: Hi there.

: I haul my S&G boats around on top of my F-150. The front bar is a gutter-less
: rack from Fred Meyers with non-ratcheting webbing clamps. The back racks
: are closed cell minifoam glued onto wood, with ratcheting clamps securing
: it, through bolts, to the roof of the canopy.

: The 'spread' is 60 inches. The rear clamp is located just aft of the cockpit,
: at the rear bulkhead, while the front clamp is located to be at the front
: bulkhead. This way, I feel like I can really tighten the rear webbing
: without crushing the boat, and at the front I tighten as much as I can.
: That is, the hold down straps are located at strong points on the boats,
: and I usually do not use bow and stern lines.

: With this arrangement, I've come to feel pretty secure even at freeway speeds
: with crosswinds and such.

: For long trips like yours, I do use bow and stern lines. However, they have
: very little tension on them; they are there for two other reasons. First,
: when I start my trip, I'll look at the lines to see where they are located
: relative to the truck. That way, if they move to the side, I know that the
: boat has shifted on the racks and needs to be checked. Second, if I do
: have an unlikely double failure with my straps, the lines will at least
: keep the boat with the truck rather than go off into another car or
: whatever.

: In any event, I don't put a lot of force on them, as it is easy to deform the
: boat that way. Also, in my case with the F-150, as opposed to the unibody
: Explorer, the rear canopy can flex relative to the cab, so I feel I need
: to allow for that.

: If you think you can trust that factory rack, this arrangement might save you
: a bunch of work trying to beef up your bow and stern for a temporary need.
: If you don't have bulkheads, would it be easy to make up a couple of
: temporary ones that could be jam-fitted into place for the trip? Maybe
: minicell foam or a glued-up laminate of cardboard?

: See you there!

: Pete,
: in Snohomish, WA

Hi Pete

That all sounds pretty good, but here are my concerns. The rack on the Expedition is at the very back of the vehicle and it is approx. 60" or maybe a little less. The vehicle is around 16' long and my boat is 18 1/2' long, with the cockpit being almost directly in the center. If I place the cockpit ( double/open ) over the rack, that leaves me with 6' of boat hanging out the back and the front, (short of the front bumper). The length sticking out the back concerns me as the ropes will not provide much side to side stability ( which is what they are there for ). I can't tie it down to the front bumper without the ropes running over the hood and, well, after 2,000 miles, probably not leaving any paint. Not good on a rental.

If I balance the boat over the length of the vehicle, then half the open cockpit is hanging out in front of the cab and sucking wind. ( at 65+ mph, it wouldn't leave much of the canvas on the rear of the boat I'm afraid. That and the weight of the overhanging boat ( front ).

I've pretty much narrowed it down to two different possibilities:

First, I may wrap the entire boat in a tarp and duct tape it tightly and just balance the "cacoon" on the rack and I have a couple of small web/nets for loading up my "Wing" that would work to wrap around the bow and stern and tie down to bumpers.

Second, I am looking for some 6" foam, as from a twin mattress, to cut and shape like the cockpit, fit it up inside about 2" and leave the rest to sit in the rack with the boat upside down. Also, using the web/nets with rope/bungies to cup the bow and stern and tie them back to the corners of the rack on front and bumper on the back. ??????

I'm not worried about tying them down with bungies or rope as I used heavier than normal stringer, chines adn keelson. The tie-downs will just go over them like the skin and shouldn't have any effect on the shape of either. I am VERY confident in the boats holding up to the strapping, just not in how to strap the bow and stern securely. Don't want a weather vane turning east/west on my at 65+ mph. NOT GOOD!! That and the gas milage will be bad enough already.

Another problem is, I don't know anyone with an expedition to do it ahead of time. I get the vehicle at 10:00 Pm on a Weds. and we leave the next morning around 4 am. So, it will all have to be created in that short period. I tried renting other vehicles, but that was the only one with a higher weight restriction on it. When I told them I was hauling a 50 lb. kayak they told me I couldn't do it on their other vehicles. And to top that off, I will be renting at the time the brand new cars come out and they will have all new Exp.s with possibly different arrangements on the roof and rack systems. They didn't know at the time. ????? So, I've tried to develope a couple of different ideas just in case. My friends and I are collecting all sorts of foam from dumpsters behind apolstry shops and will have to wait and see. I have several knives and lots of 3m adhesive, so it will go quickly when we get the vehicle. It won't be especially pretty, but I can't afford racks ( for someone elses vehicle ) and don't have time to build anything cutsy as I haven't finished the boat yet and that's the one and only priority. But, I'll be there, Okiefied or otherwise!! And I won't be a bit embarrassed about it either. My friends will be embarrassed enough for all of us.

So, if anyone sees an Expedition heading north on I-5 with a big Blue ( with gray stripes ) Torpedo on the roof, THAT BE THE REHDMAN.

Rehd