I drove out to the Nueces River boat ramp under Interstate 37 to meet a group going out for a night paddle. I got there a little after dark (about 15 min before the suggested meeting time) and parked right by the ramp. There was one truck with an empty boat trailer parked about 20 yards away, but otherwise I was all alone. This area has been a haven for transients and the sight of some drug activity in the past so I was a little uncomfortable sitting there alone in the dark. I waited for about 45 minutes and still no one showed up. Just then I heard a power boat approaching from downstream. They hit the ramp with a beam from their spotlight and slowly pulled up to let one passenger out to go get the truck and trailer. I think they were a little surprised to see someone walk out of the dark towards them. I actually ended up helping them get the boat loaded on their trailer. As they were starting to leave I decided I should take off too. I called and left a brief message for one of the group letting them know I had been there but was heading back home. I was a little upset about driving some 30 miles and sitting in the dark for over an hour without getting to paddle. About halfway home I got a call back from the person with whom I had left the message. She informed me that there had been an accident on the way out to the ramp. One of the 4 kayaks on the trailer had come loose and landed on the road. It was a Hurricane Phoenix 140, a TRYLON (ABS/MMA) sit-on-top. TRYLON is one of those new thermoformed plastics being used in some kayaks. No one saw it come loose, but the straps where still in place and still had their loops in tact so in must have slipped out under at least one of the straps. It was on hully rollers in the front and some type of saddle on the rear. There were not any bow or stern tie down ropes. No one was hurt, but the kayak was completely destroyed. Upon hearing this there was no way that I could be upset about being left out alone in the dark. I know what some of you are thinking. If this had been a polyethylene kayak it would just have bounced down the road and might have even bounced itself right back on the trailer. If it was a British heavy it would have just gone down the road grinding down a groove into the asphalt until it came to a stop unharmed. In this case I do not think the material or the layup would have made a lot of difference. When the kayak came off it bounced into the other lane of the road and was run over by a bus. My friend said they could actually see tire marks on some of the pieces. I think it is safe to say that not even a British heavy would have survived the onslaught of that bus. On a serious note I would like to point out a couple of things which might be useful to others. The owner of the trailer had never carried this kayak or any sit-on-top kayak on her trailer. If you are carrying a different type of kayak or using a different type of saddle than normal I would suggest stopping a couple of times after short driving intervals to check to see if anything unexpected is happening to your tie-down system. If you strap a sit-on-top down such that the straps cross over the open cockpit section you do not have much surface area for the straps to bite down on. You only get contact at the gunnels and that may not be enough to keep the kayak from slipping. With sit-on-tops you might be better off carrying them upside down on just a padded bar so you get a good contact area for the straps. Many sit-on-tops have a flat profile such that it is easier for the kayak to slip forward or backward under the straps than with a touring kayak where the cockpit rim or the rise from the front deck up to the front of the cockpit helps keep the kayak from sliding. In this case bow and stern tie-downs (or some method of preventing slipping) are critical. I hope none of you ever have to write a report about one of your kayaks coming off a rack or trailer. Mark J. Arnold *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
> I hope none of you ever have to write a report about one of your kayaks > coming off a rack or trailer. The scariest thing I ever saw was when I was living in Sitka. A guy was driving down the road with an aliumium canoe on top of his car. The canoe came loose and went air borne and flew into the wind sheild of a bread truck! The picture showed the canoe sticking half way into the truck. Lucky for the driver it hit the passenger's side. The next time I went paddling I tighten my straps so tight the kayak screamed. Bob *************************************************************************** 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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