Kerry wrote on Jan 5^th, 2013 at 3:09pm:

Why not just get a car without a roof rack and put a Yakima or Thule rack on yourself.  The $500 or so for a good canoe rack is still way cheaper than the cost of a high end vehicle like a Volvo or Mercedes.  Personally I have a Thule designed especially for canoes and kayaks - perfect!

This strategy (removable rack) has the added advantages of a quieter ride when not carrying a canoe (almost all racks make some type of wind noise) and eliminating drag (to improve gas mileage).

For me, I also had to go this route because my pickup is sufficiently tall that it won't fit in my garage with the rack on.  I use 3 lateral bars spread over the length of my vehicle because of the length of my haul.  The middle bar is more for backup, one of the other bars should fail for some reason.  In addition, I run a safety tether from the middle bar to the middle of my canoe (thwart or seat).

dd