Submitted: 07-11-2006 by carldelo 
I bought the EZ-Vee Plus so I could carry my gorgeous 17' wooden kayak on my 12' Mini Cooper. I specifically did not want to drill holes in the mahogany hull to add front and rear lash points. The EZ-Vee allows me to set my boat on the carrier, lash it with two heavy bungees and that's it - about a 10 second tie down, with no bow or stern straps needed. I've driven 7 hours to VA and 10 hours to Maine from NYC with no issues whatsoever. I'm a mechanical engineer, and will say that the heavy duty aluminum extrusions, welded joints and large fasteners are very well done. The carrier is made to fit either Thule or Yakima, but I adapted it (fairly simply) to fit on my factory Mini rack (I can email photos to the curious or disbelieving). It was a little expensive, but I have no regrets due to its strength and the rapid loading - at the end of a long cold paddle in the rain, it's nice to have the boat loaded in under a minute. I generally use a Lasso Lock in combination with the bungees for theft protection and as a fail-safe, but it hasn't been needed. In fact, I get as many questions about the EZ-Vee as I do about my Struer flat water boat. Comes in different lengths based on hull type - highly recommended. |