Could someone give me a diagonal measurement with the back seat down of the storage in rear. From front right to back left. I read someone fit a 10 foot paddle board back there. I have a 10 foot kayak and am curious if it might fit in the rear.
Back seats down, diagonal measurement
- Thread starter ArthurL
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SeanNelson
Well-known member
You're talking from the front passenger footwell to the back left corner of the storage area, right?ArthurL said:
I seem to recall reading that someone was able to fit some lengths of 8-foot lumber in that way but that 10-foot required leaving the hatch open.
At least with the Bolt you don't need to worry about sucking your own exhaust fumes in through the open hatch...
Won't know for sure until you try it, but here's my best guess:
The Chevy Bolt wheelbase is 102 inches (approx. 8.5 feet). I use wheelbase because its the only good dimension Chevy gives us, and the front footwell is behind the center of the wheel by about the same amount as the hatch is behind the rear wheel so it gives us a good guess.
Going diagonal would result in 10 feet, but the problem is the width of the kayak.
If you left it flat (as it floats), the width by the side of driver's seat could be 1.5-2 feet wide already which would definitely not allow the rear of the kayak over to the driver's side far enough to allow the hatch to close.
If you rotate the kayak 90 degrees onto it's side, the 1.5-2 foot width is now height which will likely run into the ceiling. There's probably only 30 inches or so between the console and the ceiling and with the angle you're hoping to achieve (with the end pointed down into the footwell) then you won't clear that space and not have the rear of the kayak above ceiling height.
Best bet would be to get a roof rack
The Chevy Bolt wheelbase is 102 inches (approx. 8.5 feet). I use wheelbase because its the only good dimension Chevy gives us, and the front footwell is behind the center of the wheel by about the same amount as the hatch is behind the rear wheel so it gives us a good guess.
Going diagonal would result in 10 feet, but the problem is the width of the kayak.
If you left it flat (as it floats), the width by the side of driver's seat could be 1.5-2 feet wide already which would definitely not allow the rear of the kayak over to the driver's side far enough to allow the hatch to close.
If you rotate the kayak 90 degrees onto it's side, the 1.5-2 foot width is now height which will likely run into the ceiling. There's probably only 30 inches or so between the console and the ceiling and with the angle you're hoping to achieve (with the end pointed down into the footwell) then you won't clear that space and not have the rear of the kayak above ceiling height.
Best bet would be to get a roof rack
I went to the Bolt diagrams last night and came up pretty close to your guesstimate. Kayak is 32 inches wide on its side so maybe she will fit...maybe. I've got Premier ordered so I do have the option for a roof rack. There is a Thule rack that the press showed with a surg board on top. I've got a Yakima rack on my current Civic Hybrid. I've googled it to death but can find documentation on a Thule or Yakima rack for the Bolt. With the downward sweep front to back and my personal experience with the Yakima on the Civic I'm concerned about drag as well as the nose tilted upward adding extra stress. IF the SS Minnow would fit in the back great. If a bit long and there are ways to secure the hatch down but not closed without any danger of damage ok. If last option roof rack I would go that way and even consider buying a 25-29 inch wide boat. Still hoping someone with a Bolt in their garage will come up with a firm measurement. If not I'll know for sure before end of March when mine is suppose to arrive. Appreciate the input. Your numbers pretty much confirm my estimates....it's gonna be close.
SeanNelson
Well-known member
Another option is a trailer hitch and a very lightweight trailer. There are a lot of opposing opinions about towing with the Bolt since the manual specifically disclaims it, but it's hard to imagine that towing a kayak would put any untoward stress on the car. And it might come in handy if you got a trailer that could haul two at once.ArthurL said:
Ya. I've seen some aftermarket adverts for towing. The hook in the back isn't meant for towing or at least that is what the owners manual says. Do not tow. I just saw another picture of a Surf board on top and looks like a Thule rack. I think I'll send Thule an email tonight and ask for a list of Bolt authorized racks.
jjr said:You mean this one?
Yep, it's a Thule, and apparently a 9'6" surfboard will fit (although it's not as 'thick' as a kayak)
From here: http://www.surfer.com/blogs/surfer-approved/2017-chevy-bolt/
Yep. Saw in in another pic as well. I went to Thule site....they have Bolt listed in search field but search basically said new cars may not be determined and check back in 6 weeks.
I sent an email along with the picture asking if they could identify the model. Support says they will respond within five days.
The Thule crossbar in the picture is probably the Aeroblade Edge:
https://www.thule.com/en-us/us/roof-rack/car-racks/thule-aeroblade-edge-7603-_-7603a
This crossbar can be used with flush rails like on the Bolt Premier. However a vehicle-specific fit kit is needed. Thule also has other setups involving aero bars or rectangular bars that can stick out beyond the feet; these also need a vehicle-specific fit kit (Podium for aero bars, Podium for rectangular bars).
Yakima has a setup for flush rails as well, but that also requires a vehicle-specific fit kit (Streamline Ridgeline towers, use with Jetstream or Corebar aerobars, or with adapter for round bars).
Both Thule and Yakima also offer rack systems for cars without any rails, but these also require vehicle-specific fit kits.
Basically, we are just waiting for them to have the vehicle-specific fit kits available for the Bolt for their rack systems.
The vehicles that do not require vehicle-specific fit kits have raised rails (so that the crossbar towers just clamp around the rails) or old-style rain gutters.
https://www.thule.com/en-us/us/roof-rack/car-racks/thule-aeroblade-edge-7603-_-7603a
This crossbar can be used with flush rails like on the Bolt Premier. However a vehicle-specific fit kit is needed. Thule also has other setups involving aero bars or rectangular bars that can stick out beyond the feet; these also need a vehicle-specific fit kit (Podium for aero bars, Podium for rectangular bars).
Yakima has a setup for flush rails as well, but that also requires a vehicle-specific fit kit (Streamline Ridgeline towers, use with Jetstream or Corebar aerobars, or with adapter for round bars).
Both Thule and Yakima also offer rack systems for cars without any rails, but these also require vehicle-specific fit kits.
Basically, we are just waiting for them to have the vehicle-specific fit kits available for the Bolt for their rack systems.
The vehicles that do not require vehicle-specific fit kits have raised rails (so that the crossbar towers just clamp around the rails) or old-style rain gutters.
boltage said:The Thule crossbar in the picture is probably the Aeroblade Edge:
https://www.thule.com/en-us/us/roof-rack/car-racks/thule-aeroblade-edge-7603-_-7603a
This crossbar can be used with flush rails like on the Bolt Premier. However a vehicle-specific fit kit is needed. Thule also has other setups involving aero bars or rectangular bars that can stick out beyond the feet; these also need a vehicle-specific fit kit (Podium for aero bars, Podium for rectangular bars).
Yakima has a setup for flush rails as well, but that also requires a vehicle-specific fit kit (Streamline Ridgeline towers, use with Jetstream or Corebar aerobars, or with adapter for round bars).
Both Thule and Yakima also offer rack systems for cars without any rails, but these also require vehicle-specific fit kits.
Basically, we are just waiting for them to have the vehicle-specific fit kits available for the Bolt for their rack systems.
The vehicles that do not require vehicle-specific fit kits have raised rails (so that the crossbar towers just clamp around the rails) or old-style rain gutters.
Most excellent and informative. I've got Yakimas on my Civic so understand the kit requirements. I expect your right and I need to wait...second week of May the paddle calls
ArthurL said:
If you want to reuse old Yakima round bars and stuff (e.g. boat or bicycle mounts) attached to them, the new Yakima Streamline stuff can use them, but needs an adapter. However, I found the round bars to be rather bad for highway fuel economy on other cars (-10% or some such even with nothing else on them), so I took them off when not carrying anything (the old Yakima Q-towers were easy to remove and reinstall once fully assembled, if you marked where they go).
I've got the Jetstream bars with towers. Hard to be more specific I've got part numbers so I could look at kit (once Yakima comes out with one) and compare. Putting this thing together was a real head ache but disassemble is pretty straight forward, unlock and slide off for most part. I've got to pull them off soon because Civic Hybrid is going into Scrapit Program and the Yamaha kit was way expensive. It's compatable with Honda 2001-2005 and a few other vehicles so maybe I can find a good home for it if not able to reuse.
ArthurL said:
If you intend to get a Bolt LT (no side rails), you should be able to use both the Jetstream bars and Baseline towers with whatever fit bits Yakima comes up with. If you intend to get a Bolt Premier (with side rails), you should be able to use the Jetstream bars with Ridgeline towers and appropriate fit bits (you can try selling the Baseline towers). This assumes that your Jetstream bars are long enough (they come in different sizes for different width cars).
I'm getting the Premier. I'm told by end of March max, order sent to Production the end of last week.
Thanks for the info. I'll check length of the jet streams. May be an issue because of the wide wheel base on Bolt compared to Civic. I'll do some googling on that one.
Thanks for the info. I'll check length of the jet streams. May be an issue because of the wide wheel base on Bolt compared to Civic. I'll do some googling on that one.
Not really much difference with or without the racks. Two 10 footers on top were the killer. She is a 2003 Hybrid. Main battery is out of sync 14 years old. Battery replacement cost nearly $4000 so doing the scrapit program for $6000. To bad because honest to God on our road trips down to Spokane we get pretty near steady 50 mpg. Love that car but time to move on. Nice thing about the new batteries. Dealer said that if you get a bad cell the dealership pulls that single cell and replaces and you are back on the road.
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