Tie it down

I was wondering if you could tell me if a bow and stern line tied to your bumper is that necessary, I have not been using them but was told I should. I have a Yakima roof rack with Macao guides and I  double strap it. My kayak is twelve foot long and put it up on my rack stern first.

Thanks for your comments
Pat

I never used to do it and I have gone plenty fast with 2 yaks on top. I was reading one time where someone had the front  rack fail. I do not remember the specifics. Either the Q-tower broke or a clamp came off. Anyway, the front of the kayaks caught the air and lifted straight up and that in turn ripped the back part of the rack off the vehicle, kayaks included. Had the fronts been tied down it woud have prevented them from catching the wind the way they did.
Ever since that article I have tethered the fronts of my kayaks.

I attach an anchor line to my front bumper and my yak for visual reassurance.  If I can see the line that means that my yak is still there and I can drive without having to check on it.  Usually double strapping it to your racks is good enough.  I really don't depend on the front line for keeping everything in place but anything can happen such as in Tote's story.  Depends...do you feel lucky?

Think of it as a safety leash.

Also, with bow and stern straps you don't have to cinch down the cross straps as much which is good if you have a boat that is prone to warping.

Personally, I do 2 cross straps and one tie down in front.  I don't think the rear is necessary and it just prevents me from getting in the tailgate.

-Allen

I'm not sure if Tote was referring to me, but I had the exact emergency he described happen to me when i did not use a bow tie down. Now, I've shuttle lots of kayaks ovwer the years with bow tie downs, a lot on 3-4hr drives at freeway speeds, and that is the first time I've lost a boat off the roof. I no longer use the supplied strap system that came with my Mako saddle and have gone back to a single long strap looped around the bar itself, rather than the 2 piece strap with little fittings that Yakima has.
I don't normally use a bowline for around town type kayak hauling, but will always use one for long trips. Its cheap insurance.
-Sean

Thanks looks like I will be using the bumper strip for cheap Insurance couldn't heart.

Pat

I talked to a kayaker some time ago who did not use a bow strap and his kayak blew off the racks on the freeway.  I don't recall what failed, only that the roof racks and straps did not prevent the potential catasphrophy. Fortunately he said the kayak landed on the one place that did not endanger oncoming traffic--the wedge shaped area made by a merging lane.  Remember, it's not just about losing or damaging your kayak, it's about endangering other drivers that may hit your 60 lb "log" as it flies off your car at 65 mph.

There is a lot of force acting on your kayak if you are going freeway speeds.  If you secure your kayak right-side up the wind force pushes your bow away from the roof of your car.  If you secure it upside down, you typically have a lower profile and the wind will actually push your kayak against the racks.

Someone recently posted that the springs in his cam buckle corroded and failed.  But even if both your straps were to fail, a bow line would keep your kayak attached to your vehicle and give you a chance to drag it off to the side.

The instructions for Yakima say to always use a front tie-down, as well as the over the hull straps.  Do you think your victim's lawyer might want to ask you in front of the jury why you didn't read or follow those instructions?

I always have used a bow and strern strap with my kayaks.  Even with bow and stern straps I have been on bumpy dirt roads and had my two middle straps work loose and my kayaks started to slide foreward.  If you only have two straps across the middle of the kayak and one breaks or you have some other kind of failure, You are F'd!  Or the person that gets killed by your airborne kayak on the freeway is F'd.  Why risk it???

I always have used a bow and strern strap with my kayaks.  Even with bow and stern straps I have been on bumpy dirt roads and had my two middle straps work loose and my kayaks started to slide foreward.  If you only have two straps across the middle of the kayak and one breaks or you have some other kind of failure, You are F'd!  Or the person that gets killed by your airborne kayak on the freeway is F'd.  Why risk it???

WORD!

Z

I have a masterlock cable (I think it's kevlar) that is basically like a long bike lock.  I run it through the scuppers and around the factory roofrack.  This way if my yakima rack fails the cable lock should prevent any catastrophies unless the force is such that the factory roofrack is ripped off.  And of course, it prevents theft while you're parked.

I have a heavy duty cable lock like yours for security purposes.  But I don't think it would be adequate for securing your kayak if one of your rack straps failed and you don't have a bow line secured.  A bow line pretty much keeps your kayak against your car.  Without it your yak can easily lift away from your car and become airborn.  I don't know it for a fact, but it wouldn't surprise me if a kayak lifting off at freeway speeds can just torque your lock-thethered rack right off your vehicle.