For once, this is not another "what car" thread.

In reply to Floating Doc (Forum Supporter) :

Or vertical un-lift as my brother-in-law discovered.  He always takes his kayaks on his truck cap/topper/camper/whatever you call it in your neck of the woods.  He always ran a strap over the hull down to the front rack and then one bull rope from the front tip down to the front bumper.  He wanted to be sure that front never ripped off assuming it would be trying to fly up.  He put a rope from the tail down to the hitch and never gave it much thought.  He hit a gust and it snapped the rear rope and drove the tip of the hull down on the roof hard enough that it dented badly and caused a leak above the windshield.

Car topping can always be sketchy, but isn't sketchy by default.  If you do it right, it's fine.  I often do it weekly, albeit on a sturdier rack than what I'm planning for her.

I'd second the inflatable kayak. Seems like the easier solution--doesn't require any sketchy fab, sketchy loading, sketchy driving characteristics. 

Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:

I love you, but I thought I was crystal clear on this.  Suggesting a trailer is about as applicable as suggesting a helicopter.

ABSOLUTELY NO TRAILERS. Great for us.  Impossible for her.

Well, clearly, she needs an LS, then...

For 2x4s, can she just rent a truck? Lowe's has pickups at $19 for 90 minutes. Is there such a thing as Uber pickup? 

In the spirit of asking, why don't you just trade cars for an afternoon?

I've driven many thousands of miles around the south with all major of kayaks in sketchy and not sketchy arraignments. The hitch extender and the windshield tie down suction cup thing will work great. Just make sure to figure out how to not let it sway side to side, get great cam lock straps- or teach her to tie a trucker's hitch and tie tightly. Windshields are made for very strong forces, I have a hard time seeing how this would be an issue. 

Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:

 

Her car has the auto-deploying headrest hoops in the event of a roll-over, but as it was described to me, all convertible cars have to have made with a specific roll-over crush protection.  That is to say, even in convertibles, if you draw a line from the hoop to the windshield, a passenger's head can't be higher than that line.... which begs the question - doesn't that mean the windshield is likely a lot stronger than we're assuming?

A lot of newer convertibles tend to reinforce the windshield frame with weird exotic alloys like boron steel. Supposedly it's tough enough to be a nuisance for rescue departments as it can't be cut with a Sawzall or much of anything else short of a plasma cutter or oxyacetylene torch. I wouldn't worry about the windshield frame not being strong enough.

If the kayak only gets carried with the top down, how about getting a front bar out of a junkyard convertible top mechanism and securing that with factory attachment points? (Edit: Wait, I see that's been suggested already.)

David S. Wallens said:

For 2x4s, can she just rent a truck? Lowe's has pickups at $19 for 90 minutes. Is there such a thing as Uber pickup? 

Downside to those is you have to make two trips across town, depending on where the Lowenardepot is from your house.  Also, all of the places that rent them charge mileage on top of the rental fee now, so it's not nearly as good of a deal as it was five years ago.

Mr_Asa said:

In the spirit of asking, why don't you just trade cars for an afternoon?

We've done that before, but it's still relying on someone else, and my truck isn't terribly healthy right now.

MadScientistMatt said:

Supposedly it's tough enough to be a nuisance for rescue departments as it can't be cut with a Sawzall or much of anything else short of a plasma cutter or oxyacetylene torch.

(smarta$$) Um, it's a convertible, couldn't they just lift the victim out through the huuuge opening (/smarta$$)