Mako Saddles

The Mako Aero Saddles are great! They now come with felt pads some earlier reviews mentioned were lacking. I used them on my sit-in kayak which seemed to fit the hull shape very nicely. The strap actually goes around the whole kayak, and pushed a rubber insert against the hull of the kayak. When tight, the rubber grips the kayak very well and prevents any movement. I feel comfortable and have taken my kayak across the state at interstate speeds without any bow or stern straps. These saddles are great!

However I will caution you that they do not fit every kayak well. have a Hobie Pursuit kayak as well, and the hull shape is not smooth and continuous. The saddles do not grip that different hull shape well. (I used the Yakima Bowdowns for that kayak, also worked well.)

I am using the Mako Aero for the front of my Kayak in conjunction with hully rollers on the back. Easy to install and adjust . They have a locking feature and come with all the tie downs. I like these a lot.

To answer previous posts from a few years ago... I just received my mako saddles yesterday and installed today. they now come with felt pads that you can attach or not if you wish. The tie down strap(s) are actually just one strap now (same saddle design, but only one strap to thread through both and around the boat). I'll know this weekend if I like that or not as I've only used the two strap setup on a friend's saddles in the past and was expecting that in my set.

Love these mounts... However, a huge flaw with the design. If any Kayak owner has a glass/kevlar boat it's going to get rubbed and eventually take off all the gel coat and dig into the hull.
Poor salesmanship and design for yakima engineers. I mean come on you're in the business of catering to the kayaking community. The least you could do is is recommend placing felt covers on the Mako saddles. Still, thats another $10 USD for these pads... Just include the pads as an accessory for the saddles. You'll have happier customers!
My suggestion for owners. Go down to your local hardware store and find a 6"x9" felt pad, usually selling as FELTAC ($2 USD or LESS!) used for the bottom of furniture on wood floors. Take the pad and place it below the saddle and the piece facing you make sure it's flush to the saddle (inside should be sticking out). This makes it so you don't waste a lot of felt. After you've drawn the outline, take a ruler and mark where you're going to cut with your utility knife. Once you're done you should have about an 1"x4" hole in the center. Tear the back paper off the adhesive and apply to saddles... trim as needed.
I have noticed the felt pad does recede over the rubber, so you may want to take a small knife and trim away some of the excess felt on top. I've noticed there's about 4 ply of felt placed on these sheets so removing about an 1/8 of it might do the trick.
Save the scraps.. You've just saved yourself 16+ bucks YAHOO anyone?!
Comments please reply...

I just bought my Impex Mystic Kayak in glass/composite and the dealer reccommended the mako saddles over the J/bar.Cinched down I went at 70mph for an hour home.Then I read the reviews and freaked.I checked my boat for damage and there was none. I went back taking a chance and didnt notice any movemement other than the saddles flexing during the ride.Again no damage.I called and talked with Yakima nd they sent me 2 sets of anti scuff pads-free.Should be no problem now but there didnt seem to be one to begin with.I still like the way the canoes are faced down so I give this an 8.

I don't like the Yakima saddles for 2 reasons: they allow the boat to bounce despite proper installation and tie down. On a very rough surface, my glass kayak will bounce excessively - this contributes to problem 2 - rough surface that contributes to scratches of the gel coat. I know that you can buy felt covers but - come on - what sense does it make to sell a product for a specific purpose (hold kayaks) knowing that the product is actually harmful if used as directed. The felt pads should be included with the saddles, part of the the actual design or at the very least, recommended in the instruction manual with the boat. Also, Yakima says that the saddles work by having the central strip rising to grip the boat when the straps are tightened. Seems to me that covering with felt will limit this feature. All in all - avoid these saddles.

What an utter disappointment. The saddles themselves maybe warrant a 6 rating, but my experience with the saddles as well as Yakima and the retailer has led to the 2 rating.

I researched all over about kayak carriers and was firmly convinced that Yakima Mako saddles would be the best (from customer reviews). I took the $200 plunge and bought the saddles from Marathon Sports in Toronto. At the time the sales lady was very helpful and convincing...obviously selling me on these saddles. Very excited I tried them out with my 17.5 ft boat. I was horrified after getting the boat secured and driving down my street that the boat was moving a good inch or so from the car/wind. I immediately called Yakima and Marathon, and basically was told that I'm stuck with these saddles. Both tried to pin this on my "improper" set up/use of the saddles, and would not allow me to exchange them for something else or return them. (I found it an absolute crock that I set them up incorrectly as I work at a canoe/kayak store and strap boats down on a regular basis.)

So the long and the short of things go with the Thule Hullaport instead - my boat didn't move a hair (even on the highway) and pass over Marathon. Their unhelpfulness and no return policy bites the big one.

Great Saddles. The felt pads are a must when using these on glass. I carry a Current Designs Gulfstream and a Necky Tofino, both glass. No problems with either one. I would purchase these again.

I purchased 2 sets of Yakima hull raisers. They work very good. No scratches! Only problem--unloaded doing 75 miles an hour they will flip over if you do not overtighten.

I don't know if I'm doing something wrong,but my Hully rollers roll over when I load any of my boats . I'ts a pain. Icrank them down as tight as I can on that round cross bar .

I liked that mako saddles but hated what they did to my composite kayak...voila! the anti scuff pads solved the problem...Don't even try the saddles, with a composite boat, without the anti scuff pads.

These are great. I use them with a 22' outrigger canoe and a Tracrac rack system. The canoe is about 13" wide so I use custom cut foam that I contact cemented to the saddles. Makes for a perfect fit, no scratches and I can easily load the boat and strap it down in about 2 minutes. No problems what-so-ever.

I don't know what all the flack is about with these Mako saddles. Any idot should know that hard plastic will cause damage to a get coat when hitting the road. I like the idea of cementing pads made of closed cell foam onto the racks to ensure a safe ride. These are the foam sleeping mats sold at camping stores. Cut to fit and glue. Also Yakima does sell felt pads for there racks, to prevent scratching and gouging of the color coating on your boats, guess everyone is in just too much of a hurry to first investigate this problem, would rather hit the water first then complain of there problem afterward. Good job Yakima on your racks. Oh I'll add also good job on the Hulley Rollers to they work hand in hand together.

I initially thought that these were going to be the end to my hassels for transporting my boats... little did I know or was I ever advised by the dealer what a job they would do on the gel coat to three of my favourite boats including a custom wood and kevlar kayak. In just one season I am going to have to redo the sides of the boats due to skuffing and damage caused by the racks and this is after making sure that the boats are alway cleaned prior to transporting. Yakama should not have sold these units without some type of cover or cushion...it is just careless and should not be tolerated. I am so upset with the company that I have no purchased a Tule J model and will be selling the Yakama ones although I have modified them now with neoprene to cover the hard plastic so at least the next owner doesn't have to suffer thru the anxiety of seeing their new boats damafed by this product.

Very secure saddles (used in conjunction with the Hully Rollers), albeit prone to the scuffing mentioned by others. That problem has been neatly solved by the pads that Yakima will send you if you call. We've logged over 4,000 miles with our boats this year & have gained a lot of confidence in the the security and stability of the rack system.

I bought the Yakima rack system and Mako Saddles for my new VCP Avocet RM. I had been carrying the boat on the roof racks on my Jeep Cherokee using foam pads. Whether they were secure or not, I was a nervous wreck. I read the reviews of the Mako saddles which have already been posted here. As a result, I padded the aft-facing portion of the saddles with good old flannel moleskin. I load my boat from the rear, so that is where most of the scraping occurs. I looked at the design of the new Yakima soft pads, but they don't seem to cover the sides, which is where my boat slides. I know this is more of a problem for glass boats than plastic, but I don't want un-necessary scratches in my plastic boat. I need to find something more durable than moleskin, long term, but for now that's what I have. I used this system once, and so far it works fine. Will get a real test over the Thanksgiving weekend when I transport my boat 500 miles roundtrip. The saddles hold my boat very securely, the entire system was very easy to install, and I could not be happier with it! I am giving it a 9 out of 10 because Yakima should have known there was an abrasion danger and I am sympathetic with you folks who have glass boats that were damaged. Thanks for the warning!

For those complaining of chafing on the gelcoat...I think every saddle out there must do the same. I blame it on the delicacy of the gelcoat...light boats require it, I think. Everything under the sun seems to be harder than my gelcoat. I love my boat but she needs to be babied. Yakima's solution of soft carpet pads for their saddles is the right approach, I'm sure, but don't count on it protecting your boat if the bottom is sandy when you load...

I think the Mako Saddle is a great product. Now Yakima is actually making a Anti-Scuff Pad for it that will be very nice. The extra protection against scratching will be key.

Secure, but fit poorly. They have damaged the gel coats on my boats. Yakima needs to rethink the design of these saddles. They did not do the job as well as the price would imply. Yakima did poorly with these. I don't recommend, except for a polyethelene boat.

I used the Makos right out of the box. Brand new glass boats on rough roads. The "hard" plastic ripped into my gelcoat down to the glass. Yeah, the boats weren't clinched down quite tight enough, but who would put "sharkskin" plastic on a saddle which is supposed to protect a boat? I put foam over them using rubber cement. What a disappointment - I almost sued them....

These saddles are great - they make it very easy to get a tight hold on your kayak. They save a lot of time - you don't have to tie any knots. They are worth the money easily.

Did my homework, read reviews, talked to dealer & bought one of the best kayak saddles available! Hard plastic saddle allows boat to slide easily & then grippy rubber centers hold boat firmly when straps are tightened. The straps are part of the saddle so no extra looping around your rack is required. Simply hook one end of the strap(s) into each saddle, slip the 2 straps together thru the buckle(which is nicely covered in rubber to protect boat & vehicle & cinch it up! Straps are easily removable when rack isn't being used to prevent theft. This is probably the best kayak saddle I've seen, though my saddles are installed on square Mont Blanc cross bars, which appear to be of better design & quality than Thule's version for my vehicle.