Animated Knots is a very nice place to learn and refresh knot tying skills. I don't use knots often enough to remember them so I always go there to relearn
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Car Topping
- Thread starter sloride
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Animated Knots is a very nice place to learn and refresh knot tying skills. I don't use knots often enough to remember them so I always go there to relearn
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Ahhh ....it is all about common sense, no? Tightening any strap, rope, whatever until it deforms or breaks your canoe means you messed up. Not the straps fault...it's yours.
One thing people often overlook is that what you are strapping the boat to is more important than the strap itself. If the mounting surface is too slippery then the boat will shift around no matter how hard you crank it down. We use 2x4s ubolted to the rack and then screw blocks into the boards for the gunnels to snug up against, preventing the boat from shifting. It takes a few minutes more to do but unless we are changing canoes they can stay for the summer.
And yes, I have used foam blocks and a rope through the car windows too. Its about evolving.
Christy
One thing people often overlook is that what you are strapping the boat to is more important than the strap itself. If the mounting surface is too slippery then the boat will shift around no matter how hard you crank it down. We use 2x4s ubolted to the rack and then screw blocks into the boards for the gunnels to snug up against, preventing the boat from shifting. It takes a few minutes more to do but unless we are changing canoes they can stay for the summer.
And yes, I have used foam blocks and a rope through the car windows too. Its about evolving.
Christy
I've only travelled with one single solitary canoe on top. I've seen multiple canoes travelling, but always on those stacked rack trailers making it all look so easy and organized. I've never gotten up close and personal with car topping with >1 canoe. Seeing as this thread is car topping, would anyone care to share their car topping techniques for two or more canoes on top? Details are good. What bars and tie down methods? Pictures would be lovely. Attempts ending in failures are instructive too, "what not to do". I'm not looking to open a debate, just a discussion. If ever I'm standing next to one vehicle and multiple canoes, and am asked "Can you give me hand?" I'd like to be able to do just that (and not look like a dork looking befuddled clapping my hands).
This is an important topic. I actually lost a friendship with a guy over car topping. The guy had an OT Tripper for 25 years. He was a career outdoor person, but he couldn't figure out how to car top his canoe. On our first trip he borrowed a nice trailer for our 4 canoes. On the second trip he used a car rack on a pu designed for kayaks. He kept calling on his cell describing all of his problems. Finally we stopped and met up with him. I tried to help him and he said "I can't talk about it." The guy was embarrassed I guess. Our friendship went downhill from there. Now I don't paddle with him and don't fish with him either.
Here's my Kite and MDB's Swift. Note the lack of any bow or stern lines...unless there winds in excess of 40 mph. I suppose there's always more time, but I haven't lost a boat off of a roof rack in 40 years of lugging them around. Straps (cam action, 1" nylon, sewn by yours truly) go over the hull, under the rack, back over the hull and under the other side of the rack. That's it!! You will notice that my racks are very close together, about 4 feet, but even so, the boat don't wiggle around much. BTW, my load bars are 72 inch wide. I've used narrower Thules (still have them) but it's a snug fit, depending on how chubby the boats are.
Carrying technique for multiple boats depends in large part on the width of your load bars. I have 78" Thule load bars on the Magic Bus and have carried five open canoes back and forth from New York to Florida with no problems.
Here's the van with three boats. Each has two belly straps. To get access to the middle boat requires a step ladder.
In the five canoe carry there were two heavy 36" wide tandems next to each other on the bars. Centered on top of them was a 34" wide Royalex Whitesell canoe, secured by it's own pair of belly straps to the bars. So I had a pyramid. On the sides of the pyramid I angled two light Kevlar solo canoes, one gunwale of each resting on the upturned hulls of the tandems and the other gunwale resting against the sides of the centralized Whitesell. Two belly lines went over the top of everything to secure the two angled canoes against upward movement. Then, every canoe had bow and stern lines attached to the bumpers. The two angled canoes had their bow/stern lines crossed over to the far corner of the bumper, so there was a diagonal pull on each.
It was a Medusa of straps and ropes but nothing shifted in 2600 miles, although there was some excitement when I blew a front tire in South Carolina. I think I got about six miles per gallon for the trip, but gas was cheap in the late 80's and I then had a paying job.
Here's the van with three boats. Each has two belly straps. To get access to the middle boat requires a step ladder.
In the five canoe carry there were two heavy 36" wide tandems next to each other on the bars. Centered on top of them was a 34" wide Royalex Whitesell canoe, secured by it's own pair of belly straps to the bars. So I had a pyramid. On the sides of the pyramid I angled two light Kevlar solo canoes, one gunwale of each resting on the upturned hulls of the tandems and the other gunwale resting against the sides of the centralized Whitesell. Two belly lines went over the top of everything to secure the two angled canoes against upward movement. Then, every canoe had bow and stern lines attached to the bumpers. The two angled canoes had their bow/stern lines crossed over to the far corner of the bumper, so there was a diagonal pull on each.
It was a Medusa of straps and ropes but nothing shifted in 2600 miles, although there was some excitement when I blew a front tire in South Carolina. I think I got about six miles per gallon for the trip, but gas was cheap in the late 80's and I then had a paying job.
I carry dual boats the same way Stripperguy does but I like more bar spread as it's usually pretty windy out here on the praire and it's not uncommon for a canoe to come along on 2000+ mile road trips.
Alan
Alan
I use a trailer, but still use rope. Cam straps are fine for tying in gear, but I don't really trust them on top of a boat.
Okay, I don't mean to sidetrack what I've already sidetracked, but let's do it anyway. What rope is favoured by some of you for tying down for transport?
BTW Keep those multiple hull arrangements coming. They're really good.
BTW Keep those multiple hull arrangements coming. They're really good.
Since we're back to rope I thought this knot would be appropriate
Once you know how to tie the Butterfly Loop it's easy to use the Butterfly Bend for joining two lengths of rope together
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Speaking of combination knots, the sheet bend and bowline are both formed from combining a loop with a bight.
The trucker's hitch (as mentioned above) is a figure-8 with a quick-release.
The tautline hitch is essentially a clove hitch.
And so on ....
The trucker's hitch (as mentioned above) is a figure-8 with a quick-release.
The tautline hitch is essentially a clove hitch.
And so on ....
Trying to move this tread in a slightly different direction. Do not want to start another thread about car topping. I always like the front of the canoe (over the hood) to be a little lower than the rear. With the newer cars out there being lower in the rear are you making custom gunwale rest or what?
As for rope or straps. I like the width of the strap. Use two on both ends of the belly. bow and stern ropes too. Probably look kind of funny but have deloped a habit of cleaning off the canoe one it is on the racks and before the straps go on. Might be vain of me but dirty straps or ropes have a way of leaving there mark on the canoe.
As for rope or straps. I like the width of the strap. Use two on both ends of the belly. bow and stern ropes too. Probably look kind of funny but have deloped a habit of cleaning off the canoe one it is on the racks and before the straps go on. Might be vain of me but dirty straps or ropes have a way of leaving there mark on the canoe.
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I just replaced my 2003 Subaru Forester with a ... 2011 Forester. I looked at a lot of small SUVs and other vehicles but settled on the Subie for three reasons: (1) the rack spread is more than 3 feet; (2) the rack is level; and (3) mileage is ~25 on the highway. 4WD helped, too. Way too many vehicles out there with German Shepherd roofs (with the rear end lower than the front) and short racks. Those criteria eliminated nearly all vehicles other than bigger SUVs and trucks, which are either too expensive or suck too much gas.
I contacted Yakima customer service to see if they had any solutions for saggy-butt roofs. The answer I got back was that there's no problem having the front of the canoe higher than the back. That sounded like another case of the people who design and sell the equipment have never used it.
The roof rack placement seems an afterthought on minivans too. Although level, mine on a 2006 are factory installed closer together than on a previous model 2001 etc. They're supposedly adjustable, but not without a struggle. Set furthest apart still seems insufficient. We have car topped on our small car, with the racks even closer together (I think); the 16.5' canoe made the car under it look like a toy. With straps and bow rope fastened everything has always been fine (knock on wood). Our sil loves his new Subaru. he thinks it's cool how the cross bars swing back and tuck into the rack rails when not in use. I told him about installing tie down straps under his hood, and he said "Got 'em. They came standard with the car. Factory installed." Really? Now that would be cool. I haven't installed straps under the hood on my own vehicles, as we've got handy dandy under bumper tie locations, and I don't mind quickly laying on the ground...not so fun in the rain.
A 2x4 laid flat and u-bolted to the rear cross bar would give you an extra 1 1/2" in the rear. From there you have a solid base for adding extra height that's easy to attach too. Another 2x4 laid flat gives you 3 total inches. Or you could lay a 2x4 on edge and screw it to the 2x4 that's laid flat, which would give you 5" over the original bar. Any connections to the 2x4 that's u-bolted to the cross bar don't need to be strong enough to prevent lift off as the straps/rope will still go under the original load bar.
Alan
Just loved the "German Shepherd roofs (with the rear end lower than the front) " Perfect way to describe it. Around my house we prefer Boarder Collie roofs straight and use full 
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LOL!
(Warning - this post takes a silly analogy to ridiculous lengths. Chalk it up to winter.)
Watch it with Border Collie (or Australian Shepherd) cars. They may have flat roofs but the wheelbases tend to be fairly short, although as a result they're more maneuverable.
If you see a car with a flat roof but where the front end is higher, it's probably an illusion. Aussies are groomed so they look like that.
Just loved the "German Shepherd roofs (with the rear end lower than the front) " Perfect way to describe it. Around my house we prefer Boarder Collie roofs straight and use full
LOL!
(Warning - this post takes a silly analogy to ridiculous lengths. Chalk it up to winter.)
Watch it with Border Collie (or Australian Shepherd) cars. They may have flat roofs but the wheelbases tend to be fairly short, although as a result they're more maneuverable.
If you see a car with a flat roof but where the front end is higher, it's probably an illusion. Aussies are groomed so they look like that.
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An additional advantage of a long bar spread besides being more secure in side winds,is that your straps are around areas narrower than the middle of the boat. This keeps the canoe from moving fore and aft. I also put 2 bungee ball straps around a thwart to a cross rack bar. Probably overkill, but I drive secure when trucks or crosswinds hit. These bungees are the first thing I put on and the last thing I take off. They insure that a light boat doesn't get blown or slide off when loading or unloading while reaching for your straps-I've seen this happen twice!
Turtle
Turtle
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