IC,

That's a great idea! I think you could do something similar with a canoe but not cut the Noodle.

My local Dollar Store is right next to a sporting goods store that has yearly kayak/canoe sales. Not top end ones, more economy fishing/family ones.

A guy  bought a sit-on-top fishing kayak and the sales "kid" was trying to help him figure away to get it home on his pick-up becasue he didn't have a rack?

Some kids came out of the Dollar store with those pool noodles and that sparked an idea for a cheap DYI carrier.

He had the sales kid go in and buy some 1/4 camping rope and he bought 2 noodles. He didn't split his, he cut 2 pieces of rope that would go around the bow/stern a few feet from each end. Tied a loop in one end and threaded the rope thru the hole in the noodle. Slipped the free end thru loop and slid it on each end of the kayak as it sat upright,on top of noodle and tied used a Trucker hitch to secure them.

They laid the kayak on roof and made a longer piece of rope the same way and threaded thru cab of truck behind the driver and snugged down with a Truckers hitch. Then he put bow/stern tie down ropes on.

When he got done I was coming out of the Dollar Store with a couple of noodles just to have handy. I told him that was a great temp idea until he got a rack. He said he liked it so much he's NOT getting a rack! Only change he said he would make is to buy one of those cam lock flat straps to cinch down from the side.

I think you could do a canoe with them that way too, except maybe use 2 on the rope or 1 1/2 depending how wide your canoe is. Only difference you haul the canoe the traditional way.