Please note!
Guys, I knew my post would stir up the tie-down discussion again. However, nobody has yet answered the question I asked in my original post.
My original question was:
Is there any reason NOT to use front/rear tie-downs other than the extra time it takes or the cost of the tie-downs themselves?
Of course, IMHO using tie-downs makes transport just a little bit safer and has no negatives other than those I’ve noted.
Definitely
If you don’t use them, you’d be easy pickings in a lawsuit. Virtually every rack, virtually every set of guidelines, say they are necessary. You don’t have, them, you’re dead meat. Your own lawyer will tell you to sell your house and car and settle. You have them, you might still lose if they’ve got a better lawyer. But at least it would be a fight rather than a surrender.
I don’t use them
On both my vehicles I have Yakama racks which I have complete faith in .
They are not attached to the factory racks but are attached directly to the vehicle.
Front and rear tie downs for me are a complete waste of time and unnecessary.
How many work vans do you see with ladders on their roof racks that have front and rear tie downs ?
None! - Because they don’t need them.
Next time you are on the road take a look.
If you are worried about my boats flying off and smashing into your windshield, I would advise you to not tail gate so close.
If I were using foam blocks or a factory rack, I wouldn’t leave home without front and rear tie downs.
I personally think any one who uses foam blocks is flirting with trouble even if they have front and rear tie downs.
Now with all that said, I am about to purchase a 23 foot long kayak, and I fully intend to use front and rear tie downs. Not to protect you who might be following too closly, but to protect the boat from the torque that it might be exposed to from cross winds at high speeds.
Now lets here it from the peanut gallery!
Cheers,
JackL
lost a canoe off a Honda Van at 85 MPH
After transporting canoes over 15,000 miles, including cross-country and back, I thought I had the attaching boat securely thing down pat. Sometimes used tie downs and sometimes not.
On a second cross-country trip, extremely strong cross winds in South Dakota blew off the front strap of a plywood canoe at 85MPH. (no tie downs) The outwales and inwales were shattered on both sides of the canoe and the roof rack slightly damaged. Couldn’t restrap canoe to van because the sides of the canoe were shattered. I had to leave the canoe in the ditch at side of road. Filled it with rocks before leaving, as the wind was trying to blow it back up towards the interstate.
I always use tie downs now- “It’s easy to be religious when you’ve see the devil”.
Dave
tie downs
A lot of newer vehicles have no good anchor points for front and rear tie downs without modification. I nearly always use a front tie down partly to simply give me, or the driver a visual reminder that there is a boat up top. I often don’t use a rear tie down because it limits access to the bed of my pickup, which has a cap on the back. I usually run a short line from the rack forward to some anchor point on the boat (such as a thwart) to prevent the boat from sliding forward during a sudden stop. A rear tie down is ineffective for this on a long boat because of the angle it makes. I have never had a painter come untied from the vehicle and get caught under a tire, but I have worried about it as it could destroy the boat, but I am careful with the knots. Putting too much tension on an end line with a trucker’s hitch can deform a plastic boat especially in hot sun.
Work van
racks have clamping bars and straps on them designed specifically for ladders and are either bolted through the roof with backing plates or clamped to raingutters using steel brackets - I have three ladders on mine right now and I was rear ended hard enough to wreck my seat and buckle the bulkhead behind it last year- my ladders didn’t move.
Car roof racks are a different beast- no industrial grade clamps, no ladder stops, no backing plates. I would never trust one without tiedowns front and rear, My 95 taurus rack self destructed too (fords better idea??? )
Front tie down won’t go under the tire
with a four or five half hitches, tied high where you can see them.
Occasionally, in a strong wind, I have noticed the tie down can loosen a bit, but if you tie the knots above the hood, you can see this happening and fix it if necessary. Usually does not move enough to make it necessary.
costs vs benefits
I don’t use the bow/stern tiedowns and here’s why.
#1 my setup has proved itself to be solid just the way it is.
#2 Do you know what happens if your bow tiedown gets lose and falls under the wheel of the car?
#3 there’s no good spots on my car to tie them to, not that i’d want more sh*t flapping in the wind either.
used to until…
I used to always use tie downs with the foam blocks on a canoe. but now I have outdoorsman series yakima racks on my pickup truck bed and with quality straps amidship I feel quite confident. much more so than when I used only front and rear tie downs w/foam blocks on a car. I often tie the tail end of the strap the front and rear of the kayak or around the canoe thwart.
which brings up another issue, if you cannot afford a rack and only use foam blocks and tie downs front and rear isn’t that even more irresponsible? it is certainly not as secure.
call me a flirt!!
I have used foam blocks of factory racks to carry two kayaks from the Keys to Vermont and lots of places in between. Most of that driving was done on the interstate and most of it above the posted limit.
I use a different system now, but I would take foam blocks of J-cradles any day of the week.
P.S. I have a set of Malone J-cradles for sale if anyone wants them.
Okay, but don’t kid yourself
If the boat did come off at 65 mph, it wouldn’t be the tailgater who was in danger. In fact, the tailgater might be safe, as it might go right over his car. If the boat came off at highway speeds in a wind shear, you wouldn’t have to be tailgating to be endangered.
#1 is the dumbest reason
Because it become invalid as soon at it fails you. It’s kind of like saying, “I ride my motorcycle on the freeway without a helmet and have yet to die of a head injury.” That fact does not “prove” that not wearing helmets is safe.
Gee, that’s funny
My '94 taurus self destructed. 
#2 and #3 come close.
reason
"Is there any reason NOT to use front/rear tie-downs other than the extra time it takes or the cost of the tie-downs themselves? "
You ask for “reason”, not neccesarily GOOD reason! ;o)
One reason I can see is simply, it’s NOT neccessary. Nice? Yes. Neccessary? NO.
All these talk about the boat FLYING OFF as projectiles. No, it doesn’t. Momentum conservation would dictate it won’t! It’ll slowly float off the top of the car, and land a distance behind.
I’ve had bikes fallen off that way when riding in a friends car. We hit a big bump the driver didn’t see and the car went flying off the ground. When we landed back down, the impact broke the rack. The bikes SLOWLY floated down behind us. The car behind stopped in front of it, and guarded them from other traffics. It’s a mess for sure. But a danger to other motorist it was NOT!
To prevent such demage, a tie down would be useful. But I don’t see it as NECESSARY. Even if a buddy decides NOT to, I would still drive behind him. I won’t tailgate though. ;o)
Do you always wear a belt AND suspender? ;o)
Thank you, thank you !
it sure is refreashing to see someone else on here that is not one of the sheep !
I have nothing against front and rear tie downs and give more credit to the ones who use them but on the last big post on them, I was called "a criminal " for not using them
Cheers,
JackL
Mechanical failure is a fact of life
Which is why we want redundancy in our rack systems. People using no bow/stern lines simply do not have the same amount of redundancy as those that do.
And the argument that “my system is mounted in such and such a way so it’s safe” is just hogwash. There is simply no way for you to know when a mechanical failure will take place. When will a flawed piece of metal or a defective piece of plastic snap? Maybe never. Maybe next time you tempt fate.
A boat “floating” off the top of a car poses no danger? Give me a break. First of all, it doesn’t matter if the boat is going ZERO miles an hour if the car running into it is going 70mph. Or if they’re going 30mph but swerve to avoid it. Suddenly introducing any kind of obstacle onto the roadway is a HAZARD, the effect of which should never be underestimated. People are killed every year by drivers swerving to avoid objects. It’s just reality.
used to use tie downs
but don’t anymore. Found the front line made me cross-eyed and the time spent tieing these lines could be better spent swilling booze before my road trip.
Seriously though, I don’t. Have a rack on my truck with cleats. Straps fore and aft racks, bow and stern line tied to cleats, another line underneath over the thwarts and cleated.
nowhere to tie to
is not a good reason. 2 loops of rope tied under the hood…pull them out of the crack when you need them, stuff them back when you don’t. Do the same on the trunk.
P
I did
I was carrying 2 sea kayaks on top of a 1995 Mustang up in Maine a number of years ago, and my Yakima rack system came loose at 75 MPH. The bow and stern lines kept everything on top of the car long enough for me to gently decelerate and stop.
No damage to the racks, the car, or other people.
Unless I’m going to the lake down the street, I ALWAYS use bow & stern lines. They’ve proven their worth to me.