Sea Kayaks Techniques Bulletin Board

Re: what I gather is....

Posted By: Robert Woodard
Date: Thursday, 6 March 2003, at 9:51 a.m.

In Response To: Re: what I gather is.... (RickW)

: and my car was knocked about 45 degrees. I figured the boat would have
: been torqued off of it's cradles, but once again it was as if nothing at

I've been a big proponent for bow/stern lines, for just this reason. I don't think those lines will help a lot to keep a boat from coming airborne once it breaks free from the rack/roof, but they do a pretty good job of helping the rack stay on.

My reason for supporting bow/stern lines are because of torque. Lines will help side to side, but mainly up and down is where they help the most. The more narrow the distance between the front/rear rack, the more important those lines are.

I once saw someone pull into a potholed dirt parking lot with a 17 foot kayak on the roof - she had probably 2 feet between the front and rear rack and no bow/stern lines. When she hit the pothole (it wasn't very large) it ripped her rear bar off the rain gutter and slammed the bow of her boat against her hood. A stern line might have prevented it.

At highway speeds there will be torquing effects on that rack caused by the wind on the boat. Bow and stern lines will help counter those forces and put less stress on the rack to roof union. Remember that a kayak is like a giant lever on top of the car, and that the rack (the front bar when the bow is pulling down - the rear bar when the stern is pulling down) is acting as a fulcrum.

In an accident, IMHO, the bow/stern lines do most of their work in preventing torque from wrenching the boat/rack off the car. Once it does separate, it may help a little in preventing the boat from becoming a missile, but I suspect most of the skinny bow/stern lines I've seen used would just break.

my 2 cents,

Woody

Messages In This Thread

kayak transport
brad shepard -- Friday, 28 February 2003, at 1:05 a.m.

Racks work fine
Brian Nystrom -- Friday, 28 February 2003, at 3:17 p.m.

Re: Racks work fine
Don Lucas -- Friday, 28 February 2003, at 4:58 p.m.

Re: Racks work fine
Brian Nystrom -- Friday, 28 February 2003, at 5:38 p.m.

Re: Racks work fine
John Leonard -- Friday, 28 February 2003, at 5:44 p.m.

Re: Racks work fine
Ed Hopkins -- Saturday, 1 March 2003, at 9:56 p.m.

I forget people really do that!
brad shepard -- Thursday, 6 March 2003, at 1:13 a.m.

Re: kayak transport
John Leonard -- Friday, 28 February 2003, at 5:41 p.m.

Re: what I gather is....
brad shepard -- Friday, 28 February 2003, at 7:22 p.m.

The long haul
Pamela -- Friday, 28 February 2003, at 10:00 p.m.

single end-lines
brad shepard -- Thursday, 6 March 2003, at 1:08 a.m.

Re: single end-lines
Pamela -- Thursday, 6 March 2003, at 8:42 a.m.

Re: single end-lines
Mike Hamilton -- Thursday, 6 March 2003, at 12:05 p.m.

Re: single end-lines
Mike and Rikki -- Sunday, 9 March 2003, at 3:13 a.m.

Re: what I gather is....
RickW -- Sunday, 2 March 2003, at 7:38 a.m.

Wow,bad luck,thanks for post *NM*
Don Lucas -- Sunday, 2 March 2003, at 9:29 a.m.

Yes! the "inverted vee"!
brad shepard -- Thursday, 6 March 2003, at 12:50 a.m.

Re: what I gather is....
Robert Woodard -- Thursday, 6 March 2003, at 9:51 a.m.

But WAIT...about Thules and braking
Mike and Rikki -- Saturday, 8 March 2003, at 12:42 a.m.

Re: kayak transport
Alex -- Saturday, 1 March 2003, at 5:02 a.m.

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