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Sea Kayaks Techniques Bulletin Board
Re: Thanks, Craig and Linda
Posted By: Brian Nystrom In Response To: Re: Thanks, Craig and Linda (Pamela)
Date: Monday, 22 August 2005, at 10:21 a.m.
: Hi Brian,
: I've been following the manufacturer's recommendations on this one; the
: straps are designed to tie the boat to the cradle, although front and rear
: tie-downs are recommended-- and I always use them on the highway. The
: movement is coming from the "give" in the cradles, which are
: flexible.Thule recommends threading straps through their standard cradles too, but I would never do it or recommend it. Why? It leaves your boat's security up to the 1/4" threaded hardware and cheezy plastic knobs holding the cradles to the rack. Would you rather have that holding your boat against the wind or the steel crossbars? For me, it's no contest, but to each his own.
: The boats and I have been thousands of kilometers back and forth to Toronto,
: as well as down to New England, and I'd rather have the boats and the
: cradle absorb the wind than have the car pushed a few feet sideways --
: unpredictably -- on a thruway.The car gets pushed regardless and the flex in the cradles will ultimately cause loosening of fasteners and joints, and possibly metal fatigue in the cradles. If you want less wind movement of the car, standard cradles are the way to go, as boats mounted in them have less "sail area" and being closer to the roof, less leverage on the rack and on the car. I used to carry two 17'-19' boats on a Hyundai Excel with a Thule rack and standard cradles, and the only time I had any concerns about wind was one day on an open highway when it was gusting to over 40 knots. Under more normal conditions, it was never an issue.
As you may have guessed, I think J-cradles are basically a bad idea.
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