I’ve been using a trucker’s hitch to tie down my boat amidships, which has always worked great. I do the same in the stern, with no issues. The bow, which is tied down to loops in the corners of the hood, works well on the highways, but the minute I get myself onto a rocky road it begins to loosen.
I can’t use as much tension because it will damage the hood, and I don’t have a spot under the hood to bold the tie down loops to. So, I’m in need of another means of tensioning the bow, so it’s more secure in these situations.
Hood loops also come with a rubber base that is thick and won’t pull out from under the hood
Run the line vertical : better tensioning
We use them and the line runs under the hood near the windshield
They are movable but under tension dont slide
Go to amazon and search for hood loops I have a poor signal and the page wont load
I do use the hood loops you mention. When you say run it vertical, do you mean in the very front, dead center?
I can try them near the windshield, maybe that’s better. I hadn’t thought about them sliding.
I use loops of woven nylon “pulling tape” for bow tie-downs. Just loop it around anything solid in the engine compartment near the seam between hood and fender. It fits easily in the sheetmetal gaps and it prevents the hood from having to take all the force. I got mine from Carl at Carl’s Paddlin in Lone Rock Wisconsin. Probably best to buy a little from Carl for a few dollars since it’s normally sold in rolls of half a mile or a mile.
This is the first time I heard of anyone damaging the hood of their vehicle with tie down loops secured in the engine compartment. What are you using for loops and how are they attached? Could you take a photo of your arrangement?
I use flat webbing for loops, have used them on multiple vehicles and tension the tie down ropes about as tight as I can and I have never come close to damaging a hood.
It’s hard to keep a long, heavy item like a canoe from pitching on rough roads, even with tie downs. I’ve always managed to snake a tie down loop through or under the grill of my cars, with it secured to a metal part of the hood latch framework. That gets the tie down as far forward as possible making it more effective to combat the pitch motion.
If your vehicle has a trailer hitch, a tee-bar support in the rear will do much more than any tie down. For example, here’s a photo of the Reese “Hitch Mount Canoe Loader”:
Watch this: Flying Kayaks - YouTube. Also, I use three straps to secure the kayaks to the roof - as well as bow lines to under-hood attachment points. Fifty years of carrying boats and I have never had them fly away. I understand that you’re reluctant to crank the bow lines down. Makes sense. I don’t overtighten mine but I do make sure that the three lines I run across the kayaks are as tight as possible. For me, that eliminates the up and down movement of the kayaks when going over bumps. I double check the lines when traveling and especially when it’s damp or raining. No penalty for being extra careful.
FWIW, I make sure a canoe thwart lines up with one of my cross bars and strap or tie the thwart to that. Tightly as I can. I found that helps contain the motion of that giant sail quite decently, takes some of the strain off the hood loops.
Celia there really should be no tension on the bow safety lines. Do you use gunwale brackets and load the canoe with less overhang from the tiedown in front to the bow than the corresponding tie down to the stern? In other words the canoe is loaded a little to the rear and not even. That we found out on the Great Plains with its awful crosswinds ( thanks Kansas and Nebraska) really reduces bow movement…
Locally its not an issue but in the tree less nether regions of the USA it does help
I use the lines and front back spacing as you say. Bow line actually one very long one knotted to not slide, or two if l can’t find the long one, again triangle to the bow loops.
But no, l don’t have the brackets. I mostly kayak and have the mounting frame for the Hullivator cradles on one side. So it’d be a project to get them on. Once l secure a thwart to the crossbar, not convinced l need them.
I don’t know what you are buying, but even having jumped quickly thru three Rav 4s in a few years to get to a hybrid no the hood has never warped.
If it has for you, must be doing something real different with the hood loops than the rest of us.
You need two tie down ropes with trucker hitches on the canoe, not one amidships.
Not bungees which can fall off. Not straps with tensioning devices which wreck boats.
Are you talking to me? If so you are basing this on pretty thin information.
I have never used bungees to tie down a boat. Ever. For a shorter trip with a canoe I use two straps over the canoe at the usual places. I ALSO have one underneath holding a thwart tightly to a cross bar. My bow tie down is either two separate ropes or one long one with a knot in the middle to stop sideways sliding, using trucker’s hitches.
For a longer trip do the same as with kayaks - two straps at the usual points front and back over the top, plus the bow line(s) triangulated and for the canoe the strap again holding a thwart to a cross bar.
