As modern times dictate smaller vehicles with shorter roof lines, transporting longer canoes/kayaks becomes increasingly challenging. The main issue here is that there is simply not enough room between the racks to adequately support the hull of your craft. Add to this the lighter construction of boats to save weight making them a bit more delicate especially in the wider sections and you have a recipe for disaster; either cracking the hull from tying it down to tightly or having it ripped off your vehicle by the wind. If you find yourself in this situation there a several things you can do to save your boat and give you piece of mind while you travel. But first, let’s look at the problem so we understand what it is we are trying to solve.
The main issue, as stated above, there is simply not enough room between the racks (crossbars) to do the job properly. You have a 17’ canoe lashed down to your roof with straps approximately 5’ apart. Basic math will tell you this leaves over 2/3rds of the hull unattached. Now we can and should attached lines to the bow and stern but they do not have the same effect as attachments that wrap completely around the hull. When the wind hits the boat it will try to pivot it around the forward rack. The more you have in front of this crossbar, the more surface area the wind has to work on. One solution I use is to put as little of the boat out in front of the forward crossbar as possible. There is not much pressure on the rear crossbar, unless, the front one lets go(been there, this is not a good deal). Just make sure you do not have too much hanging out the back to cause a problem with another vehicle. Refining a bit more, try putting the canoe or kayak on backwards. Most hulls today are asymmetrical which means the two ends are not identical. The bow or front of the craft generally is higher sided than the rear/stern. Putting it on in reverse reduces the amount of surface area even more. Now some people have a problem with this, superstition I guess. All I can say is that it works for me. Another issue with narrow spacing on the roof racks is that the widest part of the hull is sitting on the crossbars. On a high end, lightweight craft this can be a serious issue. These boats are fabricated as light as possible. While sitting in the water the structure is fine however set it on a flat surface and torque it down to tightly you can oil can the hull and possible fracture it. For kayaks there are various attachments you can purchase such as “J” cradles or saddles. These work as far as saving the hull from fracture but you are still stuck with most of the hulls length exposed to the wind and the twisting effect mentioned above.
Not long ago I needed to transport a 17’ lightweight tandem kayak over to Lake George. This was not going to work well on my Subaru Forester. The racks are just to close together. After much deep thought I remembered back to my racing days. Back then as is today, these boats were very long and fragile and transporting them was always an issue. A great approach I used was to first tie an aluminum ladder to the racks. This acts as a platform for the boat. You can tighten the living daylights out of the ladder and not hurt it at all. Next you put the canoe/kayak on to the ladder and tie it down. The tie down points are not limited by the crossbars on the rack but rather the length of the ladder. This allows you to get the ropes/straps more towards the ends of the hull. You will still have the wind trying to twist and torque things around but now it will be putting the pressure on the ladder vs the boat. Just be prepared for some strange looks as people pass you buy, wonder what on earth you are doing.
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- Hemlock Pete
- The most frequent question I get asked is, "Where did you get the name Hemlock Pete?" First of all my name is Scott Edwards. The Hemlock Pete title was given to me by my grandfather, Howard Wardner. Here is a man who was blessed with three daughters and not a single son. He was an avid outdoorsman born and raised in the Adirondack mountains of upstate New York. His father was an Adirondack Guide working for the Paul Smith's Hotel. When I was born (in Key West Florida) my grandfather drove down to see me. This was a very long trip back in 1957. As the story goes, he took one look at me and declared that I was his "Hemlock Pete". According to my grandmother he could not wait for me to accompany him on his hunting and fishing excursions. Unfortunately for both of us he passed away when I was merely two years old. My grandmother (Mildred Wardner) quite often would mention how much Howard would have enjoyed my company.