DIY Canoe Rack Cross Rails for Honda Odyssey

The rails on the top of my 2008 Honda Odyssey didn't have cross-rails to mount the canoe to, so in this video I made my own. For some reason I didn't think the canoe would be that wide, but as luck would have it, when I was finished the canoe sat on the rails perfectly with about an 1/8" inch to spare. Initially, I did look at just buying some pre-fab strong cross rails, but all the online options were extremely expensive. All the parts for this I picked up at the big box store for under 50 bucks.

[@josephn1572]

Hi I am looking into getting a kayak do I need a cross rail or can I just use the rails on the sides

[@stoppedsnoring]

Yes, I'd think so. If you strapped down a kayak directly to the top (tied to the side rails) I'd imagine you could potentially dent the roof when you cinch it down unless you have some sort of pads that can evenly spread out the weight. For a longer drive I could also see the road vibrations causing the kayak to do a number on your paint.