Curious about your source
I don’t doubt that “people” is a collective noun, but that it was ever SINGULAR I can’t find attested (cf. British “the police is coming” vs. American “the police are coming”). Certainly it’s plural today. Where did you find that it was singular? Many thanks in advance.
Float Plane
The last time I flew into a river in Quebec my canoe was tied down with 2 rachet straps to the float supports…no bow or stern lines. Had me a little worried, but it stayed put.
Nice car.
Persons vs. People
Connotations are different. Use of “persons” in the context of my post conveys to me that there is a small group of identified people rather than an unidentified mass.
As mentioned in this thread…
…you will find popouts in your bumper covers for eyebolts for towing. You already have one bolt in your trunk and you will have to buy a second one.
Also you didn’t mention if you carry the kayak hull down or on its side. Carrying the boat hull down will lessen the effects of cross winds.
I’m moving from an Audi A4 wagon to a TTS where the spread is only 22 inches. The TTS has crossbars designed specifically for it (they lock and key into door frame fittings) and I’m switching from J-cradles to Thule 887xt Slipstreams so I can get my boat flat and get the straps out near the bulk heads. But just like wearing a PFD, I wouldn’t drive my kayak around the block without bow and stern lines.
stuff a sock in it 
Or, more precisely, find a cotton sock and use it as a sleeve to keep the rope from rubbing the bumper.
If you’re making a short trip, say from the campsite to the launch, then no, maybe you don’t need tie-downs. Anything longer than that and I’d say you do.
yet you insist on saddles - NM
Similar car here
Unfortunately, you only have one recovery point per end. So I hook onto the muffler bracket on one side and use the recovery hook on the other. I’m not sure how much overhang you’ll have with only a 12’ boat since the car is somewhere around 14’ long.
http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/2276049410080910974GgOwWk
Then in the front I just hook to each side of the stabilizer bar and use cotton rags to prevent too much rubbing on the paint.
http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/2182330290080910974mvUzQY
As far as those underhood attachments, there are no big, oversized bolts like American cars. So you’d probably need to do something custom if you want to go that route. And remember, the front and rear tiedowns should be angled opposite from each other. They will not do anything if they are parallel. Picture it like / \ or \ /. Never have them like / / or \ .
or like =
Your last point is interesting
– Last Updated: Feb-15-11 1:38 PM EST –
On my truck, the kayak's painter lines fall into the "/ / " configuration because the kayak is on a topper roof. For the lines to have the " \ / " setup, the kayak would have to be, oh, about 20 feet, probably longer. For the lines to have the " / \ " setup, the kayak would have to be sitting with the front cradles/crossbar on the cab, and the rear cradles/crossbar on the topper. The latter is not recommended due to the typical independent movements of cab and bed (topper).
I set the sticky cradles slightly inward to match the hull's rocker (I use round crossbars) so that the boat is, effectively, hung in place instead of just sitting on cradle tops. The painter lines would not keep the boat from moving forward or backward some, if it did so (which it does not). The lines only keep the boat from flying completely away from the vehicle and becoming a free projectile. So they still provide some additional safety--not for me but for people in other vehicles around me. It's not the perfect solution but it's better than foregoing painter lines entirely. They're not hard to put on--strapping the boat on is the more time-consuming part by far.
Fortunately, I almost always trailer my kayak, and for that I don't use painter lines. Running low and in the slipstream behind the truck, the boats just don't get as much wind buffeting as they do on a rooftop, AND I can always see them in my rearview mirror.
truck solution
I have a similar issue with bow-line angles when I put kayaks on the rack over my bed. I solved it by attaching a loop of webbing to the firewall. It pokes out from the back of the hood, near the windshield wipers. When I’m not using it it just disappears under the hood.
This makes for a much better angle from the bow, and also avoids a really really long bow line, which could be a boat-snapper if it came loose from the bumper.
McDonalds and garages
You need a front tie down not a rear one if you have good straps. The front tie down it to remind you that you have boats so you don’t drive under anything and ruin your rack and your vehicle roof.
or your garage door trim
(what can I say? I secure my kayak very, very well)
The OP…
doesn’t care what works on your (JackL’s) trucks, he’s asking about HIS BMW. Any rack system can fail, bow and stern tiedowns are very cheap insurance.
As Carlos Castaneda put it …
– Last Updated: Feb-16-11 10:25 AM EST –
and to paraphrase someone else's online post about it:
"One exercise [to heighten your awareness] is to drive in an area that has a very low ceiling, like a parking garage [with kayaks strapped on top of your vehicle], to be able to "feel" the roof tickling the top of your aura. It's a subtle feeling, and you have to pay attention. It's not like your body feels a sensation, it's something else. "
Yup, something entirely "else" - the cockpit coaming scraping against the garage door -;(
LOL!
So THAT’S what that gouging noise was (my aura getting tickled!)
The OP can do what he pleases
just as I can post what I please.
It is always enjoyable to stir the likes of you up.
jack L
"The OP can do what he pleases"
That sounds like great advice!
Perhaps he really didn’t want an intelligent answer, he just wanted to hear YOUR anti-tiedown rant???
Right…
– Last Updated: Feb-16-11 4:15 PM EST –
Both Audi and BMW have tow points. If you look on your front and rear bumpers, you'll find square pop-outs and inside them a screw hole for the Giant Eye Bolt that came with your car.
As stated, you will need to buy another, either from your BMW dealership or from an on-line BMW parts shop; there are tons of them. I use www.bavauto.com, which is in NH and close by.
We always (unless we're driving
I make hood-loops
that are bolted tothe frame under the hood.
Why?
Because at 75mph, that headwind wants to push my boat off the roof and when I slam on the brakes, the boat wants to keep going forward.
And the highway patrol guy looking for a last ticket or in a bad mood can interpret ‘improperly tied-down load’ anyway he wants!