Volks,  The hinges in the lifting mechanism should be lubricated
occasionally with Moly Grease.  MoS2 paste works best. This virtually
eliminates bearing friction at these locations.  Over the years these
bearing surfaces gall and make lifting a bit more of a chore.

If you use Yakima mounts you can store a tube inside each bar that you can
extend out to provide a place to park the boat before you heft it onto the
main rack.  Put the tubes back into the bars for storage.  The technique is
to park one end of said boat on the front extension, lift the other end onto
the other extension, then slide the boat onto the rack and tie it down.
With an easy way to on and offload the boat you "can" use the poppytop.
Most volks just leave the gear on the roof and sleep downstairs en route,
put your swag and your orang in the front seat area or stow it outside
overnight.  Pac-Safe makes some security doodads that could be of assistance
in parking the swag outside.  Gary makes some very neat two part ladders for
accessing the roof.   Or just stand on the tops of the tires.