If you drive around with the roof rack or anything else on the top of the
car you'll use more fuel. I even keep the boat tied low to the roof to
reduce drag. My roof rack consists of two pieces of rolled up carpet. In
this case the strap actually holds the boat to the car, not to the rack.

I would not pull the front of the canoe down 6" and tie it off as described.
It might crack or distort some canoes. I'd just make sure it was tied on
snug.

I use only the straps to drive along residential streets over to the
river, 1 mile away, speed limit 35 mph, but tie the ends down when going
further and faster.

When tying down the ends each is tied with a 12 foot length of 1//4 inch
rope. One end is tied to one end of the bumper (actually to the ring under
the bumper they used to tie the car down on the boat from Asia where it
was made) with a bowline knot, passed up and through the ring on the bow
of the boat, then down to the other bumper ring where it is snugged up
with a trucker's hitch. Same on the back. When the boat comes off the roof
of the car the two lines are tied to the ends as painters.

There are photos on my website under "Boats" (Dogskiff, Loonie, Delta).


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in article , William R. Watt at
wrote on 1/11/05 7:09 PM:


If you drive around with the roof rack or anything else on the top of the
car you'll use more fuel.

Our van did not come with a roof rack, so we had one installed. When not in
use, everything comes off except for four small brackets. Not only does it
mean no wasted fuel, but you don't have the various noises resulting from
the wind resisitance.

On 11-Jan-2005, (William R. Watt) wrote:

I use only the straps to drive along residential streets over to the
river, 1 mile away, speed limit 35 mph, but tie the ends down when going
further and faster.

If you're driving in Ontario, then that's in violation of the highway code.
If a load extends beyond the vehicle, you have to tie down the ends.

Mike

"William R. Watt" wrote in message
...

When tying down the ends each is tied with a 12 foot length of 1//4 inch
rope. One end is tied to one end of the bumper (actually to the ring under
the bumper they used to tie the car down on the boat from Asia where it
was made) with a bowline knot, passed up and through the ring on the bow
of the boat, then down to the other bumper ring where it is snugged up
with a trucker's hitch.

I found that, unless I actually tied off at the bow ring of the boat, the
boat was free to slide back and forth along the rope. I tie off at the bow
ring with a bowline, run the line down to one end of the bumper, through
that tie down point, across to the other end, then back up to the bow.

--riverman

riverman wrote:

I found that, unless I actually tied off at the bow ring of the boat,
the
boat was free to slide back and forth along the rope. I tie off at
the bow
ring with a bowline, run the line down to one end of the bumper,
through
that tie down point, across to the other end, then back up to the
bow.

And then when you tie the stern probably the best way is with a
trucker's hitch. The coolest knot ever. Be careful though, you can
break stuff with a trucker's hitch by tightening it too much. It's like
using a pulley.

wrote in message
oups.com...

riverman wrote:

I found that, unless I actually tied off at the bow ring of the boat,
the
boat was free to slide back and forth along the rope. I tie off at
the bow
ring with a bowline, run the line down to one end of the bumper,
through
that tie down point, across to the other end, then back up to the
bow.

And then when you tie the stern probably the best way is with a
trucker's hitch. The coolest knot ever. Be careful though, you can
break stuff with a trucker's hitch by tightening it too much. It's like
using a pulley.


Correctamundo on all four points. :-)

--riverman

I can speak from experience. It was only a three hour cruise... er make
that a three minute transport from shore to storage. I was tired and
only tied on with lines over the hull. At first stop, I was horrified
to see my kayak launch out over the hood of my van, like a bar of soap
coming out of your wet hands.

The Overflow luckily is used, plenty of scratches, and 40 ft of sliding
on asphalt did not hurt it any. The thought of causing a serious
accident did get my attention! However the worst was having to get out
and pickup the pieces and put it all back together, with all those
other folks pointing their finger, and gauking at me! They had a good
laugh!

Be sure and use the bow and stern lines, :-() Sheepish me, TnT

Just and add-on to my previous post, cause it shows my warp!

When I first read this topic, I read it as " How do you get 16 canoes
on top of a Corolla."

Like " How many shrinks does it take to change a light bulb....."

Having had a Corolla in the past, I had a strange vision. Hopefully
some of the canoes would nest inside of each other. Then use lots of
rope, and look out for low bridges, branches, and DQ shelters, on the
way to the putin.

But then I wondered how you would get enough folks in a Carolla to
paddle 16 canoes, which is a whole nother subject. :-) TnT

On 17-Jan-2005, "Tinkerntom" wrote:

When I first read this topic, I read it as " How do you get 16 canoes
on top of a Corolla."

Bill Mason, who was less than enthusiastic about four-wheel drives,
had a Corolla at one time. He has a photo of it in "Path of the
PAddle' (or "song of..") with five WW canoes on it. That's
about 400 lb of canoes!

Mike

I've been carrying kayaks (70# each loaded) and canoes on top of my Camry
for the 5 yrs I've owned it (well over 20,000 trip miles), boats upside down
(less noise), with a little shaped micocell foam padding on the Thule
crossbars to cushion and prevent abrasion. The thin metal roof has developed
a small wavy stress pattern about 10" out from where each rack connects,
probably from the high stress of multiple boats at highway speeds above 70
mph. It's hardly noticeable, but would impact the resale of the car to most
people.



Fore and aft lines are connected to the 2 front and rear under-bumper
tow-rings on the car's frame. I've tried 5/16" and 3/8" lines, and the 3/8"
are easier to find, lower cost and easier to handle. Each line is about
12.5' and has a snap D-ring on each end for easy on and off attachment to
the undercarriage; no flashlight required in the dark.



At first, I used nylon line, but in Texas heat, it stretches so much on a
long trip, that frequent retying was necessary. Replaced the nylon with
braided Dacron line last August, and now there is no retying required.



The racks are easy to remove and replace, and I do this often.



See you on the water,

V-



"Tinkerntom" wrote in message
oups.com...
I can speak from experience. It was only a three hour cruise... er make
that a three minute transport from shore to storage. I was tired and
only tied on with lines over the hull. At first stop, I was horrified
to see my kayak launch out over the hood of my van, like a bar of soap
coming out of your wet hands.

The Overflow luckily is used, plenty of scratches, and 40 ft of sliding
on asphalt did not hurt it any. The thought of causing a serious
accident did get my attention! However the worst was having to get out
and pickup the pieces and put it all back together, with all those
other folks pointing their finger, and gauking at me! They had a good
laugh!

Be sure and use the bow and stern lines, :-() Sheepish me, TnT