I've been very happy with the "ultimate" safety lines I made by swaging small loops onto the ends of 1/8" stainless, vinyl coated lifelines. I'm able to loop the bottom end around my car or van frame inside the engine compartment (but not near the engine) so that the cable comes out neatly between opportune gaps around the hood. Each vehicle is different. But because my cables are custom fitted to each vehicle, they don't have to be too tight yet they certainly won't loosen or stretch. And they have enough horizontal play at the top so that I can use them with any of my boats on each vehicle. I fasten the boat end to stainless lifeline carrying loops I refitted on boats with a marine combination lock, so the stainless cables and loops also serve to discourage theft as well. Swaging tools are provided for free use at West Marine stores that also sell the lifelines or they can be purchased starting at about $25. -- Al Vazquez KayakGuide.com tm the Place to Share Kayaking & Canoeing tm Bob Volin wrote: > Adrian, > Be sure not to tighten the bow/stern lines, and certainly don't > overtighten them. Bumps in the road and turbulance from passing trucks and > cars will create stresses on the boat. These are normally tolerated as > kayaks normally flex (to various degrees, depending on design and > materials). But tight b/s lines can create additional stress that may > generate cracks in gelcoat. > > Just a little slack in the b/s lines allows for normal flex but still > provides the extra insurance against the flying boat syndrome. > > Bob V *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
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