Hi Keith,
Loading a 揊ish� single handed is next to impossible without doing damage to either the boat or the vehicle. Been there, done that. So far I have been fortunate enough to have a sailing partner and we assist one another loading and unloading.
Yakama and Thule have extension arms that stick out beyond the vehicle from one of the crossbars for loading kayaks. The concept is that you boost one end of the boat up onto the extension and then lift the other end up and slide the boat onto the rack.
I抦 thinking of trying a variation on the commercial rack design. So far I抳e considered a pipe that runs diagonally from the far end of the rear crossbar to the near end of the front and then sticks out about 3� beyond. The difficulty is finding a pipe and attachments that will hold the weight. It may take a 2X4 instead of a pipe. If I try a 2X4 I抦 thinking that a pair of hinges with loose pins may work for attaching the aparatus. Once the boat is loaded, just pull the hinge pins and lash the 搇oading board� on the crossbars along side the mast and spars.
Another loading idea I抳e toyed with is a piece of carpeted plywood attached to the ends of the crossbars. The board would hang down one side of the vehicle a couple of feet and act as a ramp. Again the process is to lift one end of the boat up against the board and then go to the other and heft it up pushing the opposite end onto the crossbars in the process. With this idea I haven抰 worked out just how the board is attached or where to put it when its not in use.
Anyway, there are some thoughts on the single handed loading problem. I抣l post more on the subject if I get around to trials.
Dan
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