Anyone Kayak here?
 

I like to go kayak fishing, and will sometimes launch from the surf. This will cause some sand to stick to the bottom of the yak and is very very prone to cause scratches. Also, the shark fin will not make loading the kayak any easier.
Anyone have a kayak rack on their x5s? What do you use?

I don't know what the odds are of having two kayaking threads in one week, but vinuneuro asked this same question last week in this thread and nodody responded.

Any kayakers here?

oh, he was asking in regards to getting into the hobby.
i am already in the hobby, i trying to see my options between thule and yakima racks for loading up a 12.5 feet Wilderness Tarpon kayak built for fishing :)
i had the temporary yak and scratched up my old car pretty bad!

Crazy... I'm currently looking into kayaks, but will likely end up with a plain old canoe. Mainly for river/swamp/bayou type adventures with the dslr camera and stuff. We like getting great nature shots in secluded natural environments, and there's no better way than that! We currently are limited to an old pirogue that needs to be retired.

But for my needs, a 2 person open top kayak with decent dry storage dosn't justify the price difference over the canoe... but I love the kayaks so much better! (it's honestly like the kayak is an Z4M and the canoe is a 525i)

I got ya. I thought it couldn't hurt to bring it up. Good luck with your search. I wish I could help, but unfortunately I don't know the first thing about it.

I have a thule set up. I can carry 4 kayaks on the roof. The racks work great but the wind noise from the load bars (thule 450 feet with 58" load bars) is quite loud. It is to the point wear I have to keep the sunroof closed when the rack is on the X. They go on and off in about 5 minutes so it isn't too bad.

I would like to go with a J type hook carrier, I currently use the Stacker, when I take 1 or 2 kayaks up to NH. I live in southern MA, and would like something easier to load by myself.

that looks like an easy set up, but I don't think that would work for single handedly loading a 80lb 13 ft kayak :) its amazing how you fit 4 surf yaks

What kayak are you using? I just bought a 12.5ft Wilderness Systems Tusnami and it only weigs 55 lbs, no fancy material either, just plastic hull. You probably want to get the Thule or Yakima rollers in the back with saddles in the front.

http://images.google.com/url?source=...O_vYaqtcCR07-Q

I have the Wilderness Systems Tarpon 120, the thing weighs more than its stated, probably due to all the fishing mods done on it. With the rollers, you have to lift the kayak above your head, and risk scratching the x5. I think there is an option where you pull the rack out to load the kayak but i'm not sure what its called. (from yakima)

You may want to look at this:

2009 Thule 887XT SlipStream Kayak Rack - Complete System with Roller & Extension
The premium Thule 887XT SlipStream is an all-in-one complete kayak rack with front and rear kayak saddles plus an extending rear kayak roller lift assist. Simultaneously reduces effort required to load / unload kayak and also prevents any possible contact of kayak with rear of vehicle. Mounts directly to any factory rack crossbars as well as both Thule square load bars & elliptical Rapid Aero bars, Thule Xsporter truck rack, Inno Racks and Yakima round bars.http://ep.yimg.com/ca/Img/trans_1x1.gif