PADDLER 54
PADDLER 54
All my vehicles had bolts that fastened the bodywork fender to the car . A more secure way to attach a nylon web loop to the vehicle is to take out the bolt closest to the windshield , put the bolt through a hole in the web and then put the bolt back in place . That way , the web loop is always with the vehicle but can be folded inside to get it out of the way when not in use .
MAKE YOUR OWN
You can purchase those loops , but making your own is easy . I use nylon webbing about one-inch wide and cut a length long enough to leave about three inches outside the anchor point when the webbing is folded in half . The easiest way to make a hole for the bolt is to use a soldering iron to melt it . That prevents the nylon from fraying . When travelling at highway speeds , the ropes on the canoe will continuously vibrate a bit and that gets transferred down to the webbing , which will rub away at the paintwork over time . To prevent that , I placed a rubber tube over the nylon web to protect the paint . An old bicycle inner tube will work well , but any soft rubber tube of the correct diameter will work .
The three most common ways to secure a canoe are ropes , cam straps or ratchet straps . I prefer rope but have used cam straps . Ratchet straps should be avoided as it ’ s too easy to put too much pressure on the canoe , which might cause damage . Cam straps can sometimes loosen if you travel in rain , as the water can make the nylon slippery . It ’ s best to tie off excess webbing just above the cam to ensure it won ’ t come undone . If you get a lot of wind noise when on the road from webbing straps , you can usually prevent that by putting a twist on the straps .
I prefer to use rope , but you need to be confident tying a bowline , a trucker ’ s hitch , and a half hitch . Make a loop at one end of the rope with the bowline and anchor that around the roof rack as close as possible to the gunnel . Toss the rope over the canoe and run the other end under the roof rack on the opposite side of the canoe . You should be able to tie a trucker ’ s hitch at the point where the bottom of the canoe turns into the side and have enough rope left over to go through the trucker ’ s hitch , back down to the roof rack and then wrap around once or twice before tying it off with the half hitch .
The trucker ’ s hitch acts like a pulley , and you can snug the canoe down tight with that . Wrapping some excess rope around the roof rack prevents sideways slipping . Tying the half hitch around the rope on both sides of the roof rack and pulling it tight will put more tension on the rope and make it even more secure . If there ’ s more rope left over after you tie off the half hitch , tuck the loose end under the section of rope above the knot , and that will keep it from flapping in the wind .
You can use one line at the back of the canoe to prevent it from sliding back , but the front of the canoe should have a rope going to both sides of the vehicle . It will be at the front , where it will be most prone to being affected by wind , and you don ’ t want it to shift .
Extra attention must be paid to securing the bow to prevent sideward swing . If you use a single rope to do both sides , one rope on each side can be more secure .