on 3/20/04 0:58, Joy Hecht at jhecht@ALUM.MIT.EDU wrote:
> .....
> I posted regarding racks already installed, with boat already neatly on
> racks, and my question was about strategies for lifting the poptop with the
> boat on. 
> .....

Joy:
An "older", short female friend of mine has this same problem.  She has used
one of two ways to raise her poptop with her kayak on it...
�She places her step stool in the van, on the floor in front of the bed
(about in line with the sink) and after unlatching the poptop she walks up
the ladder while pushing up the top; thereby using her stronger leg muscles.
�As a younger woman she would use her stout walking stick as a prop to get
the top up to the break over point of the crossbar and then reach up and
complete the locking motion with her left hand while standing on a sturdy
ice chest.  
Without knowing your physical abilities, I would think that the first method
would be safer and more stable.

As an aside, I work as a firefighter/paramedic. We have a physical agility
test that many (most) females cannot complete due to upper body strength
requirements. After a series of three annual attempts, one particularly
stubborn female tester finally passed by building up her strength by doing
push ups (GI style) and weight bar curls. As a rookie she still has to work
hard on her strength to keep up on medic and fire calls; but she is
determined and tries hard.
HTH
-- 
Stephen
Chillicothe OH