Strap coming off
Hi Jack,
The Yakima strap slid off the end of a Yakima bar, traveling 6+ inches to do so. The crosswind were about 50 mph and I had been in them for at least an hour before the strap came off. Canoes had made it from CT to SD on original tie down (checked a number of times) before this happened. As noted above my mistake was not running a loop around the rack support after strapping them to bar. The crosswind just exposed my mistake.
Dave
cockpit cover
– Last Updated: Jun-05-07 1:55 PM EST –
Not much need for a cockpit cover when you're driving down the road. I did use one for awhile and it eventually shredded itself. A neo cover probably wouldn't do this, but really I don't think it's necessary.
Next time you're driving in the rain, roll the window down and you won't get too much inside the car as long as you're moving. Come to a stop and it's a different story. Same deal with the cockpit. I'll put one on if the kayak is on the roof overnight and it looks like rain, but other than that I don't.
For bow and stern tiedowns, I just use low stretch line used for sailboat rigging. Use a trucker's hitch to secure it. It's quick, cheap (relatively, the line is expensive) and doesn't have any hardware to come loose. I think some of those ratchet pulleys only have a hook on the end that would attach to the boat. It's possible that the hook could come off, and what do you think that pulley will do to your windshield when it hits it at 70mph?...
Gunnel brackets would have prevented
that.
To me they are much more important when carrying a canoe than front and rear tiedowns.
Especially on light weight canoes. I don’t leave home without them
Thanks for the answer, I was curious
Cheers,
JackL