The saddles were kinda flimsy. Maybe they seemed that way because I also purchased a set of Hully Rollers, and they are very solid. I see them on vehicles all over Houston, so maybe it was just me, but I sent the saddles back for another set of Rollers. My rig is solid now! BTW, this site was most excellent in returning and sending out the rollers!! Great people!

I’m a little behind the times when it comes to my boat selection. I have one of those monster sea boats that you swear must have a solid lead frame under a thin layer of fiberglass. I used to be scared to death to put it on the top of my little car for fear not only of cave-in, but that I wouldn’t be able to secure it. The cave-in fear I fixed by jumping on the roof and finding that it’s probably the strongest part of my little beast, but the security fear only subsided when I bought these saddles. The dual connection on the bar lets you spread the saddles as far as you need apart and get them perfectly aligned with the edges of your boat so that you can easily get a dialed-in fit, and the soft plastic seems to have little fingers holding my boat in place, it holds tighter and as you crank your straps down it gives a little to provide an even better fit and hold on your boat. These things are great and really aerodynamic…they don’t make a sound.

We've used these on the front of our racks for our kayaks for years and they simply WORK. The straps slip in only one way allowing us to secure them quickly and effectively. We have been using the rollers at the rear, but we're going to put the saddles there as well because the kayaks move somewhat on the rollers---but not on the saddles.

I finally feel more comfortable traveling down the highway with my kayak on top of my car. I am much more confident that it is being held in place! What a great invention and a perfect fit, these Yakima Saddles!

I have to tell you that purchasing the Yakima Mako Boat Saddles made life So much easier. I have a 16 foot Sea kayak and I needed some way to load it on my car by myself. This did the trick, I highly recommend to all who are in the same boat as I am.

I purchased these saddles for the front and rear bars on my rack. The mako saddles make quick work of an otherwise tedious process of securing a kayak to a car. As advertised, the rubber pads recess when the hull straps are released, allowing the kayak to slide up onto the car. Once the hull straps are secured, the rubber pads squeeze the hull and hold the kayak firm. The hull strap buckles are rubberized, preventing scratches to the car when releasing the straps. nice touch.