The magma rail mount sup rack is a good solution for anyone looking to mount paddleboards or kayaks off the side of a boat. The racks come with everything you need minus bungees or straps to secure the boards, which any generic bungee cord will hook easily and work well.
Magma Rail Mount SUP Kayak Rack Review
Ease of Use
The rack was very simple to set up and came with two bolt sizes depending on the diameter of the stanchion you are mounting it to. The initial setup requires a wrench to tighten the first nuts and the final bolt uses a big knob as the tightening nut, which makes it very easy to tighten and loosen to adjust or take the rack off. This makes it simple to fold the racks inward to minimize the profile when not in use. It took a few tries to get a good process to get the boards out of the rack and into the water without breaking my back. I found that sliding a board back and letting the nose drop in the water then lifting the tail and sliding it forward clearing the fin from the rack was the best way to launch the boards and took little brute strength. I am not sure if this technique would work with a very high freeboard.
Magma SUP Rack Hand Knob
Durability
The magma SUP boat racks held up very well sailing through the beautiful waters of the Florida Keys and even in rough, ocean sailing when we were heeled over too far and the swells were threatening to rip them off. They showed no signs of bending or breaking. With over a month in the salty environment the racks showed very little sign of rust or oxidation, just barely a tinge of orange on the welds with minimal to no fresh water rinsing for the past month they have been in use. The only question of durability is the padding material. The padding is basically pipe insulation and we did have a minor split, which I cinched back up with zip ties. If these racks are going to see very heavy use or any sharp edges on your board or kayak I recommend reinforcing the padding, especially on the bottom of the rack.
Magma SUP Rack Capacity
Capacity
I used the Magma SUP racks to hold one recreational paddleboard along with one race paddleboard with space to spare. I believe that two race paddleboards would fit nicely or three recreational paddleboards with fins staggered. I am skeptical if you would be able to get anything on the rack along with a kayak.
Magma Rail Mount SUP Rack
Conclusion
Overall the Magma SUP/Kayak racks proved to be strong, simple to setup/adjust, and versatile. There is room for improvement to beef up the padding however, with care in use this should not be a big issue. I recommend these racks to anyone looking to mount paddleboards or a kayak off their boat stanchions or rails whether it’s a sailboat or motorboat.
Why 304 stainless when 316 is the minimum required and even that if from China rusts
This really looks like a stanchion mount, not a rail mount.