Ask any seasoned cruiser, and they'll tell you: smart storage is necessity. Especially when you’re out cruising or you have guests on board. We’ve heard for years that the sport racks included on every Cutwater model are one of the most underrated features on the boats.
Most models ship standard with a solar panel integrated into the rack system. This design keeps the panel out of sight and out of mind. It’s a great example of one of the many benefits of the sport racks. Better yet, the solar panel is easily adjustable to one side or the other in most situations, meaning more room for rooftop storage.
Taking Advantage of Your Sport Racks
Here are a few great examples of ways Cutwater owners use their sport racks:
Kayaks – Sometimes you need a smaller boat to get into those hard to reach, hidden lagoons. Or maybe you like to use the big boat as basecamp for further reaching kayak expeditions. Either way, keeping a rigid or inflatable kayak on the sport racks keeps it secure and out of the way until you need it.
Bikes – Here’s the great news, the same rack equipment that you use to mount your bike rooftop on your vehicle, most often works with Cutwater sport racks too. As long as it’s compatible with a 1” round bar, you’re good to go. We use a rack by Yakima to mount bikes up top to keep them off the deck when you’re en route to your destination. When you get tied up, unload the bikes, and take a ride around.
Stand Up Paddleboards – The SUP is a perfect companion for your Cutwater sport racks; you don’t even need a special mount (although it can be helpful with some boards). A couple of tie-downs will do the job (we like these from Nite Ize). These can be deployed within a few seconds of getting settled on the dock or in the anchorage.
Cargo cage for waterproof gear – If you want protection from the elements, an uncommon solution is a land vehicle type cargo rack to store items that won’t be disturbed by the wind and spray. Try stashing a crab or shrimp pot here, or maybe a rolled-up inflatable to keep cockpit storage available for other needs.
Water toys – Another perfect candidate for sport rack storage is an E-foil (like this) or a standard foil board. If you have a ski pylon, you can store a wakeboard, innertube, and any number of other water toys up top. This is one of our favs!
Rooftop cargo box – A popular pick for extended cruisers, great loop veterans, and divers to store wet/dry suits and gear. Sport racks are great for storing any items that you want on hand while cruising but are not frequently used.
These are just a few of the uses for the sport racks on your Cutwater. If you’re not utilizing this space, consider one of the above cases. If you have another useful way that you use your sport racks that we didn’t list, consider letting us know in a post on tugnuts.com. We’d love to see it!
