Upcoming summers might give us hope with new sunshine kissing our faces. Outdoors are exciting. When we say outdoors, we usually mean to perform some thrilling activities that energize us physically and rejoice our minds, too! I love going to some secluded spot from my house, where I can feel the splashing waters and thundering waves on a beautiful beach. The idea of paddling into the waters on a boat or surfing it through the ski makes me turn-on. I know you will wish to have an enticing experience with your kayaks in the water. While feeling the serenity of waters, you can still enjoy the company of yourself!
Image credit: Tommy van Kessel (Source: unsplash.com)
People go on excursions on their own. Well, thanks to the car roof racks that carry a whole lot of weight on their heads. If you are moving to a destination that requires you to paddle your kayak or canoe, I think you would take your boat along with you. You would want your boat to remain safe and not slip while you are on the run. It is essential that you properly strap your boat to a roof rack of your car. This guide will let you know the best five ways that you can use for strapping your boat correctly. Let’s take a tour!
1. Tying the straps across the roof rack cross bars reasonably:
The very first way to ideally start strapping your boat is to lay the boat straps over the bars of the roof rack. You are supposed to tie your straps over each bar of the roof rack before you place your boat or kayak. You must take care that the clamps at the end of the straps do not scratch your car color. While there are two ends to the boat straps, you can keep tied the clamped end near to the window and the loose part near the car body. You need to check that the crossbars for tieing your kayak should be tight enough to secure your boat or canoe precisely.
2. Arranging your boat on the roof rack thoughtfully:
Well, arranging your boat on the roof rack (needs extreme care) is not as simple as placing back your chair with the table. You must see whether the canoe or boat is in the center for maintaining the weight balance. There are two main methods to place your boat-craft or kayak on the roof rack.
1. Placing the boat upside down.
2. Keeping the boat right-side-up.
The first method implies when you are directly tying your boat with the roof rack’s cross bars. It can cause damage to the indentations, and thus, you should take care extensively to make the boat’s racking straight.
You can place the whitewater kayaks in a way that faces the wind right-side-up. Air pressure can cause a slight misplace and so you can use hooks or rollers to set the camp correctly.
3. Drawing out the straps to overcome the boat-craft moderately:
After placing your boat on the roof rack, it is a bit tricky business to draw the straps overcoming the kayak or canoe. Stretching the straps is hard as you also need to see that you are not damaging your car window or not scratching off your car color. Well, if you do this task impressively, you can get a pat on your back. For avoiding the least possible damage to you, your boat, or your car, you need to pull the buckle of the strap over the boat towards the other end (one without the buckle) and let the other end hang freely. If you let it remain free, you can have the benefit of extra length, even!
4. Securing the boat straps cautiously:
I think now, your roof rack basket is pretty set for going on a perfect trip. You have placed your boat on the roof rack. You have flatly drawn the straps over the canoe or your boat. Now, it is time to assure the security of your straps. You must push each strap towards the buckle of the strap. After that, you are supposed to bring the other end of the strap beneath the crossbar and lock it with the buckle. After this, you must tighten up the straps by making the buckles locked efficiently. Tightening the straps will make your carrier safer for your boat. Ensuring that the straps are perfectly tight can make you relieved of not slipping off the boat from the roof rack. In case you want to loosen up the straps, you must utterly open the buckles. Most of the time, you would want the straps to be tight, but you can lose them up in the night while you are staying at someplace.
5. Twist and tie the boat straps on your roof rack:
You must be thinking that making the straps secure is the last way, and you would now be going on a trip. However, there is a last resort to accomplish yet. While journeying, you might face winds at a higher speed than you have expected. Also, there are chances of your kayak getting banged around your car because of some inconvenient gesture in the travel. For avoiding this, you can twist and tie the boat strap on your roof rack. The best way to tie a strap is to tie with around another one! You can put a knot of one strap with the other or make a knot below the other to secure your boat. In this way, you can strap your kayak or boat better!
The Bottom Line – Prudently loading your roof rack makes the task dodgy to some extent. You might be new to holding the roof rack in a secure and stable way. With this guide, you can have tips to getting the boat placed rightly on the roof rack, tying straps in a way that defends the boat, and adding extra effort in securing the straps by tieing them with a hook or roller!
*Also Useful to know about: Boat Parts