Enjoy the paddling. I know what you mean about tough to load though the Element should not be that bad. My last kayak trip had us loading two 22ft fiberglass tandems on top of a Vanagon Syncro in the rain. Hopefully by the next one I will have the trailer built so that we can tow them as the van is for sale and they will not fit on the Element.
Element Owners Club is your go to forum community to discuss your Honda Element, and get ideas from your next great trip to your next Honda Element Mod.