Treehugger.com posted a story about Point 65's new modular kayak, the Tequila! What they liked about it was that it breaks down into pieces to you can fit it in the back of a car instead of on the roof.

According to the article:

"Roof racks decrease a car's fuel efficiency by anything from 5% through 10% or more. And that's empty racks. Stick our favourite sports toy up on your car's roof and watch your fuel economy plummet by up to 27%...."

This is a good case for paddling close to home and storing your boat at the water, but  I won't be ditching my roof rack anytime soon.

The Treehugger equation leaves out one important thing - the fuel mileage cost of upgrading to a larger car so you can fit your kayak and all your stuff in it.



This guy doesn't have much space left for gear or paddling buddies. Why not put three kayaks on the roof and carpool - that's 66% less gas than three people driving separate cars with kayaks in the trunk. 

Having a roof rack lets me carry more so I can get away with a smaller and more efficient car, a Honda Fit, for all those times when I'm not driving around with a kayak on the roof. If I need even more room, I add a roof box. I call it the modular automotive storage system (MASS).

Take-apart kayaks are a cool concept, but I'll stick with the one-piece kayak and the modular car for now.