How Many Additional Straps Are Required to Carry 3 Kayaks With Yakima BigStack

Question:

According to the FEATURES of the BigStack it comes with 2 Tie-down straps with cam buckles to secure 2 kayaks to the carrier....if you have a kayak on each side of the posts doesnt each kayak need to have its own set of two tie-down straps? Same question for the bow/stern tie downs. The BigStack only came with one set of tie downs...which would only secure the bow/stern of one kayak. My plan is to have three kayaks on one side with the BigStack posts on one side of the vehicle as opposed to being in the middle why by the way is that way the Yakima manual recommends so Im just trying to figure out how many additional tie-down straps with cam buckles and bow/stern tie downs I need to purchase.

asked by: Chris B

Expert Reply:

You will want a bow/stern tie-down for each kayak so the Yakima Bow/Stern Tie-Down Ropes w/ Ratchets and Strap Loops # Y04031 will cover the other two kayaks. You may also want the # Y07416 to go with them.

I reached out to Yakima about the additional cinch straps and they said it all depends on the size of the kayaks. They said if they're too wide additional straps # Y05006 are necessary and said it would be best to get the straps just in case since you will regularly carry three. They didn't have any specific information on what constitutes "too wide" but extra straps won't hurt either way.

expert reply by: Robin H

Chris B.

4/30/2024

I just measured that the kayaks need 6 ft of tie down straps to secure all three to the posts. The two straps that came with the Big Stack are 12 ft in length so the they should easily cover all three kayaks laying on their sides. But yes it does appear that I need two additional sets of bow/stern tie down rope kits.