RE: [Paddlewise] Bow Tie-Downs Revisited

-----Original Message-----
From:	John Blackburn [SMTP:digipixs_at_erols.com]

> I hope the Romanys came through without damage.

Thanks. The Romanys were above the point of impact, and because they stayed 
on the car, came through without damage.

> Given the description of the damage to his wagon, it seems that Chuck is, 
or
> maybe soon will be, in the market for a new kayak "carrier".  Maybe 
something
> that'll hold its own with a Cherokee?  ;-)

This actually was a serendipitous accident. I'd been thinking about 
replacing the old Accord wagon with a newer one. Accord wagons are hard to 
come by, but as it happened, the owner of a 1996 Accord wagon with 64,500 
miles on it (mine had 143,000) posted it for sale on a local kiosk the day 
before the accident. Linda and I looked at the posted Accord last night, 
and this morning I had it checked over by our local garage. It needs about 
$450 worth of normal maintenance (brakes, plugs, etc.), so the owner 
reduced the price $500. We'll probably close the deal when he gets back 
into town Friday. If the accident had happened a day or two later, I might 
have missed this good deal.

I don't like vehicles that require stepladders to get the kayaks on and off 
the roof.

It's official now: The damage done to the old car is more than the vehicle 
is worth, so it'll be hauled off to a junkyard. Now I won't have to replace 
the burned-out brake light or investigate the new oil leak.... It's an ill 
wind that blows nobody good. :-)

> <snip> From Chucks description of the accident it seems that the
> tower/car connection is the weak link, since three of the four towers 
separated
> from the car.  The only restraint I have on forward movement is connected 
to
> the cross bar.  This does not give me a warm and fuzzy feeling.  My 
existing
> bow and stern lines would limit the distance the kayak could move 
forward, but
> I'm thinking in terms of adding something like a line running from the 
bow to
> the rear fender.  Am I being too paranoid?

Bow and stern lines limit how far kayaks can move, and I think this is, if 
not ideal, still a very valuable service. Since I have never had the boats 
and rack part in an accident, I think lines running to the rack bars would 
work almost as well as one running to each end of each kayak. Remember, 
because I was rear-ended, an extra line running only to the rear fender or 
bumper would not have helped at all.

In an impact like this one, which I estimate was 25-40 mph relative, I 
doubt that any rack that wasn't bolted to the roof would have remained in 
place, and maybe not even then. Bolts can tear out of sheet metal, creating 
even worse damage. The clamp-on towers damaged little but the trim above 
the doors when they tore loose.

This was my second accident in which I was carrying a boat on the vehicle. 
The other time, I was carrying a We-no-nah canoe tied to a Yakima rack that 
had type A towers clamped to external gutters. A garbage truck backed into 
my Honda Civic at a stop light, knocking the canoe and rack off the car. By 
the time it stopped, the canoe was lying alongside the car, still tied to 
the rack and the front and rear of the car, and the steel roof gutters on 
the car were gouged where the rear towers had rocked backwards. Only one 
Yakima tower was broken that time.

Yakima makes some very sturdy products.

Just one more bit of good news: I've been out of work since January, and I 
was told today by my agent that I'm the top choice on a possible 
contracting job. So all things considered, I'm pretty cheerful today.

Chuck Holst

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