: Would you mind expanding on this design? Thanks!

1. 9"-wide by about 14" piece of bender ply bent over the sheer of my Shooting Star and extended up to about the keel line. A green garbage bag shielded the boat from the ply.

2. Added two layers of 3.2 oz satin weave, plus epoxy, in a single application, then folded the bag over the assembly and added another scrap of bender ply over that, to distribute clamping pressure, then wrapped the whole business in a kayak tie-down strap. Tensioned the strap to the max, then inserted some wedges between the strap and the edge that makes the tight bend over the sheer, to get it to bend fully. Left it all to cure on the boat overnight.

3. After curing, trimmed the glass edges and traced the outer profile of the cradle onto 1/2-inch birch shop ply and cut out the two center braces.

4. Took two square pieces of the same ply and made up the horizontal base plate and vertical brace, then glued and screwed (Titebond II) them together, at 90 degrees.

5. Trimmed the center braces to fit the angle profile of the base plate/vertical brace assembly and glued them in place.

6. Cut the finished assembly apart on the table saw, making two cradles 4 inches wide. Sanded the "toe" shape into each cradle on a stationary sander--although about anything would do.

7. Sanded all rough edges and then filleted all angles with thickened epoxy.

8. Drilled for 1/4-inch carriage bolts, four per cradle, spaced to fit small mending plates from the local hardware.

9. Spray painted the finished woodwork and then contact-cemented minicell to the bearing surfaces.

10. Added plywood spacer blocks and hardware store mending plates to the cradles and bolted them to the Thule racks for a temporary transport to Mendocino; later, took this apart and removed half the carriage bolts, using the remaining two per cradle to attach Yakima circle clamps--which is how they're fastened down today.

Building notes for the future: make the vertical brace angle back 10 degrees or so, to allow the kayak be carried at an angle distinctly less than vertical (this prototype is just a bit too steep, although it works fine; but a lesser angle will eliminate any tipping of the boat when the straps are removed on a windy day).