Date: Sun, 29 Jun 97 13:05:03 EDT
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: jag@cs.rochester.edu
Subject: Re: Carrying a canoe, Was: Re: Rain Gutter Adapter Locations
> Alright, enough amaturish chatter, take it from some one who really knows.
>
> Foam blocks, They are a no-no unless you are taking your canoe home from
> the store to put it in the lake. No interstate canoe hauler woul ever
> use the foam blocks since they offer no side to side stability for the
> boat. I know of more than one instance where the boat slid off the side
> and into the passenger or driver side door.
It is not the foam blocks (or rack either for that matter) that gives
stability. It is the tie downs. Place the canoe symmetrically
length and crosswise between the front and back tiedowns, and firmly
tie it down with a well tensioned line. Now any movement
of the canoe will increase the tension in the lines => Stability!
To tie down I use the Westy luggage rack in the front, and the rear hatch
hinches in the back. To tension the line I use a "power knot", basically
make an overhand eyelet on the line before threading through the tie
down. Thread though tiedown, and back through eyelet. Pull down.
Voila, 3:1 purchase. For pictures of the knot see a canoeing book.
Foam blocks works well for canoes on the westy because of the long flat roof.
I have a 16' and a 17' canoe which just stick out the right amount in the
front and back for securing. A 14' may be too short.
Good canoe racks have small, movable tabs on the crossbars to prevent
sideways sliding, but this is not a replacement for securing with lines.
An advantage of canoe racks is that you can buy extended crossbars to
carry two canoes (useful when shuttling to the put in or take out).
/Martin
--
Martin Jagersand email: jag@cs.rochester.edu
Computer Science Department jag@cs.chalmers.se
University of Rochester
Slow down and visit the VW diesel Westy page:
WWW: http://www.cs.rochester.edu/u/jag/vw
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