Re: [Paddlewise] Foam Block Canoe Carriers?

Thanks Kirk,

fortunately I have those roof rails on my car, from where I can tie two straps
around the canoe to make it really stay in place, and I use bow and stern lines.

So far this setup looks surprisingly well, even better than with roof
racks, because the canoe sits lower and it saves weight on the car. Also
the canoe hardly moves sideways anymore because it is firmly held in
place between these roof rails with two of these blocks. The distance
between the blocks is also considerable bigger than the distance
between the racks.
The only negative point I have found (so far) is that it takes more time
because of the carefully cleaning of the roof and the precise adjustments that
have to be made to set things really the way it should (or I want it :-).
For short daytrips I didn't like this. But for trips involving long days
of driving to the place you are going to paddle for a longer time,
I think the advantages can outweigh this minor disadvantage.
I only don't want to find out through experience that it can damage
my car because of abrasion of the blocks or something like that.
Or maybe much heat from sunlight can mean damage to the blocks?

Dirk Barends

>>Lately I have been thinking about using those special foam blocks for
>>carrying my canoe on my car. But the information I found about it,
>>has a tendency to sound negative about the use of it?
>>I wonder if there are people here on PW that have had really
>>negative experiences with this kind of transport.
>>I have used them 2 times now, and I find it very slow to put on
>>compared to roof racks, but once everything is set, I do not see any problems?
>>Perhaps there is a chance of damage on the car roof on the long run, perhaps?
>
>Long long ago, we cartopped a canoe on a friends car using those foam blocks.
>
>We drove about 4 hours at 60+ mph. I noticed the bow was slowly getting closer
>to the hood of the car. The way we had set it up, 2 bow lines, a belly
>strap and a single stern rope was not enough. The bow had pulled down
>enough to release
>pressure on the 2 rear pads. The 2 rear pads had slid all the way down the
>gunwales of the canoe to the back deckplate. I think the roof may have
>ended up
>being dented from the weight of the canoe balancing on the front 2 pads.
>
>If you do decide to use the foam blocks for a canoe use 4 tiedown ropes, 1
>to each corner of the car, all 4 ropes tied quite taut.
>
>Kirk


***************************************************************************
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/
***************************************************************************