Re: [baidarka] transporting boats was ribbing progress

Kirk Olsen (kolsen@imagelan.com)
Wed, 6 May 1998 12:41:57 -0400 (EDT)

Date: Wed, 6 May 1998 12:41:57 -0400 (EDT)
From: Kirk Olsen <kolsen@imagelan.com>
To: baidarka <baidarka@lists.intelenet.net>
Subject: Re: [baidarka] transporting boats was ribbing progress
In-Reply-To: <354FCD81.A95@island.net>

On Tue, 5 May 1998, t simpson wrote:

> For carrying on a roof rack I use 2, 5/8" soft braided ropes , my roof
> racks are about 4.5' apart and to them each one rope is used, tightened
> just snug. The kayak is carried upside down and where it touches the
> roof rack, soft 3/8" closed cell foam is placed. Simple and secure.
> Haven't lost a kayak yet in 15 years. Do not attach ropes to the ends of
> the kayak for transporting. Some folks make a cradle out of wood lined
> with carpet and this works well, I did this for a while but found it
> overkill.

I've lost a couple of roof racks, with stuff attached off of cars. The
most dramatic was a 4 foot by 8 foot sheet of 1 inch plywood that lifted
off my girlfriends car with the roof racks and gutters still attached.
This occured on a six lane highway. Fortunately it didn't hit anyone.
One roof rack tower was destroyed when a truck ran over it. The plywood
was fine...

You might check how secure your roof rack is. My current roof rack is
attached via a pin that inserts into the frame of the car, for each rack
tower.

Also, check your ropes and straps for wear. I bought my father new
straps when I discovered he was using ones I could pull apart, they were
brittle from UV damage.

kirk