So, my wife and I are going to buy the Yakima racks for the box to transport a canoe we will also be purchasing. My question is this:

Are the "gunwale brackets" completely necessary?
You are essentially mounting the canoe on 4 brackets that mount to the crossbars, then securing the canoe with straps that fasten to the brackets. My thought is,...why can't you secure the canoe directly to the cross bars using your standard locking straps?

any input from people who have experience with this would be much appreciated.

UPDATE for the H ell of it.

Got the racks installed and bought a used canoe for dirt cheap. Decided against the brackets and the canoe feels really sturdy on the box.

 

I plan on a similar setup so am also curious what the options are... BTW here's a xB with a canoe from the last Exposed here in FL, sorry that I didn't get a closeup of the mounting points but it's pretty clear in this shot-

 

We never use them with our canoe, then again...we only have to drive about 3 miles to get to the water so it's not a big deal.

My main concern is that there are no good tiedown points under the bumpers to secure the ends. I just crank down on the main straps as best I can.

 

Yea... There are at least 5 - 10 different spots to canoe near me...all within 3 - 25min away from my house. Rivers, ponds, lakes..... Short trips should be fine with out the brackets. I wouldn't mind making a trip up north...NH / VT, do some camping and canoing, but the fact that I am riding on coilovers (really bouncy / harsh ride), I want to make sure that the canoe would be alright.

Anyone else who totes a canoe around, please chime in. I don't want to fall victim to suspect marketing for brackets that serve no real purpose.

 

Amphibious wheels...LOL, I kill myself!

 

Sorry that was lame. Nice rack dude, ah ha I made another funny. Oh this is great...Nice rack, funny, funny.

 

Anyway, got the racks, installed, and decided against the brackets. Nice sturdy feel.....I just have not decided on the canoe yet. Hopefully just a tie down will do the trick. I will now gracefully let this thread die...

 

^^^What brand and how much on the rack?

 

Rack Attack was running a sale w/ free shipping. Paid 292 shipped and this included:

4 Q towers
4 Q clips
2 crossbars
1 fairing

 

^^^^^oops....

It is the Yakima rack.

 

Like the rides for sure!! Looks Sweded!! ;)
Just out of curiousity, what is the length of the bars? I am looking at buying a second hand kit here locally and am wondering if I can get by with a shorter set... Thanks!

 

Hey Man.....

The bars are the recommended 58 inch.

 

looks great, nice solution.