Strapping canoe to a car

[Stick in Mud]

Hello all,

I was reading in another forum about a fella who was driving down the road only to see the canoe on the car in front of him lift off the car and tumble down the road. I've worried about the same thing happening to my canoe, and in the process of looking to buy a canoe over the winter I saw a few canoes that had very serious "road rash" damage, so I'd like to see what y'all do to avoid this kind of misery.

I use tie-down straps that I loop around the thwarts and then cinch then down so the ratchet is inside the car. I also use ropes to tie down the front and back of the canoe to the bumpers. I'm paranoid, so I use three tie-downs, but I see lots of people who only use one. I also see a lot of people who put the straps over the canoe instead of around the thwarts. Is there a benefit either way?

Carmike

[TruthWalleyes]

To attach to the front of the vehicle i use a wratchet strap to each corner of the vehicle to the front of the canoe. This stabalizes side to side movement.

On the rear, i run 1 ratchet strap to the hitch.

In the middle, i wrap a ratchet strap around one side of the canoe cross bar, then over the top, and again around the other sides' cross bar and then that strap goes through the rear door and cinched tight.

Two in the front, prevent side to side.

1 in the middle prevents lifting and side to side and front to back.

1 in rear to prevent lifting.

When all straps are on, i wiggle the Cr*P out of the canoe to find a happy medium and retighten. Been in 50mph side winds without a problem.

Canoe sits on a bracket i made which has the canoe foam cushions under the bracket.

4 minutes to take off the car. 10 minutes to put on the car.

[SkunkedAgain]

I use canoe racks so that I don't have to fret about canoes flying off my truck. One cinch strap in the front and one in the back around the entire canoe. Never a problem

[Hoey]

We were returning from a Canadian, fly-in fishing trip, driving around a corner, just to meet a pickup-camper with a long canoe strapped to the top of the camper. Odd thing was, the canoe was sideways. oooh. We hoped it was not tied down this way..... ;-)

[Powerstroke]

I use a rack so it gets cinch strapped twice from side to side and I add a rope to the front and rear as a safety. In 15yrs of canoe hauling I've only lost my canoe once and I only used ropes for the front and back and it was on a very short car so that didn't provide much control.

[ted4887]

My kayak is essentially a canoe and I use the foam pads, plus a strap on the front connected to frame, rear strap connected to frame as well as two straps over the middle. I've never been in normal conditions where I was concerned at all that the boat would shift or come off the roof.

I did hit some 90+ mph straight line winds that did move the kayak across the top of the car though. Those are extraordinary conditions though, and wouldn't worry too much about it. The kayak was still strapped to the roof, although it was angled a bit funny. I lost a window out of that whole ordeal and the kayak was still safe. Just make sure those middle straps are tight!

[OnAFly]

My big canoe we use a rack and a couple straps across it. We've never had a problem. With my little canoe, I just throw it in the back of the truck, one strap around the thwart and away I go.

[hookncook]

I use Thuley rack system on my Ford Windstar. From there I put either one or two of my NuCanoe on my rack. To strap them down, I double up my cinch straps, one on the back, one on the front. Each NuCanoe gets strapped down, so I use 4 straps total.

Never lost control yet and I've traveled 50 miles at 65-70 MPH the whole way.

[Stick in Mud]

Well I just drove the new boat up and back from the BWCA, and it made it without wiggling at all--including at 75 mph on I-35. I probably overdid it on straps and ropes, but I don't want someone to post a message on this site about a guy who had his kevlar boat flip off the top of his car.

[nofishfisherman]

When I rented a canoe from Sawtooth Outfitters they showed me a good way to tie a canoe to a car that doesn't have a rack or any good tie downs on the front or back of the car.

First you obviously put the canoe on the roof using the pads that slip over the gunnels.

Then to create a tie down point in the back you take a piece of rope thats maybe 12-18 inches long and tie it into a circle and then open up the trunk. You lay the loop of rope around the trunk latch so that the knotted end is inside the trunk. When you close the trunk the trunk will latch with the rope around it and a loop sticking out. You then use that loop to tie down the back of the canoe. The loop should be good and tight secured around the trunk latch. As long as the trunk doesn't open that loop can't budge.

On the front you pop the hood of the car and tie loops of rope around a piece of car frame on both the front left and right of the car with part of the loop sticking out when you close the hood. YOu then use both those loops to tie the front end of the canoe to the right and left front.

Then you wrap one or two cinch straps around the middle of the canoe through the back doors.

With that method the canoe won't move an inch.

[itchmesir]

i've always used blocks and 2 ratchet straps.. works great

[Stick in Mud]

That's a slick idea, nofish.

I had a total of five cinch straps and four ropes holding here down. Paranoid, I know.

[tolle141]

I bought a thule set up as well for my kayak which, at 13'6" is basically a canoe. I tried using those foam blocks one summer and scratched up the top too much and they'd slide regardless of how hard I tied down. The rack really makes a difference.

Regardless of whether you buy the rack or not, always do a safety line to the front and back. Everyone says it, but last fall I lost my tie downs and figured I'd be fine. Driving along the south shore of lake superior I had 45mph+ gusts and she snapped the thule J bar like it was a twig. Lucked out, and Thule has the best customer service I've ever had.

The point is, go over kill, and if you can afford it don't skimp.

[Stick in Mud]

"Overkill" is a good word for what I do....I've had it out quite a bit this summer, and with all the tie-downs, it's rock solid. And it doesn't take me 30 minutes anymore to get it done.