I think we have a good experience base here on the list. Has anyone EVER experienced strap failure? All of life's activities are fraught with risk. I always wear a seat belt, but I don't use two. I inspect my straps before each use and I tie them in such a way that if the buckle fails, the straps won't loosen up. As for from and rear straps, I don't feel the need to use them on my current vehicle, since I have lots of space between bars, and I tie the boats off center with more boat off the rear bars. If I were going on a full day's drive I might use front and rear straps, but the inconvenience outweighs the risk. Were my racks not as secure, I might reconsider. cya > -----Original Message----- > From: owner-paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net > [mailto:owner-paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net]On Behalf Of > Johnlebl_at_aol.com > Sent: Wednesday, November 25, 1998 9:03 PM > To: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net > Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Roof Racks > > > In a message dated 11/25/1998 9:22:15 AM EST, > cramer_at_coe.uga.edu writes: > > << Front and rear straps as in from the bow and stern toggles to the > bumper? I think that's an excellent idea. >> > > I have been cartopping boats first with my dad as a kid and > then on my own for > the better part of fifty years. We used the old fashioned > suction cup wooden > carriers, then some home made jobs adn now Yakima. > > It is totally inconceivable to me that anyone wouldfasten a > boat atop a > vehicle without tieing the bow and stern securely. The > posibility of total > destruction of your prized water craft plus the enormous > liability you expose > yourself to should you experience strap failure is enough to > make any normal > thinking individual take just a little extra effort in > securing the load. > > Also, how many of you use double straps? Do you think that > you are exempt > from strap failure? A second strap across the craft takes > only minutes to > apply and the cost is minimal. The assurance provided is comforting. > > Not said tritely, "anounce of prevention is worth a pound of > cure", only this > is measured in dollars, thousands of dollars. > > JOhn > ************************************************************** > ************* > PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List > Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net > Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net > Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ > ************************************************************** > ************* > *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
Bob Denton wrote: > > I think we have a good experience base here on the list. Has anyone EVER > experienced strap failure? Not in seven years of heavy use of Yakima TLC saddles (and the straps which come with them). Do not habitually tie the front or rear of my yaks to the bumper, either, except on very long hauls. (Yeah, I know this is not as safe as I "could" be.) However, one day, one of the push-on nuts which holds the nether end of the TLC strap to the cradle came loose, and the pin (and strap) came off in my hand as I was putting the cradles away. Shook me up, and I replaced the pin with a bolt and a nut with real threads. I think the weak point on the straps is the cam/roller which holds the free end. The stitching is probably bombproof (climbers use stitched runners, eschewing knots), but the cam/roller mechanism wears, and if the pin slips out, then the strap is completely loose. Hoary story: as a 17-year-old, I watched my buddies' two surfboards flip off the roof at 50 mph on old Hwy 101 down near La Jolla, CA. Cars behind us were jinking like fighters in flak, and the boards were flip-flying just like a popsicle stick does! Casualties: two dings in one board, and one skeg on the other. No damage to vehicles or people. They went surfing anyway! -- Dave Kruger Astoria, OR *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
> Bob Denton wrote: > > > > I think we have a good experience base here on the list. Has anyone EVER > > experienced strap failure? I have never had strap failure but I also use front and back bumper ties. And I don't completely trust the cam buckles on the rack straps and therefore tie several half hitches after snugging up the buckle strap. This is just in case the spring fails on the buckle...at least the knots should hold awhile. I know it is a pain in the tush to tie the front and back bumper straps but it is a smart thing to do. I have a setup I bought in a RV shop that consists of webbing straps with hooks and an adjustable cam buckle. My straps are wearing out and tearing and so I will have to restring the contraption with new webbing straps. The only failure or near failure I have ever had was with my Thule bars. I was carrying a couple of hardshells sea kayaks on the roof on a trip from NYC to Maine. Since I was removing the roofrack between trips (I park on city streets), I probably hadn't tighten the bars sufficiently to their towers (roof-gutter mounted) when I set up the rack at the start of the trip. At about the Maine border, I stopped for a break and did my usual checking of the cartopping situation. One bar was within a hair of coming completely out of one of the towers. Another couple of miles of driving and it would have come apart. Since the straps were tied around the towers and bars, they would have come loose too. My guess is that, given that I had the front and rear bumper tie-downs, I would not have had those hardshells flying down the highway but the end of the bar may have dented my roof-top some. Bumper ties are a must. On another occasion, I was cartopping a bunch of boats (3 sea kayaks and one whitewater boat) locally on a city parkway after a trip without bumper ties. It was late when we got off the water and I let our supposedly trusted local kayak instructor tie one side of the setup. As we drove down the parkway along the Harlem River, I could see the shadow of the boats alongside me and thought to myself about the optical illusion that highway lights can create with shadows. I said to myself "It looks like one of the boats is hanging out sideways." Sure enough, I looked up and indeed the front end of the whitewater boat had come completely loose and was now almost perpendicular to our line of travel and just missing hitting center island light posts by inches. I was in the extreme left lane and made a mad turn across lanes to the right shoulder cutting off some taxis in the process (NYC taxi drivers must now think kayakers are r-e-a-l-l-y crazy drivers! :-)). Seems that instructor type was as tired as we all were and had completely forgotten to tie the front rack strap on the WW kayak! If it had been a longer sea kayak, what a mess it would have been for all the boats on the roof!!! I guess both near accidents were not mechanical failure but human failure. I don't know if that counts but it should :-). ralph diaz -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Ralph Diaz . . . Folding Kayaker newsletter PO Box 0754, New York, NY 10024 Tel: 212-724-5069; E-mail: rdiaz_at_ix.netcom.com "Where's your sea kayak?"----"It's in the bag." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
I've seen straps fail twice. One of the top tier of a trailer going over the Bucksport Bridge in ME (nylon strap that got we and loosened). A P&H Ice Floe was "launched" down the road. No-one hit, minor gelcoat damage. Second, a brand new NRS strap loaned to someone. Strap broke in the back and they noticed the boat swinging down beside the truck. I got the strap back and it was torn (the truck had a cap with ladder racks on it and I *guess* the strap rubbed aganist the support). I've hauled as many as 5 sea kayaks in Yak Saddles from ME to FL and only had to tighten a strap or two the entire trip. I don't use bow and stern tethers. I do throw a security strap around the load. rdiaz_at_ix.netcom.com wrote: > > > Bob Denton wrote: > > > > > > I think we have a good experience base here on the list. Has anyone EVER > > > experienced strap failure? > > I have never had strap failure but I also use front and back bumper > ties. And I don't completely trust the cam buckles on the rack straps > and therefore tie several half hitches after snugging up the buckle > strap. This is just in case the spring fails on the buckle...at least > the knots should hold awhile. > > I know it is a pain in the tush to tie the front and back bumper straps > but it is a smart thing to do. I have a setup I bought in a RV shop > that consists of webbing straps with hooks and an adjustable cam > buckle. My straps are wearing out and tearing and so I will have to > restring the contraption with new webbing straps. > > The only failure or near failure I have ever had was with my Thule bars. > I was carrying a couple of hardshells sea kayaks on the roof on a trip > from NYC to Maine. Since I was removing the roofrack between trips (I > park on city streets), I probably hadn't tighten the bars sufficiently > to their towers (roof-gutter mounted) when I set up the rack at the > start of the trip. At about the Maine border, I stopped for a break and > did my usual checking of the cartopping situation. One bar was within a > hair of coming completely out of one of the towers. Another couple of > miles of driving and it would have come apart. Since the straps were > tied around the towers and bars, they would have come loose too. My > guess is that, given that I had the front and rear bumper tie-downs, I > would not have had those hardshells flying down the highway but the end > of the bar may have dented my roof-top some. > > Bumper ties are a must. On another occasion, I was cartopping a bunch > of boats (3 sea kayaks and one whitewater boat) locally on a city > parkway after a trip without bumper ties. It was late when we got off > the water and I let our supposedly trusted local kayak instructor tie > one side of the setup. As we drove down the parkway along the Harlem > River, I could see the shadow of the boats alongside me and thought to > myself about the optical illusion that highway lights can create with > shadows. I said to myself "It looks like one of the boats is hanging > out sideways." Sure enough, I looked up and indeed the front end of the > whitewater boat had come completely loose and was now almost > perpendicular to our line of travel and just missing hitting center > island light posts by inches. I was in the extreme left lane and made a > mad turn across lanes to the right shoulder cutting off some taxis in > the process (NYC taxi drivers must now think kayakers are r-e-a-l-l-y > crazy drivers! :-)). Seems that instructor type was as tired as we all > were and had completely forgotten to tie the front rack strap on the WW > kayak! If it had been a longer sea kayak, what a mess it would have > been for all the boats on the roof!!! > > I guess both near accidents were not mechanical failure but human > failure. I don't know if that counts but it should :-). > > ralph diaz > -- > ----------------------------------------------------------------------- > Ralph Diaz . . . Folding Kayaker newsletter > PO Box 0754, New York, NY 10024 > Tel: 212-724-5069; E-mail: rdiaz_at_ix.netcom.com > "Where's your sea kayak?"----"It's in the bag." > ----------------------------------------------------------------------- > > *************************************************************************** > PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List > Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net > Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net > Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ > *************************************************************************** -- Mike Hughes Virginia USMC 65-68 "For those who fight for it, life has a flavor the protected never know." Mailto:mike.hughes_at_pressroom.com *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
At 10:16 AM 11/27/98 -0500, Bob Denton wrote: >I think we have a good experience base here on the list. Has anyone EVER >experienced strap failure? All of life's activities are fraught with risk. I >always wear a seat belt, but I don't use two. I inspect my straps before >each use and I tie them in such a way that if the buckle fails, the straps >won't loosen up. > >As for from and rear straps, I don't feel the need to use them on my current >vehicle, since I have lots of space between bars, and I tie the boats off >center with more boat off the rear bars. If I were going on a full day's >drive I might use front and rear straps, but the inconvenience outweighs the >risk. > >Were my racks not as secure, I might reconsider. > >cya Bob Last year going to Captiva Symp. I checked my straps often during the five hour drive. When I got to the camp ground and went to unload my boat the front strap was chafed thru except for a few threads. That is the only time I have had a problem. I use a strap on the front and back rack and never tie the bow and stern. This is the only time I had a problem out of many miles of travel. Dana *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
On Fri, 27 Nov 1998, Bob Denton wrote: > I think we have a good experience base here on the list. Has anyone EVER > experienced strap failure? Make sure you check your straps periodically and replace them. I replace my straps about every 300 days of use. I've had straps that you could pull apart from UV deterioration, they looked fine but with a strong pull I could rip them. I've also had straps badly fray from vibration against something I was carrying, the most damage coming from the seam in a sailboard. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
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