that’s a good one
I vote YES
It was one of “my” boats (I was managing the store) that my employees lost off the top position of a canoe trailer. I ended up replacing the gunwales on it (Mad River w/ash) and do not care to repeat the experience. Now I always tie my boats bow & stern, with minimal tension as others have mentioned.
A slick accessory for vehicles lacking good tie-downs can be found here:
http://www.itsacinchinc.com/
I made my own anchors after seeing them on this website. All you need is 1" webbing, 1" PVC pipe & caps, glue, and a heavy duty sewing machine.
Jim
With canoes, I use them. With kayaks,
I use them with our Accord, which has Yakima racks, but I do not use them on our Outback. The Outback has extremely strong, heavy factory rails, so I add front and rear snub ropes between the grab loops and the factory rails.
“really needed"
that leaves a lot unspecified. Big difference between driving 5 miles at speeds to 45mph and driving 2000miles at 65 with semis and side winds. Don’t use a strap for the front tie down,a 1/4” line and truckers hitch will make less wind noise.
Most of the time I drive short distances and without bow/stern tiedowns and configure racks with the longest practical span. You may not “need” to but you can always ask yourself what happens if one of the two cam straps work loose. If one of the cam straps someone loans you is salt corroded and you think it’s cinched but it’s barely cinched. The best reason for a bow tie down is that it’ll help communicate to you that something isn’t right if things get loose.
When I had four yakima towers and carrying four kayaks traveling long distances I still used bow/stern lines,traveling short distances I didn’t.
What if the roof rack is the point
of failure though? Running your bow line back to the roof rack does not give you an independant anchor point.
It seems to me
– Last Updated: Apr-05-04 11:27 AM EST –
to be cheap insurance. Imagine your boat or boats come off on the interstate and kill or severly injure the folks behind you, I am guessing the surviving family members are not going to look kindly to you, they will most likely get a lawyer and go after you, especially in todays litigious society. I am guessing your car insurance is not going to cover you, I could be wrong, maybe home owners will, don't know. I am sure in your owners manual they recommend using bow and stern lines, and if you ignored them, well a lawyer would have a field day with you in court. It is just too easy to do and could save you a world of trouble. Then if you actually did kill somebody or injure them, the criminal charges could be filed, failer to secure your load, involuntary man slaughter and who knows what else, I say use 'em. As others have mentioned they have rigged a system that does not require you to get under you van. Is Fran form Texas here? I believe she is a DA or prosecuter for some locality, maybe she could better explain the ramifications of such a disaster.
Absolutely…
I think bow and stern ropes tied to the FRAME of the car are essential. As Peter said, it’s all about how comfortable you are with the potential of killing someone if your boat flies off the roof, and to me the hassle of adding 2 extra lines is worth the piece of mind.
Little story:
My best friend is a fellow windsurfer. He had two windsurfing boards on the roof-rack of his Honda Accord (Thule racks). Driving home from Charleston to Myrtle Beach the steel fitting that “clamps” to the sides of the roof fractured and the entire “system” of roof rack, bars, and two windsurfers flew off the car at about 70 mph. The landed in the middle of the highway and as my friend braked and pulled to the side of the road a semi-truck hit the assembly and absolutely disintegrated (sp?) one of the windsurfers. Interestingly, the newest board (I think it was a Pro-Tech) was the one that was completely demolished as it had a relatively thin fiberglass shell and a foam core. His older board, a Mistral Stinger, was thrown to the side of the road and only had a few dings and some road-rash. The truck continued on and didn’t even stop.
The point of the matter is that if the boards had come off with a regular passenger vehicle behind him, the boards and racks could have gone through a window, or made someone swerve into the median…etc…etc…
Trusting that your roof racks “bond” to the roof of the car is putting a bit too much faith into the system for me. You have no back-up and basically have 100% faith that the fittings will never fail…
I think it’s one thing to risk your own life by not wearing a PFD, or running water that is beyond your ability…etc…but by not double-securing the boats I feel like I’d be risking someone elses life…
Just my opinion though…other’s experiences may vary 
BeachAV8R
Tie-down loops are great!
Mine are strong nylon strap loops about 6" long that are easily bolted under the hood. Got them from Spring Creek Outfitters for about $10 including shipping. I like them because I don’t have to crawl under my vehicle to secure the bow tie-downs. When I’m not using them I open the hood, flip them back inside, then close the hood.
Hey
Another reason why you shouldn’t talk on the cell phone while driving eh! Some people are so oblivious eh?
Yep, that’s why I feel
one needs front and rear tie downs. I know that the rack has more of a chance coming loose than my bumpers where the lines are tied. And for some reason my hulley rollers don’t offer much in the way of sideway stability when I turn a corner.
My yak is 16 ft long. The distance between each bar on the rack is not even half of that, before I put on a shell and spaced 'em out, it was worse.
Jim
Thanks for the link! I’m going to order some of those cinch tiedowns for my QCC-they’ll give me some peace of mind when travelling at high speeds! Now all I have to worry about is my rack falling apart! Never thought of that one!
Bow and Stern lines
My .02
I installed U bolts under the front of both the mini van and car. I use clips on the end of the lines and secure loosely with the " great " truckers not. No crawling under the vehicle anymore. I’ve not had any problems and like the security the two lines provide.
I have Yakama racks and saddles on the van. The Cruiser has factory racks and Thule J saddles.
What ever system you choose, IMHO it is well worth the few minutes it takes to use.
Joe3
Way to go Linda
I was having nightmares involving flying Canadian QCC’s
Jim
Nope
Don’t need to check oil and change regularly. Tires don’t have tread, so what? How’s that saying go? Stupid is as stupid does.
Ya I could just see it now…
I wouldn’t have to worry about anyone helping me lift my kayak off the rack- it would just go flying into the water! On second thoughts… maybe I shouldn’t get those straps! HAHA! No more lifting!
Another Story
Met a real nice person at New Year’s paddle who told me a story of his Eddyline Falcon that came flying off the roof along with his racks causing some serious damage. It convinced me to always use a bow, stern, and belly line. I’d rather learn from other people’s mistakes. Perhaps it’s unlikely to happen, but as I see it, if it happens often enough for me to meet a victim, that’s good enough for me.
Lou
Use 'em!
The front and rear tie-downs are probably the quickest part of loading up for me. I tie them into the towing loops on my Volkswagen. When I’m paddling, I untie the trucker’s hitch and tuck the lines underneath the car. Very solid - and I do it even in town.
These racks are made for weight, not lift. A kayak going down the road doesn’t weigh anything - it’s producing lift, trying to pull itself off the roof. Put a bow line on and there’s lots of strong leverage there.
Plastic Verus Composite
With a short plastic boat like the Mars I just pull the straps down real tight. I thread the straps thru the scupper holes, so they are not going anywhere.
Kevlar or fiberglass won’t give like that and it takes alot more to keep them on top of the vehicle. I use bow and stern tie downs for the 18’ kevlar Shearwater.
BTW: Check those straps if it rains! They get lose if they are wet!
thanks for feedback
Thanks for all the thoughful comments. Front and rear tiedowns will become part of the routine. The thought provoking comments were about the possibility of a failure of part of the rack assembly along with the risk of injuring someone else. 'nuff said.
Web Straps versus line (rope)
Linda, webbing will flutter at speed and produce lots of noise. Lousy in my opinion for front and rear tie-downs, great for strapping the boat to the rack. Some folks put up with it. Some folks wrap it or wind it to create a “roundness” to it so the flatness will go away. I suggest you look into just using line and learn the truckers hitch or use the line cinching pulleys. Just FYI.