I had one on my roof for a 6 hour drive. I don't have cross bars or anything. Just put a moving blanket and strapped it down hard core. It held on good!

Sent from my DROID RAZR using AutoGuide.Com

 

I've had this canoe since the mid 80s, it has a history of scratching vehicle roofs so I am hesitant to do that, something always moves.

 

The Patriot roof rails are towards the back of the roof to leave the sun roof area open.

As a result canoes and long kayaks seem to be sitting too far back...but it works as plenty of members roof carry boats. That is a product of the Pat being short wheelbase. My XL7 ends the front bar in a similar spot but because there is more roof line going backwards to the back crossbar the kayak(s) look more balanced.

My only caution would be to be very careful in tying the bow off as it is a long way from the pointy end to the first rail.

Its not a big deal across town but, to me, it would be across State or Province.

 

I plan to carry my canoe on top the Pat. I won't be doing until two weeks. My boat is 15' as well and I wish the Pat had a longer rack too. I plan to use 5 straps. Three in the center and one on each end.

Look at the end of this post and you will see what a 15' canoe will look like on top your Pat.

http://www.jeeppatriot.com/forum/showthread.php?t=104662

 

Quite a few here carry canoes on their pats without a problem.
Couple things,
Lift gate will hit canoe when open, remember to open it slowly,
I have a couple dents on my tailgate from just that.
Stop often to check your straps.
Can be fine one minute then loosen up on the road.
If you have a hitch, hitch step makes great step to help reach the roof.
Don't rush loading, best to have everything ready night before, loading last minute very easy to forget critical items, heck I have left with everything but the kayak before.
Have fun,

 

What if you used a thick foam pad on the very front of the roof, for the canoe to rest on, and strap to the front tow hooks? Wonder if the front straps would rub the hood?

 

i carry a 15ft (4.50m) kayak for two on a thule kayak carrier installed on crossbars.
no issues even when driving 500 miles with it on top.
appart from the carrier straps i use another two for the nose and the end.
i tie the end to my hitch and the nose to one of the tie down pieces i installed on the front bumper.

 

It is best to bridle the front (bow) tie down.
I don't always do it but I do always do it for a long trip.

So like a Y. Line comes off the bow but splits and is tied down on both outer ends of the bumper.

That helps with cross wind stuff, the blasts from big trucks, etc.
Doing it that way also helps in that you balance any hooks or loops you may need to place on the bumper.

Where the front lines go over the hood I just use a couple of those cheap sheepskin seat belt covers slipped on. I've never replaced one for lack of performance, just for looking ratty. No scrub issues on my hood and lots of miles on the XL7 with boats on top.

 

I've strapped canoes/kayaks regularly. Here's what I've learned:

- I remove the factory cross rails (if applicable) as they only create issues (they are positition too far back on the Jeep for a boat)
- I've purchased foam sponges that I rest the canoe on, so the canoe never touches the roof (these can be purhcased from Walmart)
- I have 2 straps going over the top of the canoe attached to the side rails
- I have a "Y" rope that I attached from the front of the canoe to the frame of the Patriot - here's the funny part, there's NOTHING of strength (on my Patriot Sport) under the vehicle, I acutally tie off to metal brackets under the hood.

I've been doing this for about 2 years with no issues.

 

UNDER HOOD TIE DOWNS

If the bow rope ends up hitting your hood you can use these to tie the bow securely.

http://www.discountramps.com/thule-tie-down-loops.htm

There are other types that are attached to the body bolts under the hood along the fender also.

With such a long canoe I'm not sure if they're necessary but with the set back on the Pat's racks I thought they may be useful for someone.

 

i got canoes and kayaks

often i bring my canoe on top.

my native ultimate 14.5

here my mad river explorer 16

or blue water mist.

the prob those bar are not equal on top..the front one should be more up front.
on my wife jeep compass its a lot better...a lot off space bet the front and the back top bars.

look how beter the bar on my wife top.

but most off time i use my traile to tow my trailer made for 4 vessel.

 

I've been meaning to put my 2 cents in on this for a bit and always forget.

After years of roof top canoe/kayak transport we finally got ourselves a little utility trailer after we sold a S10 pickup.

Originally for hauling landscape finds we soon found it indispensable for camping and general hauling of stuff other than mulch and firewood. I'll never be without a utility trailer again.

So, one day, there we are loading the trailer up for a camping trip and I'm grunting the canoe up on top of the Suzuki XL7 (taller than the Pat.) and I think to myself, wonder if those pick up bed carriers would work in the trailer?

You know the ones tradesmen use to carry ladders and 2x material up on a rack over the bed?

So I made one out of 2x3 and 2x4 with 1/4" plywood gussets where additional stiffness/strength was needed. Got some old fire hose from the fire dept. and both made kayak slings and canoe "bumpers" out of that.

Its just a table frame without the table top, basically. bolts into the bed of the trailer and then you can bolt on either canoe specific or kayak specific top rack.

The joy of it is, once unbolted and placed in the storage area of the yard it gives you a spot to actually store the canoe off the ground and not tied up to rafters and etc.

Then you have the trailer back as a year round worker, not a parked, dedicated canoe trailer.

I sure don't miss the humping of boats to on top of the vehicle, can take all the ice and chairs and whatever we need on a camping trip and don't have to futz about with winching the boats up to the rafters or keep tripping over them under the deck.

I stopped using bolts some time ago and now use pins with clips that look like big safety pins. Faster and they don't rust shut like the bolts eventually do. Got them at a tractor supply, sorry I have no idea what they are called.

 

@joco;

fine looking canoes and kayaks on fine looking vehicles.

My twins moved out and took the kayaks (but they are ours dad!) leaving me with only a canoe. Which is fine, more room for "stuff" in a canoe, if you know what I mean and i think you do.

seems to be lots of watermen that are Pat owners...feels like generally from the demo on this forum we are way more outdoor oriented than the general population. Between camping, motorbiking, hockey, beer drinking, canoeing and etc this forum has it down, eh?