Strap On
Published June 17, 2009 | 
I want to break free
I want to break free
I want to break free from your lies
Youre so self satisfied I dont need you
Ive got to break free
God knows, God knows I want to break free
– queen
Now if you are thinking this is a post about anything but strapping your kayaks onto your vehicle, please see a therapist at your earliest convenience… So here’s the thing, there was this guy who only a few days back sent his brand new kayak flying, then rolling, then breaking up down the highway on a suddenly detached roof rack. It was a devastating case of rack rage that did not end well…
I’m just about out the door, heading for the Inland Sea Kayaking Symposium in Washburn and am just coming in from strapping up my boats. One of the first classes I ever lead at a symposium was actually a dry land course on transporting kayaks. Weird. I practically made it all up on the spot to be honest. Looking back I guess I knew all the “rules” but not necessarily the reality. You know what I mean I’m sure. First that we always carry much more weight than the rack is rated for and second may paddlers think anything under 500 miles is a short trip in which bow and stern straps are unnecessary. OK then.
So here is a quick tip that MAY help you avoid trying to figure out how to put a home-made three piece kayak back together. ALWAYS strap your boat to the vehicle. It cracks me up when I think of the little tabs that hold a Yakima or Thule rack to your vehicle. Sure, they do hold most of the time. A credit to them for sure… but if you push the weight limit or they are installed improperly or simply loosen over time they can give. If your kayak is strapped to the rack only, it goes where the rack goes… or vise-versa… Either way, your kayaks are toast. There are two ways to manage this;
First use bow straps and stern straps. The straps not only act to stop your boats from flying if the rack does break loose, but they also can limit the side to side shifting that happens as the kayaks are buffeted by cross winds. Strap the kayaks directly to a solid point on your vehicle. On the front I have a nice set of those little Hood Loops/Top Ties that attach under the hood where the fender is bolted onto the frame. The back of the kayaks are strapped through the grab loops down to our towing rings.. or can go under the bumper to the frame. Keep in mind these are not primary anchor points, simply “when all hell breaks loose” points that may just keep your kayaks from turning into fiberglass javelins.
For added security I find a place where a strap can be looped over all the kayaks and then run through the actual factory rack that is attached directly to the vehicle. I run a strap over each kayak and through the deck lines and then down and through the factory rack. This way the add-on system could totally come off but the kayaks are again attached to the vehicle. The screws would have to rip out of the car body itself for the boats to come off the hood. It could happen, but you can’t complain about a little extra security.
Now lots of people have ideas and tips about how to strap your kayak properly depending on preference and vehicle. If you have an idea or tip please post them in the comments. Thank YOU!
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All-righty then. I’m off. We’re taking the Rockpool Alaw Bach and the P&H Scorpio up as well as the P&H Bahiya that I’m returning to Kelly. Gryphon is staying with Grandma so it will be nice to be sans child for a few days..
Oh, and talk about Acrobat.. watch how I leap from PC to Smart Phone without a net!!! See you on Twitter…
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5 Responses to Strap On
Maybe add that bow and stern lines are only additional safety lines that should be put under very little tension to avoid “breaking the back of the boat” (happens easily with racing hulls).
Give your ‘factory rack’ a good shake now and then to see how tightly attached it is. I’ve had one that nearly let go. I only noticed when tensioning down a boat strap and noticed the rack coming loose from the roof…
Keith, are you reading this? :^)
Derrick,
When carrying two sea kayaks, I like to tie the bows and sterns together.
I then take a line from each kayak’s bow and each stern and cross it to the opposite side of the car. The whole thing makes a fantasticly stable parallelogram, and the angles invloved (along with some quality nylon 3-strand from a yachting store) allow some give.
That’s worked fine for me for some 50,000 miles with boats one the roof. It’s also good with longer (and older) slalom style white water kayaks.
It would probably also not move at all even if the center rack let go. Key word is: probably!
Being a sailor, I like keeping my lines on the boats. The trick is to make sure they get tied, not just right but at all… !Doh. Else they seem liking to find a spot between one front tire and the very not-moving road, with some help from Murphy! The result is an expensive crunching sound of buckling fiberglass. It’s a mistake to make hopefully only once!
*makes a sheepish look at the ceiling…*
MarcP
thanks everyone! we are currently in the process of trying to figure out 2 boats on one car system for our first 2 kayaks.We are so excited to get Tricky business, and your info is very helpful. Jody