaker that ever needs to load a kayak on their own should have one. I am aware that even a decade ago I was straining myself and risking injury every time I loaded a sea kayak on my own.

My recent sea kayaking opportunities have been restricted by increasing disability. This rack has allowed me to overcome the single most difficult physical barrier on a sea kayaking trip. It has given me back my freedom to go sea kayaking. I have no option therefore but to award the Kari-tek Easy Load Roof Rack 12/10.

If you are young, big and strong I would reduce that score to a mere 10/10. Even so you should buy one now before you become young, big, and formerly strong with a bad back!


Thursday, January 17, 2013

Petition to save University Marine Biological Station

Anyone who regularly paddles to the Cumbraes on the Firth of Clyde must have seen these two vessels: the RV Actina and the RV Aora. In this photo they are tied up at Keppel Pier next to the University Marine Biological Station at Millport.

Sadly the University Marine Biological Station is threatened by closure. Scotland probably has more coastline than any other country of similar size. As a result our lives are influenced by the sea and in turn our actions influence the sea. Our survival depends on looking after the seas and to do so we need to understand them. The UMBS not only carries out research but has played a vital part in the education of very many marine biologists who have gone on to research across the World's seas.

As a taxpayer I can think of very many things I would like to see cut before the UMBS at Millport. If you are of a like mind, you can sign the petition here.

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Moonlight and dark, empty windows at Greenan.

As the last of the sunset faded to darkness we continued...

...paddling in the moonlight under...

...the grey walls and dark empty windows of Greenan Castle, which has stood...

...on this rock for hundreds of years, guarding the southern approach...

...to the town of Ayr .

We slipped silently and unobserved through the darkness and pulled our kayaks over the sands of Seafield.

Our wonderful short winter day had finally come to an end.

Saturday, January 12, 2013

It ended in a blaze of glory.



Shortly after we left Drumbane, the skies grew darker and at first we thought that there would not be a sunset but...

...gradually a little chink appeared on the horizon to the SSW.

At first it was only a few embers but it grew...

...until the short winter day ended in a blaze of glory.



Thursday, January 10, 2013

The delights of Drumbane.

With Ailsa Craig on the horizon and the dramatic sky of an approaching cold front behind us...

...we paddled north past the magnificent headlands of the Carrick coast.

With the flooding of the tide we were able to paddle over the now submerged reefs...

...that guard the delightful tidal bay at..

...Drumbane with its...

..eponymous burn and falls.

What a location to toast the sunset with a snifter of The Singleton.

Wednesday, January 09, 2013

Keeping time at Dunure.

 We made our way back to the kayaks and...

 ...slowly got ready for our return trip to Ayr.

 The time had slipped by all too quickly and the sun was now fast sinking...

 ...behind the dark walls of Dunure castle. The empty windows of the keep briefly flashed with the full light of the sun as our kayaks slowly drifted past.

 The approaching cold front had made significant progress towards us and we were admiring the cloud strata when we spoted something wobbling about at sea. It was difficult to judge the scale but we thought it looked like a stand up paddler.

 We nipped out to investigate...

 ...but  it was Jennifer in the Taran 16 who got there first. It was a make shift buoy to mark the position of the Dunure Inn Christmas lobster keep.

Shortly after we left the lobster keep, the Dunure Inn landlord motored out to it in his boat.


One of his guests had either ordered a lobster for dinner or he was checking to see if we had nicked his lobsters!

Tuesday, January 08, 2013

All quiet in Dunure.

 It was high noon but the low winter sun had hardly made it above the hills behind...

 ...the former fishing village of Dunure.

At one time, the harbour would have been packed with herring smacks but nowadays it is very quiet: there are just a few small prawn and lobster boats.

 The villagers are very proud of their harbour but we were more interested in...

 ...their pub.

 After the passage of a little time, Phil asked the barman why the public bar was so quiet...

....