Paddlecraft Tie Down
Generally, two cam lock buckles, used in conjunction with gunwale brackets or kayak cradles will keep your boat where it belongs when driving. Rachets are risky - too easy to get too much pressure and break the boat.
Longer boats and windy days suggest twin bow kines to eliminate yaw. A single bow line is ~ useless, the bow can still swing widely to either side. Two short cords to the corners of the car eliminates yaw potential.
The issue is the force of 75 mph winds generated by driving down the road. That is why we do not need stern lines - most cars won’t hit 70 in reverse.
And, it is easy to mount web attachment points on a Subaru. Just tie an 18 in piece of nylon webbing around the top radiator frame, leave it sticking out from under the hood. [Good pics on the placidboats web site.]
Yep
I consider bow & stern lines to be a social responsibility.
I have had racks come off a car once, and I know 4 other people that have had it happen as well. Most of us used bow & stern lines, and nothing really happened other than a little inconvenience and some scratched paint on the cars. One other, though, could have killed somebody. The rack and two NDK Explorers took flight off the car into the highway. Fortunately, nobody was hurt, and the boats landed rack first and skidded, and only needed semi-major repairs.
There was an incident in New York about 20 years ago at a tollbooth where a car carrying a windsurfer rearended another car, and the windsurfer shot off the racks into oncoming traffic and decapitated an innocent motorist. Now a windsurfer is much harder to secure than a kayak, but kayaks probably make better missiles.
It’s not always about your convenience.
Your call, but I only forgo the lines when I’m going to the lake down the street to paddle, and the speed limit is 25 mph. Even then, I’m real careful about how I drive.
You need them.
Not for your boats but for preventing your rack from detaching and impacting another car. It is a no brainer for the safety of other drivers. People who don’t use them when driving at freeway speeds are irresponsible in my view.
Don’t use the ratchet system. When the tie down goes slack either or both of the hooks can easily come out and make your tie down useless. Use good rope instead.
Subarus have tie down points already. There are two rings under the front and one ring under the back. So skip the business about adding something under the hood.
No real downside
I use webbing loops in the hood/fender gap as tiedown points, so there’s easy access and no hood contact. Similar loops are rigged on the rear of the car. The time and effort to add bow & stern lines is minimal, and the potential value is huge.
I will say that I drove with a pair of sea kayaks for years using only two web straps each, and never had a problem. But the idea of launching them at someone else on the highway makes me add the tiedowns for all but the shortest trips.
If I may relate a story
My kayaking buddy uses a Yakima system with the Landsharks on his car. He never, ever uses a bow/stern line and of course his front ratchet strap failed and the front end of the kayak came straight up in the wind. The effect of this was that the it put a huge dent in his trunk and bent the stern of his boat. He was very lucky because he instantly realized what happened and slammed on his brakes, causing his boat to fall straight back down…
I now use bow/stern lines ALL the time… and he still does not…
Rob
The thing is
like other people have said, it take about a minute a line, so why not do it?
My main worry is not my boats, but people in other cars being killed if something fails.
Good point about the tie downs helping you monitor the boats shifting too.
I guess this is a topic to be filed with wearing your PFD. 
what issues?
I’ve found the bow/ stern lines the easiest to use.
When I think of kayaking, I think of the ocean, which means driving 200 mi, usually over 70 mph and the Santa Anas always seem to be blowing I don’t have saddles at the moment.
If I go to the lake that’s ten minutes away, I don’t fuss as much with securing the yaks.
it is like wearing a PFD
I was riding with a friend who swore by bow and stern tie downs. The j-saddles he was using failed in a strong crosswind and the kayak blew off sideways. The bow and stern tied downs held the kayak along the side of the car and right into the grill of an oncoming car. I guess that is more of a rant against J-saddles than tie-downs.
The point is everything fails. I prefer non-mechanical parts because there are less points of failure.
As for the whitewater kayaks being blown off…
Most ww folks I know who lost their kayaks run a rope over the nose and tail of the kayak (not through the grab loop). The kayak gets blown off because the nose slides back under the rope. Tie downs would solve that problem, so would running the ropes under the grab loops.
Just a suggestion …
As opinions on this topic vary widely, might I suggest that you filter the responses by only considering the opinions of those who have actually had the “pleasure” of losing their load?
My take:
I’ve lost two loads in my lifetime …
I’ve never had a racheting tiedown loosen – ever. Use one for each rack.
If more than 1/4th of your boat length extends beyond the rack, bow and stern tiedowns are mandatory.
And by the way –
If you’re traveling great distances and/or at high speed, throw on a third “safety” racheting tiedown.
assuming people learn from their mistake
but their are plenty of folks who don’t use tie downs and who have never lost a kayak off the roof.
So do we take advice from people who have lost kayaks off the roof, or from people who have managed to keep their kayaks where they want them?
it take about a minute a line, so why…
...not do it?
A: for the reasons noted above, that it does not help secure the kayak as much as one would think (unless dual lines tied to each side of vehicle, as one astute poster mentioned), and that it is potentially dangerous in and of itself.
rebrumley, as to your friend's story, he needs to a) learn how to use ratchet straps so they don't fail, and b) at highways speeds use two ratchet straps up front *three total, tow front, one rear of boat).
tiedowns
highways–yes
local backroads-nope
Never leave without them
We have an aftermarket “heavy duty” rack installed by the “pro” installer that sells these wonderful heavy duty racks at a dealership. Well guess what … he used a few sheet metal screws !!! So, if your rack isn’t held down thru the metal with bolts secured on the inside - there is very little strength and I for one wouldn’t trust my boats (weight plus wind resistance) to a few flimsy sheet metal screws. Do you know specifically how your racks are attached? If not - they are not safe - for you or for the others driving on the road near you. I use them each and every time I go anywhere - short or long distance.
Forgot to mention
We often put 4- 16-17 ft kayaks on our roof racks on j cradles and a stacker in the middle and secure them also with belly straps. In addition we use 2 bow lines and 2 stern lines for the 4 boats. Each set of two are joined thru the toggles together. This works well but would prefer a better attachment point on the boats. It takes us awhile to get going doing all this preparation, but this way, we know we are good to go!
Always use them.
Just look at your own list. 3 reasons to use bow/stern tie downs and one not.
Consider the force a long boat places on the load bars that are only 2 or 3 feet apart. The tie downs relieve the rack of having to resist all of the lifting force your boat generates. They greatly reduce the chance of rack failure, minimize the impact if a failure does occur and are your last line of defense in a collision. The tie downs protect you, your boat and other people on the road. Why is there a debate? Yes, they take a little extra time to use; so do PFDs and seat belts.
I can't fathom CoolDoctor's assertion that bow/stern tie-downs are a danger to ones self. In the even of a rope snapping, it would drift in the wind. Big deal.
Straps generally make lousy bow/stern tie downs because they buzz and vibrate no matter how much you twist them or tighten. Simple ropes cut through the wind better and are easy to stow. If you don't want to take the time to tie a couple half-hitch knots, Google "Rope Ratchet" and buy four of them.
If your ropes are scuffing paint where they make contact, thread each one through a length of PVC or rubber hose of an appropriate length and diameter to protect wherever there is body contact. If you lack good tie down spots on your vehicle (as is my case in the front), you can make or buy simple web strap loops you can bolt to the body. Most cars are full of small holes in the the frame and bodywork under the hood where a hook can be attached or loop bolted in place.
In my case, I have a pair of loops under the hood that I just pull up out of the hood/fender seam whenever I need them.
You might drive for decades without bow/stern tie-downs and never have a problem. Or it might happen in the first 10 miles. Why risk it?
Phreon
Thank You.
Phreon,well said. The second paragraph of my first post on the subject,says it all.
Happy Paddling billinpa
In 35 years of carrying all kinds of
boats on top of vehicles, including 14 foot jon boats, I’ve never had a rope used as a bow/stern line snap. there just isn’t that much tension on them and, if there is, whoever tied them that tight is a goofus with a big oil can in his vehicle roof.
If you use three locking cam ratchet…
..straps, you simpy don't need bow and stern lines. At all. It's as simple as that.
http://shop.easternmarine.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=catalog.catalog&categoryID=232
They tow RV trailers with these straps. They hold up standing 2000 lb Harleys on trailers with these straps. Wider versions are used by flatbed semi-truck drivers who log thousands of miles transporting everything from windmills to factory-sized generators.
The arguments to not use them and instead use rope and a bow/stern line --"I know how to tie a rope, so why not just tie one", "I might get silly and overtighten the ratchet and hurt my own kayak", "I don't know how to properly use a ratchet strap so it might come off", "What if the entire rack on the top of my vehicle comes off"-- are patently ridiculous. There will be no side wind twist when a boat is properly secured with ratchet straps; you would turn the entire vehicle by the boat before the strap itself would fail.
The are the fastest and most foolproof means to secure any load on any rack or trailer. Highly recommended.
Its not about good straps
Cooldoc, If you read the previous posts about flying boats you will realise that its generally not the straps that fails, it’s the attachment points of the rack or crossbars that fail. In which case any number of high quality straps would not help (unless you run them through the windows). With the use of tie-downs you minimize the risk of having your rack come loose. And if it does come loose, you minimize the damage (of boats and cars) and potential injuries of others.
It does add one minute of work on your behalf though.
uhhh, Doc…
Nobody’s stating that ratchet straps are inherently weak. The real possible problems have been stated above.
What your single-minded assurances forget is that you could very well use those heavy-duty-semi-truck-ratchet-binders and still have your load lost IF you have a rack failure.
Do I use bow and stern lines every time I load a boat? - nope. Do I feel better when I do? - yup. Do I think it’s irresponsible of one to insist they’re totally useless to a new boater seeking solid info? - yup again…