Wayne Smith wrote: >I have never seen the logic of the "bow and stern" lines, as most people use >them. I use two bow lines and two stern lines for a single kayak on my Yakima tower system on my Toyota sedan. I can see the lines clearly while I'm driving, so if there is any shift on the rack, I can detect it immediately, which gives me peace of mind if nothing else. I have heard stories of racks flying off on freeways and although I have faith in my rack system I have had metal things fail for no predictable reason, and there is always the possibility that since I remove and reinstall the rack each time I use it, I might miss something or forget to strap the kayak on after a long day on the water. There is considerable lift on the bow during highway speeds and the bow lines pick up this load rather than the front of the rack being lifted. When I first travelled with the rack and lines, I had the kayak too far forward and I could immediately sense the side torque in the lines when I hit a side wind, so the lines do help in finding the right balance so the rack isn't taking up that load as well. The lines do nothing for reducing torsion on the rack risers due to fore and aft accelleration, where as Wayne's system of tying down might help some if it were properly tensioned. I haven't considered this a weak point in my system however, short of a collision. I have convienent tie down attachments under my bumpers on each side, so that is the only place to tie to unless I started drilling holes in the car. So, that's my logic. Al Gunther, Kingston, WA <---- 47° 48.1'N, 122° 30.0'W *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Fri Apr 20 2001 - 10:39:55 PDT
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