I would tell them RavenWing’s sad story
At least, try to make them think that the unthinkable CAN happen. Who would’ve imagined decapitation?
Bow line
I always use a bow line simply because it is easy to set up and use and it provides a bit of redundancy to the system. This is one of those things that doesn’t cost me much in time and effort, but which may provide a degree of safety to both myself and others.
The over-designed rack I use seems like it will last forever, but it has plastic and rubber parts that I know COULD fail over time. They may not even show sufficient wear for me to know when or if they will (many modern materials look fine up until they fail catastrophicly). Even the steel bars may fail, since time degrades metal. Perhaps none of these parts will fail in my lifetime, but I can’t assume this.
Worse, I can’t see if there is rust compromising the bar (end caps and rubber coating on the metal hide this information from me), so I hope a bow line may give me time to react should something go wrong.
There is no reward for using a bow line, it is just something I do because the potential damage of a boat dropped on the freeway could be catastrophic to the property or life of others.
To make it easier to apply, I’ve made a Y shaped line of the proper length that is connected with carabiners. It attaches to frame of the car and only takes seconds to attach. I inspect this rig and replace worn line and parts reguarly. I have no idea if it’s ever provided any real benefit, but I do it just to ensure that a rack failure doesn’t do more than damage the boats.
Rick
What I Do
For long and even short trips I tie all four points of the boat cause a lot of my trips involve highways. Why? Because it makes me feel better that I have safely rigged my hull to my car. I don’t want to risk loosing a boat to being lazy enough not to tie it down, I’m a poor guy who has worked hard to get my boats and don’t want to loose them and I certainly don’t want to risk anyone else sharing the road with me. I stop and check my lines often as well. It is just what I do.
I have seen numerous cars with canoes, kayaks, jonboats rigged in the most bizarre ways and do what I can to pass them, they scare me.
Also, my rule of thumb is if you are shuttling on my racks then you tie it down. Everyone seems to have their own way of securing their boats and I’m not going to take responsibility for a tie down when they are standing right there and have quite often told them to do just that. But a bow and stern line are always attached regardless. It’s my rule.
For the record I have hauled boats to New Brunswick, Maine, VT, NY, PA and Ontario on numerous occasions so I’m not a novice.
dougd
Crazy
– Last Updated: Jul-28-13 2:10 PM EST –
Wind cannot, will not, EVER, cause a rope to become untied. In fact, bow lines arranged in an inverted "V" do quite a bit to stabilize the boat against being pushed sideways by the wind. If you tie knots that badly that you actually BELIEVE that strong wind will make the line come loose, what good could these tie-downs possibly do in the first place, and how can you trust any of your lines to hold anything?
This is just beyond stupid. It's like saying one should remove the guy lines from a radio tower if that tower happens to be in a windy place. Good Grief.
Lines coming loose
This is really an entirely different issue. If a line comes loose, anywhere, for any reason, it boils down to incompetence on the part of the person who tied it. A proper knot with proper rope, each chosen to match the use, will not ever come untied. Period. The fact that so many people seem to think knots can’t always be trusted is just a sad reflection of how many there are who either can’t tie knots or don’t understand practical application/arrangement of their tie-downs, or both.
Hey Waterbird…
You better never arrange a shuttle with an outfitter.
You’ll end up walking as your boat rides.
Guy
Responsibilty
If your main interest is “responsibility to others”(safety), it follows that those responses detailing effective means other than bow and stern lines to meet that responsibility and/or other significant issues to safety are valid responses.
Or you could have put in your OP that you only wanted responses from those who are convinced that bow and stern lines are the only responsible and safe method to secure boats.
But I’ll be in good company
so that’s okay.
correct answer
More regular cyclists wear helmets than do not.
my bad, jackl
I would double-check their rack and
– Last Updated: Jul-29-13 10:48 AM EST –
straps, and if I was confident that correctly installed rack and straps were adequate to keep the boat on the car, I'd hop in.
If your rack and straps are not secured and well-maintained, you can keep adding secondary safety measures. Hell - shrinkwrap the boat to the cartop if you want. Put airbags on either end of the boat.
Or...tighten your rack connections and straps.
hmmmm
I use bow and stern lines if going any real distance. However I live a minute from the water and never travel over 30 mph and never use bow and stern lines in those cases.
I do use top-qual straps secured THROUGH the handles of the kayak and THROUGH the inside of my vehicle.
My kayak does not move an inch no matter what wind hits it.
I have seen some absolutely nightmarish rig jobs on the highway though. Saw one this weekend I wish I could have taken a pic of…Full size canoe on a minivan, tied down with what appeared to be twine!!!
Don’t bother, she…
doesn’t care about your opinion since you don’t recognize bow and stern lines as the only responsible way to assure the safety of those around you.
what if they had bow and stern lines…
…but no catalytic converter?
…or drove a car with no airbags?
…or insisted in driving while on the phone?
so since a "rack failure"
is most often a result of inadequate attention - checking and tightening fittings, tying and checking knots, and tightening line - aren’t bow and stern lines sorta a moot point for these people?
I have never had a strap failure
We even doubled up a strap once to tow a car.
Rarely use…
Bow and stern lines on my kayaks, and can’t use them on my surf ski. My canoe, yes, always because of the shape of the hull.
I have a routine that I do each and every time I load my boats on the rack. Before I load, I grab both bars of my Yakima system and give them a good tug. This confirms to me that the bars are secure and the rails are as well. Then I load the boat. I take the straps and run them through my fingers to make sure there are no nicks, cuts or any damage, If there is, they are history and I’ll break out a new strap. When I strap the boat down, each strap lays smoothly across the hull, no twists are acceptable. after I run the strap through the cam, I give it a good tug and then tie a knot in the strap that goes up against the cam. Loose ends are bundled up and shoved with difficulty between the straps where they overlap.
On long trips, I stop regularly to make sure all the straps are in order and include my locking cables that go around the bars as well as the factory bars.
I also strap the boat (kayak) in such a way that if it slipped forward of backward (unlikely) that the curvature of the boat and the cockpit rim would impede that slippage.
I’ve driven thousands of miles without any issues whatsoever.
That being said, I’ve seen some terrible methods of strapping and tying down boats and will quickly pass them.
oh lord
I could do this all day.
How many parachutes do you take sky diving.
Why don’t airlines have parachuted for passengers?
Why don’t all lawnmowers have roll bars and seat belts.
Why do we still sell cigarettes?
Swimming pools should only be three feet deep.
Why don’t cars have two brake, throttle, and steering systems, or all run flat tires.
Ryan L.
And…
All cell phones should be in an inaccessible lock box during all shuttles to ensure the driver is not distracted.
Good heavens Andy !
You have ruined the OP’s post and do what thousands of other safe boat haulers do.
jack L