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Transporting canoes safely requires a little planning and a few extra materials. You don't want to damage your canoe, vehicle or cause a danger to other people on the road. We've collected a variety of helpful hints for you to ensure that you and your canoe arrive safely and thoughtfully.
A good tie down system for canoes is a solid rack system. That might be a stock rack on a SUV or mini van, or a factory rack system designed for mounting on newer cars. Racks today are expensive, but the security and convenience are sometimes worth the cost. Loading a canoe by yourself is much easier with racks. It is more difficult with foam carriers.
However, if foam blocks are your only option, here are some steps to follow to make a safe, secure tie down. |
STEP 1
You must determine what points on your vehicle
you can tie to. For a good safe tie down, you must have:
Two good tie points at the front of your vehicle
for the bow of the canoe.
One but preferably two ropes or straps
around the center.
Only one tie point is needed in the rear.
Possible tie downs for
the front are: |
1) Tie down hooks under
the bumper at the corners (most import cars should
have these)
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2) In the corners of the
engine compartment by the headlights, look for
holes in the frame or anywhere you can tie a loop
of rope that will hang out the front when you
close the hood. Be careful not to tie around
electric or AC lines. Also be sure to have no
lines hanging that can be caught in moving parts
of the engine. |
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3) With the hood up, you
can tie loops of rope around the hood hinges;
close the hood so they hang from the back of the
hood. This method works best when loading short
canoes on a long vehicle.
Be careful not to tie
around electric or AC lines or have ropes hanging
that can be caught in moving parts of the engine.
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Possible tie-downs
around the center of the canoe
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1) Some older
cars may have some sort of rain gutter where you
could use gutter clips.
2) You can use the loops
around the hood hinges as mentioned in step 3
above. This works well if you loading a long canoe
on a short vehicle. Tie loops around the trunk
hinges also for a rear center tie down. |
3) One of the most secure
ways, if you don't have rain gutter, is to open
your car doors, and run a 15' hull strap thru the
vehicle, around the canoe and close the doors on
the straps. One strap around the center is
sometimes enough, but two is always better. This car
has four doors so we were able to run rope thru the
opened rear window so as to not damage the door
seals.
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When straps are used you have the
option to run the strap through the open door, or
through the window. Both methods are shown to the
right. |
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Notice that the rear strap is through
the window not the door. This is not a problem as
long as no one is sitting in the back seat. But
for safety reasons, its usually better to run the
straps through the open door. |
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Possible tie-downs
for the rear of the canoe are:
1) Most import cars
will have a tie down located under the bumper.
2) A trailer hitch
is always the easiest thing to tie to in the rear.
3) Tie a loop of
rope thru the trunk latch strike pin. Make sure it's hanging
out when you close the trunk. This will provide a good tie
down in the rear.
STEP 2
Once you have set up your tie down points,
you can secure the blocks onto the gunwale of the canoe. To
determine the position of the blocks, lay the canoe next to
the vehicle, centered according to your tie down points. Be
sure to place the blocks on the stiff part of you roof top,
which is usually at the front and back edges of the roof.
Now you can clip on the blocks and flip the canoe on to the
roof.
STEP 3
The first tie down should be
across the center. (This will ensure the canoe will not get
knocked or blown off the vehicle before you finish) Tie the bow of the canoe
down by taking a length of rope that is twice as long as you
need to go from the tie down at the end of the canoe, to the
front tie downs on the vehicle, secure the center of the
rope to the canoe's bow tie down using an overhand knot,
then "V" tie to each of your front corner tie
downs as shown in the photo below.
Now you can secure the rear tie down to
the hitch, tie down hook or trunk latch. Always be sure that
the bow and stern tie downs are working against each other.
An example of this would be, the bow ropes are tied in a way
to prevent the canoe from moving back and the stern rope is
tied (tilted forward) to stop the canoe from sliding forward
( which could happen in an emergency stopping situation).
This means in a lot of situations, the stern may be tied to
the rear seat rather than the tie down on the stern of the
canoe.
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Cam Buckle Straps and
Racks
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1- Thread the strap under the rack on one side of the
canoe.
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2-Move both ends of the strap to the opposite side of
the canoe leaving it wrapped around the rack on the other
side
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2-Move both ends of the strap to the opposite side of
the canoe leaving it wrapped around the rack on the other
side
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4- Tie a half hitch around the strap under the buckle
for added security and stow the strap as you like.
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WOODEN RACK FOR A
PICK-UP TRUCK
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This is a drawing of a canoe
rack that can be easily built with 2X4 and 1X3
wood. This rack also will serve well as a place to
store your canoe when the rack is not in the truck
bed. You can tie the canoe to the truck, not the
rack, this way you don't have to fasten the rack-
to the truck. Bow and stern tie downs will still
be necessary for a safe and secure ride.
This
drawing is just a suggestion on construction. It is
your responsibility to see that the canoe and rack
are properly secured and constructed.
When determining rack height, be sure to make
it high enough to clear the top of the cab. To do
this, put the front of the canoe on the cab,
resting on a blanket, then add 2" to
4".
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