What would happen if I hit a deer....

[Stick in Mud]

with a kevlar canoe on the top of my car, at, say 60 mph? I drive a Pontiac Grand Prix, and let's assume the deer doesn't just glance off or go under the car. If it DID go over the hood and up into the canoe, would the deer just get stuck there? Would the canoe bend/crack around the tie-downs? Rip off? I ask because I just about hit three of them on my way up last week, and my friend and I couldn't quite agree on what was the most likely outcome....

Carmike

[mainbutter]

It's all about the circumstances of the collision, how the canoe is tied down, etc. Some canoes have been trashed in deer collisions, others have been fine.

[OnAFly]

I don't think it would make it past the windshield. If it did, it would likely be going slow enough to just wedge itself real nice. I doubt any damage to the canoe could happen, but you might need to wash it off when you got to the lake

[Stick in Mud]

Interesting....I'd think it'd do some damage. I am paranoid about my canoe flying off the car, so I uber tie it down. Still, a large (let's say 200 lb deer) hitting a kev canoe at that speed has to do SOME damage, no?

Another question: The friend with whom I was discussing this issue said that the canoe would be covered under the auto insurance policy. Is that true????

[OnAFly]

The only person who can give you an answer that matters is your insurance agent. Any answer you get on here will be speculation.

About the deer - If a deer were moving at 60mph and weighed 200lbs and it hit your canoe head on, there could be damage, depending on where it hit (kevlar or where the gunwales come together). If that same deer has to move up your hood and windshield to get to the canoe (assuming it slides and doesn't bounce up much) the force of the deer would be placed on the gunwales of the boat and probably wouldn't do anything other than make a really big mess.

[Wish-I-Were-Fishn]

Sounds like one of those math problems: if a deer left Chicago traveling...

[delcecchi]

In the other hand, if the deer hits the tie down from the bow of the canoe to the front of the car, and the back is tied down......

[Stick in Mud]

Yeah, then something bad might happen, too.

I've asked this question on a few forums now, and no one has admitted to actually hitting a deer with a canoe strapped on top of the car. Considering the number of cars I see driving up Hwy 169/Hwy 33/Hwy 53/Hwy 2/Hwy 10/CR 210/I-35/etc etc etc, I'm surprised no one has chipped in to share a personal experience.

Obviously, there are lots of variables. I was just curious about the possible outcomes...and hoping that someone might have some actual experience with it.

[itchmesir]

as long as you get up to 88mph you'll be fine

[OnAFly]

[hookncook]

takes deer hunting to a whole new level...

[itchmesir]

I think it was Daniel Tosh that once said Nascar would be more exciting if you let deer run wild on the track during the race

[OnAFly]

I came inches away from smoking a deer last night. I didn't have my canoe, but I was pulling my boat. I couldn't believe I missed that thing. I thought for sure I was getting a bunch of venison and a $500 deductible payment.

[LightningBG]

About the deer - If a deer were moving at 60mph and weighed 200lbs and it hit your canoe head on, there could be damage, depending on where it hit (kevlar or where the gunwales come together).

That must be quite the deer!

Now...if the car was moving at 60 and the deer was more or less stationary, and it made it up to the canoe... I have a feeling it would do some damage. Lot of energy there.

A 200 lb deer with an impact at 60mph equals a little over 24,000 ft/lbs (32633.30 joule) of energy.

I few years ago I talked to my insurance agent about canoes on a trailer. He said the trailer would be covered under my auto insurance, but not the canoes (if it flew off was our scenario).

[Cheetah]

I witnessed a small car hitting a decent sized doe on 694 a bunch of years ago at full speed. The deer popped up in the air so high that the next couple cars in line went under it with no trouble. Blood and fat sprayed on my car, and I was in the other lane and a couple car lengths back. The front end of that car was completely wrecked and the windshield was all busted up.

Based on what I saw that day, I think if you hit one that pops up into your canoe on the roof, you are in for some serious damage. Canoe is going to be severely damaged, probably will also rip off your roof rack and do damage to the roof of the car too.

[Stick in Mud]

That seems pretty reasonable...It doesn´t seem like it could be good.

[Chad Holst]

This seems like a good topic for "myth busters". I can see it now, a "gelitan" deer being pounded by various 1980 circa pontiacs and cutlas's with 16 foot aluminum canoes strapped to the roof.

thats just plain ole "good fun" right there.

[PurpleFloyd]

This is where I would expect Cliff Clavin to step in.

[Stick in Mud]

This seems like a good topic for "myth busters". I can see it now, a "gelitan" deer being pounded by various 1980 circa pontiacs and cutlas's with 16 foot aluminum canoes strapped to the roof.

thats just plain ole "good fun" right there.

LOL. No doubt. Almost as much fun as that episode where they kept shooting that pig carcass with shotguns and stuff.

[Chad Holst]

S.I.M.

I remember that..ok, i dont, but it still disturbs me just thinking about it, im sure it would have been one of my favorites!

[Stick in Mud]

Well here's a video of a pig getting hit by a chain fired from a cannon. Ouch.

[Chad Holst]

truth be told, you could never really gage what would happen if you smoked a dear with a car/truck with a canoe on it.

it seems like the smallest details drastically change the outcome. For example, i watched a video (driver had a helmet cam on) on youtube of a guy riding his crotch rocket at 80-90 and hit a deer, mid section! What happened? death, horror, gore? Nope, split the deer in half and cracked his front molding and pushed back his forks...didnt even dump the bike, no injury, just a THUMP and pulled over to the side of the road.

Then there is my uncle, driving his bike at 45 mph, and "side swiped" a deer..ended up in the hospital for a month, bike was in MANY pieces. and deer looked like a bulldozer hit it.

What i do know is that i would preffer not to be in the vehicle, on the way to a vacation/trip and have to worry about which side the coin lands on, when bambi desides to see what the brite lights are all about.

[eyeguy 54]

drive a tank silly!

[Stick in Mud]

drive a tank silly!

Well one of my canoes is nicknamed "The Tank" because it's aluminum and weights almost 100 lbs. I'm pretty sure that thing would beat down any deer that dared to get in its way!

[CCBBSpeckled]

I have - I railed a deer on Hwy 2 North of Two Harbors, with the canoe on top of my ford ranger. It was a trip with my wife...and as such we were running late. I was doing about 70-75 and the deer jumped up out of the ditch, I don't think I'd even hit the brakes by the time of impact. I had a grill guard on the ranger and it took the brunt of the damage. In addition, I had one broken headlight and a small crack in the grill. No issues at all with the canoe. A canoe properly tied down including bow and stern lines should stay on through just about anyting.

We drug the deer off the road and continued onward. We had a great trip.