I use gunwhale brackets to carry the canoe inverted. Saddles are mainly for kayaks. However, my problem isn't how to attach the canoe to the rack, it's how the rack will hold the load.
I fear that attaching a 16' canoe to the crossbars, if they need to be left at the factory distance from each other will result in the weight being carried too far back. Both crossbars would be holding the back half of the canoe. Right now, on my Pathfinder the Yakima cross bars are set at 40" apart and the front one is at the center thwart. The Xterra cross bars seem to be much closer than 40". (I acknowledge that I should have taken my tape measure down to the local Nissan dealer when I test drove. I guess you can't think of everything.)
Thanks.
- Oren