RE: [Paddlewise] Bow lines and racks

 -----Original Message-----
From: patrick.maun_at_duffy.com [mailto:patrick.maun_at_duffy.com]
Sent: Monday, June 22, 1998 11:19 AM
To: Chuck Holst; paddlewise
Subject: RE: [Paddlewise] Bow lines and racks


CHUCK wrote:
.....
>My biggest complaint about Yakima racks is that the metal parts don't
>stand up well to corrosion, especially here in Minnesota where the roads
>are salted every winter.

I'll back that up. I recently had to move my rack from my old car (rain
gutter),
to my new car (Q Tower). I actually had to cut the plastic caps off the   rack
and cut the cores out. The pipes are rusted throughout the inside. I was
surprised at how extensive the corrosion was. I had both the endcaps
 that come with the rack, and the caps that come with the paddle strap-on
system.
The paddle caps faired much better, I still had the rust. I will probably   get
some new piping next year and will silicon them.
 -Patrick

**************************************************************************  *

I sealed the ends of an older set of bars, but I left the new ones open
because I was experimenting with adding an extension for side loading.
What I found before was that silicone seal did not work well because
changes in pressure (from solar heating, subzero nights, and atmospheric
changes) caused the plug to loosen. Shoe Goo works quite well, however.
It helps to stick a cotton ball down the tube first. Don't glue the end
plugs on if you might ever want to remove the bars from the towers! It
is also important to paint the ends of the bars where any bright (or
rusty) metal shows.

The new end plugs do seem to work better than the old caps. I suspect
that most of the rust in the bars is caused by the afore-mentioned
changes in pressure sucking moisture inside, rather than by rain or
spray.

To mount my homemade saddles to the Yakima bar I used carriage bolts
and Yakima accessory clips. After I had to cut through one rusted bolt
in order to remove the saddles, I went out and spent $12 on a set of
stainless steel replacement bolts and nuts -- well worth it at the
price.

BTW, it will probably be a while before the car body is repaired.
Because of a widespread hailstorm last month, some body shops are
backed up into next year!

Chuck Holst



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