RE: My canoe on my Westy 4/28/99
Alistair,
FWIW =
I have an 18.5' Wenonah Kevlar Minnesota =
II for lake tripping in the BWCA. While =
mine is a lot lighter and I don't have the =
problems of getting it on top (also makes =
my life a lot easier when portaging!) I =
still have the same wind-racking that anyone =
has with a canoe on top. I use the extruded =
foam that plumbers use to insulate water =
pipes. I've found 5' pieces of it. I open =
the slit in the foam, slide it onto the =
gunwale and that protects the canoe and my =
Westy. Lashing it down is accomplished =
with luggage rack mounts, the tow hooks on =
the front bumper, and a webbing cinch/clamp =
that I slide under the back portion of the =
poptop. Haven't travelled extensively =
with this setup yet but seems as tight as =
anything I was able to do with my Passat =
Wagon and that's seen thousands of miles =
and dozens of trips.
Jim in Iowa
91 =
Passat Wagon GL
89 Westy
66 Beetle
Alistair Bell wrote:
>Last =
summer, on the appropriate date of July =
1, I bought the canoe of my
>dreams. =
Its an 18' cedar canvas "Greenwood" =
(made by Bill Greenwood, oh
>about =
30 years ago). To my eyes, its lines are =
very similar to an 18'
>Aktinson Traveller.
>
>Its =
a sweet canoe to paddle but a wee bit on =
the heavy side when it comes
>to humping =
it up on the van.
>
>For the first =
few trips I used those foam blocks that =
fit on the gunwales
>and strapped the =
canoe to the pop top, the straps being secured =
by rubber
>covered hooks on the gutter. =
These work ok, but it was hard to place =
the
>canoe ontop of the van without =
scraping the gunwales or the poptop.
>
>I =
tried some Thule racks (tall) but I was =
unable to attach them so that the
>poptop =
could still be raised - his was important =
if we were to take the
>canoe on long =
trips.
>
>So in a fit of desperation =
I devised the following method.
>
>I =
bought a piece of HDPE (high density polyethylene) =
strip, 42"X1.5"X1/4",
>and =
drilled a 3/8" hole about 2" in =
from each end. Then I stuck on some
>good =
quality, thin, double sided tape to one =
side of the strip, covering
>that side =
completely. I then stuck the strip onto =
the rear of the top of
>the poptop, =
flush to the rear edge of the poptop and =
centred from side to
>side.
>
>Then, =
gulp, I drilled a 3/8" hole throught =
the poptop at each end of the
>strip =
where the previously drilled holes were. =
The fibreglass layup is
>quite thick =
at this point, surprisingly so! In fact, =
somebody otta make a
>mold of the poptop =
and layup a lighter and stiffer version. =
Anyway the gods
>must have been smiling =
on me that afternoon for the drill exited =
right
>through the metal strip that =
secures the canvas (on the outside).
>
>I =
had a couple of stainless eyebolts (nice =
marine ones, welded and
>polished), =
the threaded portion is 8mm diameter and =
about 5" long. These
>were going =
to go throught the drilled holes, but first =
i cut a couple of
>1.5" pieces =
of 1" diameter HDPE rod and drilled =
a 3/8" hole through the
>long =
axis and slid one on to each of the eybolts. =
Then the eyebolts were
>secured to =
the poptop (used so polyurethane caulk as =
a sealant).
>
>
>Now I could =
get the canoe to the van and rest the bow =
(upside down) on the
>HDPE strip and =
then slide the canoe forward until the bow =
reached the
>luggage rack, then i could =
move to the front of the van and pull it =
the
>rest of the way. It works remarkably =
well, and doesn't damage either the
>canoe =
or the poptop.
>
>Before I securely =
lash the canoe down I place 2"X4" =
pieces of thick rubber
>mat (stall =
mat) between the gunwales and the poptop =
- two pieces at the
>back, just infront =
of the HDPE strip and two right on the front =
edge of the
>luggage rack (those forward =
bits were actually stuck down using double
>sided =
tape for the duration of a 3 week trip).
>
>The =
rubber pieces protect both the gunwales =
and the poptop and act as high
>friction =
pads resisting side to side and forward =
/backward motion.
>
>The canoe =
is lashed down using the rear eyebolts and =
the luggage rack lash
>points (mmm, =
they do look weak, should replace). I also =
lead the bow
>painter directly back =
and secure to a luggage rack lash point =
(this
>prevents ANY forward motion of =
the canoe. I use truckers/riggers hitches
>and =
nylon rope - this gives some elasticity =
and cinching effect. The bow
>painter =
is polypropylene, not as stretchy.
>
>This =
system has been tested on highways (up to =
75mph) and logging roads
>with no problems.
>
>
>Alistair