Yakima KeelOver Canoe Carrier
The Yakima KeelOver canoe carrier hauls your boat with ease and affordability.
- Durable saddles feature over-molded rubber to cushion the canoe gunwales while providing stability
- Universal design of saddles fits directly to Whispbar, round, square and most factory bars
- Yakima KeelOver includes 4 saddles, straps, and bow/stern tie-downs to carry 1 boat
- Quick and easy, tool-free installation
Imported.
| Best Use | Canoeing |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 5.5 x 3.5 x 3.5 inches |
| Weight | 3 lbs. 8 oz. |
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KeelOver Very Versatile For Different Racks
We used these on ours with the Chevy rack from the dealer and it worked fine on the last setting, the widest one for the 3 years we owned the vehicle. We now have purchased a Jeep Renegade and are planning to use the standard round bars. I tried them on the bar and it fits perfect on the narrowest setting. Fit's like a glove; they are very versatile! I noticed someone else mentioned they no longer use bow and stern tie downs since they bought this, however? ANY rack can fail! Please, ALWAYS use at least bow tie downs to protect those behind you!
Does the job, just not easy to use
This system has safely secured my old 15' aluminum canoe to my Subaru Outback for travel without incident. However, it is a major hassle to get everything aligned properly. Sliding a heavy canoe onto the roof of my car while navigating the canoe thwarts over the KeelOver supports is challenging, even with two people working. It is also difficult to adjust the KeelOver supports properly when the canoe is on the car because of interference with the canoe sides and thwarts and the way the KeelOver supports are secured to the crossbars. I wish I had either gone with the cheaper old-school foam blocks or splurged on a roller-type system.
Very solid, very adjustable gunwale brackets
These brackets are quite adjustable to fit various shapes of roof rack crossbars. Stock vehicle crossbars end at the side rails, so wider boats cannot be carried because the bracket takes up space. If you have crossbars that go beyond the side rails sufficiently, such as the Yakima round bars, you can place one or both of these brackets outside of the rails to accommodate wide boats. With the Yakima round bars the out-of-the-box setting of the hinge is too loose. Pop the hinge out of its socket and move it closer to its partner to get a very firm fit.
Only option
I have a 2014 subaru outback and this is the only rack accessory that works for canoes and works well. You do need to take off the back factory bar and relocate to the furthest back location allowable. It fits my wenonah 16' canoe when extended to the widest it will go on the factory racks.
Secure transport for my canoe
The Yakima KeelOver canoe carriers really made a difference in how secure the canoe sat on my truck. I did have an issue but resolved it and I think my recommendation will help others, which is why I'm writing this review. The clips are easy to install and the boat sits right on top of them. I used a tape measure to make sure the boat was centered. Because the boat is longer than the truck it tends to creep forward as you drive. To remedy this, I put the rear clips inside the hull so that as the boat narrows it will jam against the clips and stop creeping forward. The clips on the front remain on the outside of the hull and the boat jams against them too. This change made the canoe sit and stay absolutely securely in heavy crosswinds, headwinds and highway speeds on top of the truck. These pads were the solution to stopping the boat sliding from side to side and front to back. I highly recommend them.
Great Canoe rack
Just returned from a 4 hour drive to Shaver Lake. Used the rack in conjunction with the stock rack on my 2015 Subaru to transport my 16' Old Town canoe. Worked great, made one adjustment going over a very windy pass but otherwise the canoe mounts did a great job. Very stable and easy to use.
Awesome Canoe bracket-gadget for roof racks
These Yakima brackets are simply genius. Easy to install on whisper-air roof racks, the brackets hold the canoe so tightly in-place, you can stop on a dime and everything else stops with you, most especially the canoe! While a bit pricey, the brackets and cinch-down straps are well made and very durable. Only thing missing is a lock to adhere the brackets to your car roof racks.
Exactly what I needed
New 2023 Honda CRV with factory crossbars just does not have good tie down points for bowlines. After a couple of not-really-successful experiments, I saw these Yakima brackets. Perfect! Brackets adjusted for a perfect fit with the crossbars. Used them with my 15" ultralight canoe at highway speeds and they are rock solid. The bow twitches a bit but never shifts from a wind gust or passing truck turbulence. The included bumper straps are fine so I can retire my current fraying ones. With three canoes of varying widths I imagine it will take a little playing around whenever I switch boats but should be easy. Everything costs more than I want it to these days, but these are worth the price for the peace of mind (especially on sale!). Very happy with this product.
Solid
I'm hauling a Northwind 18 (18'9") on top of a VW Golf (total length 14'0") so I needed a really solid system. These feet do the trick beautifully. The canoe is very wide - 36" at the gunwales - and I use the factory rack, but using these on the *inside* of the boat, they actually fit. I think these hold the boat better on the inside than on the outside anyway, though of course it's easier to load the boat with them on the outside if that's possible. I only gave it four stars because my Keelover came with worthless bow and stern tiedowns - they have plastic buckles (!!) instead of proper metal cams. Given that the bow and stern tie-downs are only there for an emergency situation in the first place, I wouldn't want to be hoping that a little plastic buckle holds as I'm urgently trying to pull off the freeway with a canoe whose rack has come loose from the car. Also, even if I were to trust the plastic buckle, they designed the bow and stern tie-downs to go down the center of the vehicle, to some central tie point, but that would involve pulling the strap down over the bumper, blocking access to both the hood and the hatch, and using some dubious connection under the car. Much better to use hood loops secured to bolts inside the hood on the front (VW has two nice bolts on each side for this very purpose), and to loop through the top of the hatch in the rear. So I bought a couple proper 12' metal cam straps to use instead. No big deal, you've got to customize for your application anyway. But the plastic buckles are embarrassing. The main straps they provide with this are great - they have metal cams inside nice rubber cases to protect the boat and the car. When tightened down, there's really nothing to worry about, with a solid, locked canoe that can't move in any direction, and straps that aren't digging into the canoe or the car.
Easy to use and secure
These worked very well for us. We have a 16 ft 80 lb canoe. Very secure - no problems on a 120 mile drive.