Car-top boating is a term that refers to the recreational activity of boating

Boating

Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether powerboats, sailboats, or man-powered vessels , focused on the travel itself, as well as sports activities, such as fishing or water skiing...

 via watercraft

Watercraft

A watercraft is a vessel or craft designed to move across or through water. The name is derived from the term "craft" which was used to describe all types of water going vessels...

 that can easily be placed upon, transported, and removed from the roof of a passenger motor vehicle. The term has come into use by various state, federal, municipal, and non-profit agencies in the United States as a way to clearly discriminate in written policy between less intrusive hand-portable watercraft and large, more intrusive watercraft that require boat ramps to launch. Boats that fall into this category include most canoe

Canoe

A canoe or Canadian canoe is a small narrow boat, typically human-powered, though it may also be powered by sails or small electric or gas motors. Canoes are usually pointed at both bow and stern and are normally open on top, but can be decked over A canoe (North American English) or Canadian...

s and kayak

Kayak

A kayak is a small, relatively narrow, human-powered boat primarily designed to be manually propelled by means of a double blade paddle.The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each seating one paddler...

s as well as small rowboats, bass boat

Bass boat

A bass boat is a small boat that is designed and equipped primarily for bass fishing or fishing for other panfish, usually in freshwater such as lakes, rivers and streams...

s, sailboat

Sailboat

A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails. The term covers a variety of boats, larger than small vessels such as sailboards and smaller than sailing ships, but distinctions in the size are not strictly defined and what constitutes a sailing ship, sailboat, or a...

s, and inflatable boat

Inflatable boat

An inflatable boat is a lightweight boat constructed with its sides and bow made of flexible tubes containing pressurised gas. For smaller boats, the floor and hull beneath it is often flexible. On boats longer than , the floor often consists of three to five rigid plywood or aluminium sheets fixed...

s.