Cutting is too easy. And using the
uprights inside rather than outside doesn’t make solo humping of the boat over the uprights any easier.
One sign of Yakima’s intelligence is that when they designed the new “canoe” brackets, they made them much lower. But the old ones are very easy to trim.
I actually have a bunch of the old,
Yakima-only snap-arounds. Though I’ve also used hose clamps, cushioned with bits of Tygon hose.
However, the Loadstops and Canoe Brackets have that level bed which, when the boat is snugged down, can keep it in place during a panic stop. (tested.)
Believe me, I’ve panic-stop tested the
Universal Snap arounds too. They aren’t going anywhere.
But the boat will slide on the bars, no?
No, it can’t slide
– Last Updated: Nov-08-11 4:16 PM EST –
I'm not sure what you're picturing. The boat can't slide side-to-side because the snap arounds are on all four "corners" of the boat. And the canoe can't slide forward or back becuse it gets wider and snap arounds hold it in place. I've got a nice, long bar spread so my boats are always narrower where the snap arounds are located than it is in the center.
I'm not sure you're thinking, but don't the universal snap arounds function the same way as the load stops? Or am I missing something. I've never used them.
I think one of the great advantages …
– Last Updated: Nov-08-11 3:57 PM EST –
..... of using things like the canoe brackets (which I have) , or the load stops , wrap arounds , etc. , is that they fit the haul (gunnels) and basically lock it in place so it can't move forward or rearward . It's a wedge type fit that should get even tighter if the boat trys to move .
I suppose there could be just the slightest amount of give in a panic stop , but still it's a good line of defense against extreme movement , and there's no guess work when putting the boat in place , it drops right in same position always .
The broad, serrated pads of the
load stops were what stopped my MR Synergy from sliding. My crossbars, on the Honda Accord, have only about a 40 inch spread, and the Synergy doesn’t swell enough for the load stops to get a bite on the sides. Before the cross ropes are tightened down, I can pull the boat forward and back between the gunwale brackets, with only modest resistance. With all ropes tightened, the canoe is pulled down hard enough on the bracket pads that it doesn’t move.
Next test will be an emergency stop with our '08 Accord, where the crossbars are only 32" apart, and the car has ABS.
See my note above. My most-used
canoe is only 30" in beam, and doesn’t spread enough through the middle for the brackets to grab it firmly. But with the ropes tied down, it doesn’t move.
Measure it.
It’s not the brackets so much as the length of the belly straps that’ll keep your boat from leaving the rack in the event you should hit something or be hit. What’s preventing the rack from leaving your car is a separate concern.
never seen a boat like that
But I can envision it could happen with a boat that is straight gunwaled for a long stretch in the middle and racks that have to be close together.
Boat width has nothing to do with it. None of my boats can slide back and forth but my bars have a four to six foot spread . Narrowest boat is 23 inches at the gunwales.
The straps are the same
length whether the gunwale brackets are in use, or not. And the straps are the same tightness. What holds the boat from sliding forward during braking is the addition of the high friction bracket pad under the gunwale. Nothing else has changed.
If you look at top-down catalog photos
of MR whitewater boats such as the Outrage, you’ll see that the gunwales are rather straight through the middle of the boat. The Synergy is like that. (Same designer, Tom Foster.) Actually, the Synergy has that stepped in hull arrangement just below the gunwale, to get the gunwale more out of the way of the paddler’s hands. The bow of MR whitewater boats is fat. The combination of these results in the gunwales running straighter through the center of the boat. There is a slight swell, but not enough that the uprights on the brackets can get a good grab on the gunwales. Besides which, if they’re that tight, the boat doesn’t drop into place as easily.
One benefit of brackets is that one can be a bit less aggressive with rope tension. If a boat is sliding loose on the racks, a good part of rope capacity may be taken up as the paddler cinches the boat down. The brackets allow a little less tension, leaving more reserve capacity in the ropes.
I meant measure the girth of the
sections of the hull at your crossbars as opposed to at the center. I bet there’s considerable difference even on your WW boat.
I know what you mean about parallel gunnels, and those rubbery pads do help, but it’s the belly straps that should prevent the boat from sliding fore and aft, not the brackets so much. They’re more for minimizing side-to-side movement like when you get that blast when passing a semi-rig.
I like MacGrady’s advice of adding snotter lines and I always do it when I’m headed for the highways.
yeah I see what ya mean g2d …
– Last Updated: Nov-09-11 7:40 PM EST –
...... if your bar spread is only 30" or so and your gunnels are basicaly paralell in that section , then the brackets can't help much with forward / rearward slide , but at least still a big aid in side to side movement .
Our bar spread is long over a pickup and our canoes have a good taper going on where they sit on the brackets , makes a real good lock up , and the straps finish the deal sweetly .
But the brackets do help. When I
haven’t used them, the boat has shown more tendency to slide forward and back. Side to side slip can be stopped with hose clamps, but they don’t stop longitudinal slip.
Get the old style
Get the old style and don’t trim them. In my experience the new style collapse under a hard sideways pressure.
Why not trim them? They are as strong
trimmed as they are untrimmed, and it makes it much easier to load a boat. Trimmed, mine are still 1 1/4" high, and no boat will jump that unless the ropes are totally out of sorts.
The load blockers are essentially the same as my “old” canoe brackets. It took me maybe ten minutes to cut 40% of the excess height off the new brackets, and round them with a rasp.
I’m beginning to think that most people on this board get help to load boats.
Fore-aft movement
I have a Ford ranger with close bar spacing. I try to load boats so one of the bars is at a thwart or seat bar and secure the bar to that inaddition to the belly strap so it can’t move fore or aft.
Turtle
not true. Its seldom that there is
– Last Updated: Nov-15-11 11:50 AM EST –
any help around and I am some twenty inches shorter than my bars are. I use a ladder and untrimmed gunwale brackets of the old style.
This was supposed to be in response to g2d's musing of people on the board having help. Laughable. Turtle too is a soloist.
I was talking about people with
Dependent Personality Disorder, not people with Independent Personality Disorder.
And then there’s Short Person Syndrome…