Hey all,

I know there are a ton of kayak related threads so I apologize if this question was buried in there but....

The Australian Honda Fit site lists a roof rack and kayak carrier as optional accessories. I'm an American owner and this is not available to me.

I've never dealt with roof racks on a car before. I'm 26 and this is the first non-POS car I've had. A friend suggested I just get a Thule rack system but I went to the site and they are super expensive (looked like around $400 for the rack and kayak when all was said and done).


I've currently got some inquiries in with my dealer and a dealership in Syndey but I was wondering if anyone here had any thoughts or suggestions.

Is the Jazz rack and kayak system compatible with my Fit?



Ironically, I think I can fit the kayak inside of the car itself but that's pretty awkward. They don't call it a fit for nothing!

 

As far as any of us can tell, the North American Fit and the Fit/Jazz elsewhere in the worldpretty much the same exact car. The front end is different due to US rules but the rest of the body appears to be identical. It's pretty inexplicable why the accessories are not sold universally. Probably some lawsuit ridiculousness.

Anyway, the simple truth of the matter is that good roof racks ain't cheap. I imagine the OEM rack probably will not be much cheaper, possibly more expensive once you factor in the cost of shipping/duty from OZ (or any other country for that matter).

You can fit around 8' in "Long Mode" if you don't have any passangers. This would potentially accommodate a small rodeo/play/whitewater boat. A longer touring boat, it will be hanging way out the back.

I scored a used Thule setup on Craigslist for $100 and then i just had to invest a little extra for the custom fit kit and some keys...all told I spent under $200. Plus I got some extra parts I don't need that I can resell to recoup some costs. These things are pretty easy to get on the secondhand market.

It's also worth mentioning that if you only have one boat you can probably dispense with any sort of cradle/saddle/j-hook. Just put some foam padding on the load bars and strap the boat directly to the bars.