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!
In formal and correct use of the terms…
…, “persons” would be used. I still remember when I was a very young kid and heard Walter Cronkite or Chet Huntley refer to the casualties of a tornado or other distaster as “persons” and thought surely that must be a mistake in grammar. Of course they were right, and nowadsys when a big-name TV news reporter uses the word “persons” when referring to those affected by some event I don’t even notice, and I’m sure that I’d have not ever “re-remembered” that if not for this subject coming up.
Why dont you buy a trailer?
No paint worries - just install a hitch if it can pull a trailer.
We will never travel without bow and stern lines - Even if you are not so concerned about damage to your boats, if they fly off - you “absolutely” need to be concerned about the other drivers around you on the road. This is not to be taken lightly. It can Kill.
Roof racks may look sturdy - how are they attached? a few small attachment points with sometimes severe wind forces? This is a very real concern as “racks” with boats attached can fly off. As can boats from their cradles. A few ropes takes only a few minutes once you have it figured out where to attach and we have always found spots on various vehicles. We even use bow and stern lines when we put ours on the trailer for the same reason - protecting the other drivers - that’s the most important reason, next to protecting your investments in boats.
Achieving opposing angles
– Last Updated: Feb-16-11 5:07 PM EST –
I'm glad to see someone else recognize the need for this. Talking canoes for a moment, the usual bow and stern line set up would be /-----/ (with the dashes being your car, and the front of the car being on the left). However, simply by installing your rear tie-downs to a thwart instead of to the pointy end of the boat you can achieve /------\. The same could surely be done with a kayak. One could make padded hooks to attach the rear tie-downs to the cockpit rim, or simply attach the rear tie-downs to a loop of rope surrounding the hull behind the cockpit, as long as a seperate rope were provided which connected that loop to either the cockpit rim or the bow handle of the boat to prevent the loop from sliding back toward the stern. In any case, the solution would be easy if on put their mind to it.
Not too worried
On the boats we have, both plastic and fiberglass, the bow and stern lines get attached to the 1/4" loop of polyester line that goes right through the boat, about 2-inches back from the ends of the boat. That line is rated to about 1500 pounds, and the hole it runs through is as strong as the boat itself. I don’t think those attachment points could get any stronger, at least on our boats.
This may be different on different designs of boats.
Ha!
That is friggin hilarious. Just last Saturday I drove into a low ceiling parking garage with a new Atlantis Thule box on my roof. There was less than a foot to spare and I cringed as I drove in and said to my wife, “Ow! I can FEEL that.”