Hello all,
This is my first post here, and I apologize that it is a question.
We recently purchased two Old Town Loon 138’s for our simple rec-kayaking needs. Nothing fancy, but they work great for us.
Unfortunately, we had to special order one of them (dealer didnt have any, no other local dealers had them, manufacturer didnt have any in stock). When my dealer went to pick up the Kayak, it was a second… he wasn’t happy with that, but it appeared that there were only a few scratches, and that we can live with.
Come to find out, the carrying handle/line attachment point was incorrectly manufactured and broke off. This does not affect the usability of the boat, but it does mean that I have to devise some other sort of tie down until another Kayak in the correct color can be made and gotten to us (September at the earliest). We don’t want to lose a season because of this (since the boat still works fine). Any suggestions on what I can do as a temporary tie-down? I’ve thought about some kind of strap to wrap around the Kayak then hook my ties to the strap and down to the bumper, but I think the strap will slide off. Here is a photo of our boats loaded… I will get a closer photo of the damage if neccesary.
http://non.skyphix.com/2006/kayaks/IMG_5614.JPG
Straps
I see your straps going over the cockpit rim rather than around the ends of it. My rack is long enough front to back that I can strap in front and behind the rim. This helps prevent the boat from shifting longwise. See if you can rig safely this way. My straps are not at a right angle to the boat, but bow around the rim slightly. Yours would probably have a much greater curve. See if it is secure that way.
Cars
Why are you carrying them on the Accord when you got a nice Subaru right next to it?? 
Aside from drilling, what about affixing a D-Ring to the deck as a lash point?
fixing it
Should be fairly simple to replace the part.
http://www.kayakfishinggear.com/kayak_accessories.htm
You live in a beautiful place
the dealer got a discount on your boat. 100% of it should be passed on to you.
Thank You
Thank you for all of your replies. To answer them:
I thought about that, running the straps around the ends to help with the sliding part. I can still attach the stern line (the front of the car, back of the boat) but the bow line I dont see an attachment point. I will try it to see if that keeps the boat stable.
The dealer did give me a discount on the boat, on top of the discounted price he had already given us. He was more angry about it being a second than I was, since he had placed the order at least two months ago and told by Old Town that it would be ready by a date, then they moved the date two weeks later. The RMA is in place, so I can’t really drill into the boat, but I did think of installing a D hook on the deck. If it were just the handle that broke, I’d gladly simply replace that… however, it was the BOAT that broke. See Image number 1 below. Image number 2 is an example of what it is supposed to look like, as if those here wouldnt know.
As for why the Accord and not the OBXT, because I just got the OBXT and haven’t had a chance to go pick up the Thule crossbars and attachments for it. I dont trust the factory crossbars even though they are weight-rated.
MY idea was to place a webbed strap “ring” around the nose of the boat, tie that webbing to the rack, then hook my bow line from the webbing to the bumper as normal. At least as a temporary option.
http://non.skyphix.com/2006/kayaks/brokenpart.jpg
http://non.skyphix.com/2006/kayaks/IMG_5620.JPG
Does the new Loon 138 have the same
pointed front on the cockpit as the old one? I put a rope under the V between the cockpit top and the kayak front deck, attached to the rack, and pull it tight like a bridle. Keeps the kayak from moving forward and, as its a long way from the front of my Loon to the front of my F150…long bed with a tool box taking up the front of the bed, a bow line to the bumper proved pretty much useless. I’ve traveled as much as 10 hours at a time with no problems.
Cockpit Photo
Well, Here is a photo of the new version. The lip is raised and “grooved” of sorts, so tying there may just work…
I am going to run the straps that hold it to the rack around the cockpit to help hold it in place as well (I may actually grab a second set of straps for that)
http://www.oldtowncanoe.com/images/kayaks/recreation/loon_138_top_sm.jpg
Thanks
Very similar configuration to the old
Loon (Now the Predator K138), just a smaller cockpit. Don’t much care for the funky way OT is doing the bungees on the front deck, they do that on a couple of other kayaks.
What in the world…?
I couldn’t figure out what I could strap in there, with them set up that way. Maybe a rolled sleeping bag or something.
I doubt very much I’ll have a need for the bungees except maybe an attachment point for a paddle leash. We mostly do 3to 6 hour trips and there is pleanty of room in the boat or in the rear hatch to hold lunch and my camera gear.
There’s plenty of room to hold light
camping gear and supplies to. I’ve gotten my 2 man tent, sleeping bag, day pack, and a few groceries in the stern without crowding.
And people wonder…
And people wonder why I like the bigger boats. I’ve used some smaller, and not only was I riding pretty level with the water (I’m a large fellow), but there wasn’t any room for anything else but me.