They are a bit too close to each other in my opinion too.
Having said that, they are quite sturdy, I transported a 17' Royalex prospector canoe on them at highway speeds without any concerns, no lifting or flexing (standard belts around and front/rear harnesses). Not sure if it would work quite as well without front/rear anchors.
I also bought this unit later for easier loading-offloading, perhaps, you could find something similar, and it would give you another anchor point about 4 feet behind the rear crossbar:
www.cabelas.ca
Having said that, they are quite sturdy, I transported a 17' Royalex prospector canoe on them at highway speeds without any concerns, no lifting or flexing (standard belts around and front/rear harnesses). Not sure if it would work quite as well without front/rear anchors.
I also bought this unit later for easier loading-offloading, perhaps, you could find something similar, and it would give you another anchor point about 4 feet behind the rear crossbar:
Cabela's Canoe Loader and Rack | Cabela's Canada
• Heavy duty steel construction• Allows one person to load or unload a canoe• Adapter bracket to allow trailering while using the loaderWe made it easy for one person to load and unload a canoe from the top of virtually any car, truck or SUV. This device rotates to allow one person to load or...