How to Carry a Boat and Three Small Kayaks With 2007 Honda Odyssey

Question:

Help! My family of six just lost our waterside storage for our canoe and kayaks. I have a 2007 Honda Odyssey. It has factory side rails, but no cross bars and no hitch. Right now, the kids are 11 and under, so we have Lifetime kids sit atop kayaks, but I envision them upgrading to proper kayaks in the years ahead. Maybe we would end up with six kayaks, but right now, we have the canoe and three little kayaks. Sometimes, I take the kids boating by myself. I cannot load the canoe rooftop alone. What combination of equipment would you recommend to allow me to transport my family and our watercraft, and the attendant gear, that would be flexible enough to grow with us over the years? Thank you!

asked by: Jessica G

Expert Reply:

That's a lot of kayaks! The best thing for you to do is get a roof rack to transport the kayaks and a trailer for the canoe, which can be used to carry kayaks when the time comes for the little ones to make the transition to larger kayaks.

To start you will need a trailer hitch for your 2007 Honda Odyssey, Draw-Tite # 75270, and Wiring Harness # 118438 in order to power the lights on the trailer. I've added links to installation videos of both parts on an '07 Odyssey for you to check out.

From there you can use the Malone EcoLight Trailer # MAL53FR to carry your canoe (so long as the canoe is a maximum of 14' and weighs no more than 400 lbs). This trailer comes with all the necessary wheels and tires, hardware, wiring, and lights you'll need. You can then use the Malone Big Foot Pro Canoe Carrier # MPG112MD to secure the canoe on the trailer's crossbars. When your kids are big enough for their own kayaks you can use this trailer to carry their kayaks. You will also need Curt Ball Mount # C45155 which will comes with the 2" ball, pin and clip you'll need to transport the trailer, and has the 2-1/4" rise that is also going to be necessary for the Malone XtraLight and your Odyssey.

To carry the kayaks I recommend using the Thule AeroBlade roof rack, which consists of WingBar Evo Crossbars # TH711420 (Black) or # TH711400 (Silver) as well as Evo Raised Rail Feet for Thule Crossbars # TH710401 because it offers a unique combination of function, strength and style while remaining very quiet and easy to use.

Finally, to transport the three small kayaks I recommend using the Thule The Stacker Rooftop Multi-Kayak Carrier # TH830, which fits the Thule crossbars and can hold up to 4 kayaks so long as they are not longer than 10'. It does come with 1 pair of ratcheting tie downs, 2 straps, and buckle protectors so you are going to need additional tie-downs such as # Y04031.

I have added links to video reviews for you to take a look at as well, and this is quite a bit of stuff so please let me know if you have any questions.