Hi all, I'm planning to order a Northwind 18 at Midwest's fall expo (unless a used one comes along first), and I'm thinking about how best to haul it on the roof of our VW Golf. The Golf is a relatively short car and the Northwind 18 is a long canoe. I live in Minneapolis so we're talking three hours on the roof to get to the BWCA, but I may also want to haul it out to the ADK or WCPP.

So question is, am I better off with foam blocks and a bunch of tie-downs, or with roof bars to affix it to? I lean toward the blocks because the bars are ultimately just clamped to the frame anyway, but I don't know which will be more secure.

Spend the money on a system like Yakima. Well worth it. Rock solid, less hassle, and more piece of mind.When you hit a windy day hauling the canoe you'll be glad you did. Your car will carry the Northstar 18 just fine

Yakama Racks would be my choice. Much more secure than foam blocks.

I use a Thule rack system for both my Pilot and Jetta, which probably has the same roof line as your Golf. The greatest benefit is that when you use canoe brackets on the rack, the bow of the canoe doesn't move from side to side while driving, which happened when I (briefly) used foam blocks on my old Jetta.

Okay, sounds like a need a rack. Fsupp, what canoe brackets are you using? they just adjust in and out on the bars to hold the gunnels? Like these ?

Yakima makes these load stops . Quite a bit cheaper than the Thule's that you linked. I think, though you might want to double check, that Yakima bar accessories are set up to work with either Yakima's round bars, or Thule's squares. Craigslist can be your friend with racks, I've done well picking up towers and bars on CL and then only having to buy the clips, new, to fit the specific vehicle. I had a Jetta, with Yakima's, essentially the same roof line as the Golf, it worked well with canoes and kayaks. Worth the upfront investment in my mind, they last for years if you don't leave them on all winter so that the road salt eats the towers up.

You can google Yakima Fit My Car to find any and all rack configurations for your Golf. And, yes, they have Gunwale Brackets pretty much identical to those Thule Portage stops.

quote TominMpls: "Okay, sounds like a need a rack. Fsupp, what canoe brackets are you using? they just adjust in and out on the bars to hold the gunnels? Like these ?"

Mine is an older version this Thule set up - the wingnuts run underneath the crossbars instead of on the side - but it's essentially the same thing.

And I use this footpack with 50" square bars:

Link

My first double post! What a glorious day!

It looks like the Thule and Yakima setups are about $50 different, but since I already have a set of Thule locks (matching a Thule box I have from two cars back), I'd come out probably $10 cheaper with Thule. So I guess I'll go that way. Thanks guys for talking me out of another $500 :-/

Thanks guys. The only roof rack I ever had screwed down into special hard points on the roof. How well do these clamp type racks hold? Do they hold as well? Do they scratch the paint?

I have used Yakima racks since the mid 80's after a brief run with foam blocks. Yakima is pricy, but good stuff. The clamp down systems were padded, but eventually did scrape paint of the tracks they clamped to. I now use the bolt down system on my pickup. It required drilling holes and the mount is permanent. At least the paint job was an easy fix.
I also prefer the load stops to the canoe stops, but the tumblehome on my Magic requires the canoe stops at mid point. I use a three bar mount and load stops at front and back. Tied down I think the truck would blow away before the canoe shift much.
The load stops are great for holding lumber when I get some longer boards for a project.

quote TominMpls: "Thanks guys. The only roof rack I ever had screwed down into special hard points on the roof. How well do these clamp type racks hold? Do they hold as well? Do they scratch the paint?"

The clamps practically meld with the roof. That is, there's no give no matter how hard you shake the rack after you've attached it. And there's a rubberized coating on the clamps that protect the paint. After 6 years, I've only experienced some very slight scuffing to the clear coat and no scratches on the paint.

And, yeah, sorry about the $$, but you and your new Northwind won't regret the purchase! Too bad REI's annual May sale won't be until, well, May, because all their Thule and Yakima products are 20% off then.

quote fsupp: "

quote TominMpls: "Thanks guys. The only roof rack I ever had screwed down into special hard points on the roof. How well do these clamp type racks hold? Do they hold as well? Do they scratch the paint?"

The clamps practically meld with the roof. That is, there's no give no matter how hard you shake the rack after you've attached it. And there's a rubberized coating on the clamps that protect the paint. After 6 years, I've only experienced some very slight scuffing to the clear coat and no scratches on the paint.


And, yeah, sorry about the $$, but you and your new Northwind won't regret the purchase! Too bad REI's annual May sale won't be until, well, May, because all their Thule and Yakima products are 20% off then."

+1

If you go with Thule bars, buy a couple of cheap 6' bungee cord and wrap it in a spiral around the bars. It will completely eliminate the wind noise.

quote fraxinus: "Yakima makes these load stops . Quite a bit cheaper than the Thule's that you linked...."

His link was to load stops for the aero bars, the load stops for the square bars are wuit a bit cheaper.

quote DanCooke: "Yakama Racks would be my choice. Much more secure than foam blocks."

I've attatched canvas to my Thule rack. Holds better and doesn't ding the wood gunwales

Tom do you have a tow receiver? I have the spring creek suction mount front bracket and rear bracket which fits into the vehicles tow receiver. Pretty good set up for the once or twice a year canoe trip.Typically I have hauled 2 canoes with it including an 18ft tandem for the usual 2 day drive. Works fine and dandy. Mine is just sitting around, excellent condition since I don't use my truck anymore. I could do it at 1/2 price what a new one costs.

quote mastertangler: "Tom do you have a tow receiver? I have the spring creek suction mount front bracket and rear bracket which fits into the vehicles tow receiver. Pretty good set up for the once or twice a year canoe trip.Typically I have hauled 2 canoes with it including an 18ft tandem for the usual 2 day drive. Works fine and dandy. Mine is just sitting around, excellent condition since I don't use my truck anymore. I could do it at 1/2 price what a new one costs."

Is Spring Creek rack 53" or 65" length?

My last tacoma had a Yakima rack. My new one has a Thule rack. In my opinion the Yakima is a better quality product! Marc

Wow, as far as I could tell the Thule and Yakima products were about the same, and the fact that I have a set of lock cylinders for Thule has kept me looking in that direction, but this thread is full of people indicating Yakima to be better than Thule. Is it enough difference to be worth not taking advantage of my Thule cylinders? They seem so similar; what's the difference?

quote mastertangler: "Tom do you have a tow receiver? I have the spring creek suction mount front bracket and rear bracket which fits into the vehicles tow receiver. Pretty good set up for the once or twice a year canoe trip.Typically I have hauled 2 canoes with it including an 18ft tandem for the usual 2 day drive. Works fine and dandy. Mine is just sitting around, excellent condition since I don't use my truck anymore. I could do it at 1/2 price what a new one costs."

I don't, although it's not out of the question. I assume that those systems are designed for pickups, right? I think a small car such as a Golf probably would take a smaller hitch receiver than those are designed for?

I have a 2011 Jetta Sportwagen with a Thule rack system that I purchased on Craigslist for $100. It's been on my car for 6 years and no issues at all. Except for the wind noise which I eliminated by wrapping some cord around the bars.

I have done annual trips to several places totalling so far about 10,000 miles. Racks are rock solid. I haul my Merlin and my Hobie kayak usually 3 days a week.

Save some dough and scour Craigslist for a pair. Be patient you will find em.
~JOE~

Just found this. It will probably fit your car.
https://minneapolis.craigslist.org/wsh/pts/d/2016-volkswagen-gti-factory/6310010866.html

~JOE~

I just picked up a used Northwind this spring. I debated getting the load stops and I'm SO glad I did. It was very windy on our way home and the canoe was rock solid the whole way.

It's kind of annoying you have to get the straps with it (I didn't need them) but I still thought it was well worth it. The cheaper ones linked earlier wouldn't work with my cross bars.

Yakima Stops

quote TominMpls: "Wow, as far as I could tell the Thule and Yakima products were about the same, and the fact that I have a set of lock cylinders for Thule has kept me looking in that direction, but this thread is full of people indicating Yakima to be better than Thule. Is it enough difference to be worth not taking advantage of my Thule cylinders? They seem so similar; what's the difference?"

It used to be the difference was that Yakima had round bars and Thule had square bars, so you'd have to buy Thule products for your Thule bars, and vice versa. And that built brand loyalty. Now, they both also have aero bars, and their products attach to the other company's rack system. So, I have Thule mounts and bars for my two vehicles, a Thule receiver hitch bike rack, Thule upright bike mounts, Thule canoe brackets, but a Yakima roof box, which I liked better than Thule models because the back end is angled so that it allows the rear gate of my SUV to open fully.

The upshot? Both companies make products of a very high quality. You won't go wrong with either.

Tom,
The Yakima rack that I used to have had flat shaped wing bars with a rubber strip imbedded in it for the canoe to rest on. It was solid! The Thule rack that I have now has a rubber strip that slides when I set my canoe on it and slide it toward the middle. The end caps then open up on one side and the rubber strip is sticking out! Seems like the engineering could have been better. Just a minor frustration,but after loving my Yakima I regret not insisting on another when I ordered my topper. Good day! Marc

Joe (yoyoyo) I owe you a beer. I wouldn't have thought to look at Craigslist but now I have a good condition vw rack for way less than I planned to spend. Best part is that the seller is a canoe guy and had used the rack to haul his solo boat, and could give me some tips. I still have load stops to get and I'll have to figure out straps and things, but the rack is sorted.

"The clamps practically meld with the roof. That is, there's no give no matter how hard you shake the rack after you've attached it."

Had a Yakima rack with feet that attach to the gutter come off the truck with the 1 day old Bell Northwind on the QEW. In our excitement to take the new canoe on it's maiden voyage we forgot to put on the bow and stern tie downs. I suggest you not forget.

quote TominMpls: "Joe (yoyoyo) I owe you a beer. I wouldn't have thought to look at Craigslist but now I have a good condition vw rack for way less than I planned to spend. Best part is that the seller is a canoe guy and had used the rack to haul his solo boat, and could give me some tips. I still have load stops to get and I'll have to figure out straps and things, but the rack is sorted."

That's great! I too have found some really good deals on racks on craigslist. Bought two sets of thule loads bars for $20 each a couple of years ago. You will really enjoy the rack.