In a message dated 11/27/98 2:04:04 PM Eastern Standard Time, BDenton_at_aquagulf.com writes: << I guess many years of flying have made me careful on my "preflight" which includes manually testing all the towers and straps for any sign of movement and checking the straps prior to use. I also tie up the ends in the event of a buckle failure. >> As a pilot, I second Bob's sentiment. And as a pilot, I can state definitively that I have never been killed in a plane crash; I cannot attribute this enviable record to the fact that I always looked for stuff nobody else would look for on a pre-flight, but I can't say it's <not> why I'm still alive, either. An earlier comment --- which I've lost --- was made about front and rear straps being <expensive insurance> in terms of time, given the likely payoff. Okay, there's a good argument if you're an actuary. Crummy if you're a pilot --- or if you're piloting an SUV around with two $2500 fiberglass ballistic missiles on top of your landcraft, too. There, the loss of the "missiles", in and of itself, is a pretty high price to face paying --- however unlikely it is that they'll become airborne on their own. But toss in the chance that they'll go through the windscreens of the two cars behind you when --- okay, if --- they ever came off, and the negative payoff gets really interesting! My way around this is that I always tie down my boats, forward and aft, but I've made it very easy --- "cheap" in terms of time --- to do so. I've rigged eyebolts forward and aft under the bumpers --- took a little time, but not much. I have a tubular nylon strap aft, 'biner type hardware store fittings on each end, adjusted with a cam buckle. Takes less than ten seconds to rig. Similar deal forward, but I don't use the tubular strap above the bumper --- just a good piece of five mil mountaineering line in an adjustable hitch through the forward lifting loop. Probably takes 20 seconds to rig. Make it easy, make it automatic, and the "premium" is pretty cheap. Payoff is usually non-existent --- just like non-crashing and non-dying. But it's worth it to me. Jack Martin *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************Received on Fri Nov 27 1998 - 12:09:06 PST
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