On 11-Jan-2005, "riverman" wrote:

Be sure, for aerodynamics, that the
canoe is centered over the wheels, not over the hood.

I'm trying to figure out why this should be so.

**This
line should be hauled tight enough to lift the stern of the canoe up off the
back roof rack about 6 inches.**

4) Go around back and tie a line from the back of the canoe down to the
center of the rear bumper. Haul down on this line. This should pull the
canoe back down onto the rear roof rack, and provide enough downward force
to 'lock it down' onto the roof racks, and 'lock down' the roof racks onto
the roof of your car.

The results of this arbitrary 6" lift will be highly dependent on the amount
of stretch in the line, on the distance between the rack crossbars and on
the type of canoe you're tying down. Stiff lines on a light canoe mounted on
closely spaced crossbars could break the hull while soft lines on a WW canoe
with widely spaced bars may have little effect.

Mike