Yakima "Showboat" Review

[Lupe]

Yakima “Showboat” Review
http://www.yakima.com/shop/water/lift-assist/showboat

Back in the good old days (3 months ago, before my shoulder injury), when I wanted to go paddle, I’d grab a boat from the “boat barn” aka garage behind the house, throw the boat on my shoulder (kayak) or over my head (canoe) and walk the 30 yards or so to the front of the house and throw the boat up on my car’s roof rack. These days, I have such limited overhead strength, that my arm gets tired lifting my full coffee mug up to my mouth in the morning (seriously). So I realized I was going to need to dramatically re-think how to load my boats going forward.

I have a Subaru Outback wagon, so the roof rack height is not that high, but I can’t even lift a half gallon carton of milk out of the fridge with my right arm now, so lifting a 35 to 45 kayak or canoe over my head is out of the question. I read about the Yakima Showboat and decided to give it a try. The idea of the Showboat is that it provides a retractable roller that extends out to the end of your car so that you can lean a boat up against the back of the car. You are only ever lifting one end of the boat at a time. When not in use, the roller retracts away from the back of the car so you can still lift your hatchback or rear gate.

Installation: I was able to install it very easily by myself, probably in about 15-20 minutes. There is one section of the instructions which was a little sketchy, but overall they were clear.

Use: Saturday I loaded my 42lb Kevlar canoe. It was incredibly easy and the lifting of just one end at a time was well within my ability even with my continued weakness in the right arm. Today I met a friend for a short paddle at Big Maumelle in Pinnacle Mt. State Park. He was there to help me, but I was able to unload the boat very easily with no extra help needed (however, I did still need help carrying the boat to the water and then back up to the car once we were done…I may invest in a cart at some point so I could even do that independently, but hopefully I will regain enough strength eventually).

The real test was re-loading the boat after the paddle and then getting it back on the rack in my garage. My right arm was definitely fatigued by today’s paddle, so I wondered if I might have any trouble, but everything again went smoothly.

I am very happy with this product. It’s not something I felt I needed before this injury, but for anyone who has trouble with boats that are heavy for them, this can really make a huge difference. Even though I know I can almost always ask for some help at the put in or take out, since I live alone, it was very important that I figure out a way that I could continue to manage loading and unloading my boats on my own.

Because of the arm movements, I’m actually starting to canoe a little bit but kayaking (especially whitewater) is still quite a ways off (canoe strokes don’t require as much overhead movement). But I actually think I will be able to use the Showboat to help me load my big heavy creek boat as well (my 4Fun is pretty light and I usually just put it in the back of the car).

Pics of various stages of loading and unloading using the Showboat.
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Other tips: I bought some heavy duty mats (felt-like material on top, rubberized on bottom) for about $2.50 each at Home Depot. I use these to provide cushion for the end of the canoe when loading/off-loading.

Canoe rack in garage is made from 3 foot long ¾” pipe screwed into floor flange held by 2 ½” wood screws. I can lower and raise the Solo 14 (camo canoe) one end at a time, but the longer Rendezvous (16 ft long) I need a little extension which I create by sliding a longer PVC pipe over the steel pipe (actually, what I’m using is too long – I need to cut it down). I can slide the PVC pipe on/off when not needed so it’s out of the way.

[lbaker]

Lupe,sorry to hear your still having shoulder issues, you're bringing back memories of my neck surgery. After about 3 mos. doc said nothing over 20 lbs....I ended up buying a Yakima boat loader, basically a rod that slides out of the end of the front crossbar, it did the trick, but now resides under the house, as I don't really need it and I had to lay a rug on the back quarter panel of my car to keep it from getting scratched. What you reviewed sounds like the same concept but much improved. I use a roller loader (similar concept, but attaches to the hatch) for my monster 52 lb 16' touring yak. Thanks for sharing. You always write great reviews.
Hope you heal up completely soon!
leigh

[Michele Jackson]

Nice write-up. Sounds like a great product for invalids..... Kidding! I'm so glad you've found a way to get back out to paddle.