Strongly agree!
This would not seem to be worth arguing about. It works either way.
Agree. This discussion has taken a rather esoteric turn.
Suffice it to say that interposing some type of foam between a boat and the rack bars is not necessary to secure the boat to the rack (although there might be some reasons to do so), neither will it interfere in any way with securing the boat to the rack.
My point is it is a known to recommend two hard surfaces to come together be it steel or wood or plastic and be pulled tight with a cam strap intended for such a task. Foam is an unknown both in compressibility, durability, thickness etc. I have foam lying around that is open cell insulation material and I have foamed neoprene and solid synthetic rubber. Some of them may even increase the sliding resistance others would hamper the clamping forces.
It is the same where I see many people using rope and tying trucker hitches and that is subject to some needed skills and a knowledge of ropes and knots. I have been to launch sites and seen people pull in with boats tied down with jute binder twine. It was good enough as the boats didnāt come off but, for me it would be really hard to trust it as a repeatable method of securing a boat to the roof of a car.
Iām always looking for the simplest method and equipment that will provide the greatest consistent results over a wide number of people doing it. Sticking with known products that donāt require special skills is one way to do it.
A good example is I see people using ratchet straps as hold down straps and when I mention they produce so much force they can distort a hull. They tell me well you donāt have to tighten them that much, and they are correct. I donāt recommend ratchet straps because my luck the person wont be able to gage when to stop.
I have a policy that no other person other than myself ties down my boats on my car or truck. I have a certian method pattern of how I throw over webbing straps and secure the loose ends of the cam straps after pulling down to tighten a safe snug amount. Always do it the same way and you will never forget to do it right. Similarly, I do not tie another personās boat on their vehicle. Seems like good policy. Of course never using ratchet straps.
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Yup, every time. I put the foam blocks on the rack mainly because of the shape of the block, the boat sits better on the blocks than the bare rack, the shallow V matches the keel and hull. And IMHO the slight compressibility makes the boat more secure after itās tied down. OR I will put a split LARGE pool noodle on the rack cross bars, it protects my kayak and my wifeās paddle board from contact with the hard metal bars, and the compressibility making it more secure.
One thing with tying down a boat is to never let someone or something interrupt you until you are done. Iāve seen too many cases where someone was tying down a boat when somebody else asked for help in putting their boat one a car. After helping the other person they drove away without realizing that they forgot to secure a strap.
I saw someone going down the highway just today with their boat at a 45 degree angle on a J-rack. No front strap and no front or rear tiedowns.
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I often load the boats the day or night before and donāt cinch the straps tight till the next morning. It is easy to forget to do when you are in a hurry loading up food and stuff to get going. What I do is leave the strap tails hanging down to remind me to cinch them. Better than a string around the finger.
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Yknpdlr, same policy for me, and donāt try to help or talk to me while Iām securing the boats.
Rstevens15, one time I untied a boat on the ladder rack, then the one in the truck bed, which I removed first. My sister interrupted me and I became preoccupied. While driving away she yelled, and the boat slid off the front when I hit the brakes. Fortunately, it was a roto-molded model and didnāt have a rudder to damage.