I haven't seen mention of it, but has no one else had a problem with a bow or stern strap doing a number on the car's paint job? Back when I used foam blocks to carry my canoe on my truck, I *always* used a bow/stern strap and 1 strap through the cab. It was required to properly secure the canoe on my vehicle. When I started kayaking and hauling it around on foam pads, I also used the same tie down method as the canoe. The bow/stern straps provided very little in the way of holding the kayak to the truck, but did keep the kayak from twisting side to side. Not very much was required to keep the kayak from going forward or to the rear, and the heavy straps I used were certainly overkill. The bow strap also beat the heck out of the paint on the top front edge of my hood. The Yakima racks I now use are firmly attached. So much that when my kayak is strapped to them I'm certain that for the racks to come off, the roof must come with it. Each vehicle is different, and I've heard of racks coming loose before, but I'm fortunate to have a good set of steel rain gutters on both of my vehicles. Anyone who has watched me tie down my kayak knows I give a very strong pull on it when done to see if there is anything that might come loose. The kayak fits well in the saddles. Very little force is required to keep it in place. The front and rear rack straps are more than enough to keep the kayak firmly attached to the roof. Having properly secured the kayak, the question for me is, will it stay there if a strap fails? The rear strap failing means the kayak could work it's way to the rear and fall off at highway speeds. A failure of the front strap could mean launching a missile in a panic stop or crash. This assumes that the surviving strap didn't hang on any of the deck fittings as the kayak tried to slip through. Running both straps under the deck lines might also be a good idea, especially for longer trips. Because of the saddles the twisting problem I had with the foam blocks is not a issue, so any backup tie down method does not have to be limited to the bow/stern setup. I agree with the poster that stated the kayak doesn't present as much of an aerodynamic challenge as a canoe. Especially if you have a cockpit cover across the coaming. Each vehicle and kayak/canoe setup is different. The foremost question should not be whether you need a bow/stern strap, it should be "Is the load properly secured?" After this first question is answered, the next question is "What is my backup if this primary piece should fail?" For some/most, the answer might be bow/stern straps. For some, answering the first question may require adding bow/stern straps. YMMV. If you have the slightest lack of confidence in your method, it probably isn't secure. Woody *************************************************************************** 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 Mon Apr 19 1999 - 18:41:25 PDT
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