Thank you! That is the best explanation I have seen on how/why to tie a boat
down. I have seen some nightmares out on the road. --- Some of them were
mine - I have worked it out to more or less what you describe, but it took
many tries and stops along the road to fix loose ropes to work out what you
have explained well in a few short posts..

Ken

"riverman" wrote in message
...

"Michael Daly" wrote in message
...
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.

Hi Mike. When the car is going straight with a direct headwind, it *is*
irrelevant. But having the boat far to the rear, as many people tend to do
instinctively when they center it over the cockpit of the car, gives you a
'sway' if you have a sidewind, or if you get a blast from a passing
tractor-trailer. If the canoe is centered, you only get a lean. It also
distributes the weight evenly on the car: otherwise you ride like you have
a
loaded rear end.


**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.

Yes, you are completely correct. 6" is an approximation of what I used
with
my boat, but your response shows that you perceive the situation clearly.
I
should have said 'enough tension to raise the stern of the canoe a small
amount, so that when you tie down the stern, it tightens the bow line
significantly."

--riverman

Mike