Padding on cross bars for canoe?

I'm thinking about using that clear vinyl tubing on the load bars, rather than the gunnels; I dislike extra bits and pieces of stuff for loading. My thought is to pad the bar with closed cell foam, and cover that with the vinyl for durability. Thing is, I load my canoe by getting the bow end over the rear bar, and then sliding forward into correct placement. Question is, would the tubing allow the rails (wood) to slide ok? Seems to be kind of a high friction material.

Stillwater's said:

I'm thinking about using that clear vinyl tubing on the load bars, rather than the gunnels; I dislike extra bits and pieces of stuff for loading. My thought is to pad the bar with closed cell foam, and cover that with the vinyl for durability. Thing is, I load my canoe by getting the bow end over the rear bar, and then sliding forward into correct placement. Question is, would the tubing allow the rails (wood) to slide ok? Seems to be kind of a high friction material.

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Never used the vinyl tubing on the entire cross bar. It may be too high friction to slide. I don't know what vehicle or racks you have, but can you load on the front bar first and then just lift the stern onto the back bar? That eliminates 95% of the necessary sliding.

"you load on the front bar first and then just lift the stern onto the back bar? That eliminates 95% of the necessary sliding."

True; I used to load that way, but it can sometimes be problematic due to old shoulder injuries.

I always have a few pieces of tubing in my paddle gear bag in the van in case one gets lost but if you take them off the gunnels when you unload at the put in and leave them in the car you should have no problems.

The primary reasons I'm thinking of using it are to protect longevity and durability of the padding, though simplicity also matters. Foams get chewed up and/or breaks down quicker than I'd like.

That’s why I use the tubing on the gunnels then there is no need to pad the crossbars

I've put pipe insulation on Thule 78" crossbars encircled with electrical tape about every foot to keep it on. The foam degraded before the season ended.

The next season I tried putting small sections of pipe insulation on the gunwales only where the gunwales touched the crossbars. That worked but also degraded. In addition, because I would leave my canoes on top of my van most of the season, I found that rain would collect in the insulation sections, which could rot the wood gunwales. That ended that experiment.

Sections of removable plastic tubing on the gunwales makes more sense to me, so long as water won't collect in the tubing sections. I see no reason to put plastic tubing along an entire crossbar.

In fact, for me, I don't really see a need for any sort of padding on vinyl-covered metal crossbars with wooden gunwales. Aside from my experiments with pipe insulation, I've put numerous wood gunwale canoes on Thule and Yakima crossbars for 40+ years. So, you have to finish your gunwales once in a while. No big deal for me. I treat my canoes as tools, not as works of art. Others folks, of course, have different philosophies and priorities.

One thing I like about foam on crossbars is my perception of increased holding power with less "strapping power". My buddy with bare bars cranks his straps down really hard (he's working with heavy duty layups, but cranks harder than I'dbe comfortable with on an ultralight boat), because he's had boats shift on a bumpy dirt road. I think having foam in the mix allows the system to better absorb bumps without having to really crank down hard on straps.

That said, I have been frustrated by having to replace foam every other year, so I wonder if my perception of foam benefit is really worth it.

FWIW I've found fabric (gaffer) tape to be pretty good for wrapping foam to prevent punctures/rips in the foam when sliding boats on and off. My racks also do duty hauling things like t-posts and lumber, which I also think move less with foam, but are more likely to tear up foam, fence posts especially.

For the round bars (galvanized pipe) on my canoe trailer I used some short nap carpet, made two complete turns then wrapped the whole thing in duct tape. The carpet can actually rotate on the pipe to load. They are not out in the weather all the time but they are about 5 years old now.
Jim

I have used various forms of pipe insulation over the years (it used to be made of much more durable foam than it is now), and on OEM vehicle crossbars, those chunky canoe gunwale blocks. but the best by far is the Thule gunwale stops. I also always use two cam straps and route each around the rooftop sidebars.The Thule stops are rubberized and do not need extra material to protect my wood or composite gunwales I use a bow line attached to under hood webbing straps, but don't normally use a stern line ( unless, as CEW says, I plan to drive in reverse at 70mph).

"That’s why I use the tubing on the gunnels then there is no need to pad the crossbars"

I like the fact that some foam reduces vibration compared to bare bars, or just the vinyl on the rails.

This is what I use now and it's the best I've tried so far. Better protection than pipe insulation or pool noodles and will last forever. I learned this from Marc Ornstein. Cut four pieces about 5" long and split them open. These wrap around the gunwales and sit secure as is but they are easy to remove or put back on. They have just enough give to protect the gunwales while at the same time offerring very good grip against the roof rack. PVC hose dia. 2"

yknpdlr said:

The Thule stops are rubberized and do not need extra material to protect my wood or composite gunwales

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I do like gunwale stops for that reason but I've found that the Yakima gunnel stops do abrade and rub off on wood gunwales. But similar to Glenn and ScottS, I consider canoes to be sporting goods, and though I try to take care of my canoes I don't worry about a bit of black rubber marring the aesthetics.

Thestripper said:

PVC hose dia. 1 1/2". These wrap around the gunwales and sit secure as is but they are easy to remove or put back on.

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I'm thinking I might get some of that hose and keep a few pieces with me in my canoe bag. I've found that with shuttles, my canoe can end up on someone else's rig and not everyone uses gunnel stops or coated metal bars. I've seen some nasty damage done to canoe gunwales (luckily not mine) when the cross bars are bare metal, especially square cross bars.

Thestripper said:

PVC hose dia. 1 1/2"

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I'm off to the hardware store. Why didn't I think of that?