L320 Kayak tie down ideas

[Old Arie]

I have a couple of Sea Kayaks and are looking for ideas on a suitable tie down location to hold the forward tie down ropes. I have Thule Hullavator racks and think that a tie for the bow would be a good idea.
Regards Arie

[ramblingboy42]

I have tied down to the bow and stern previously and the lines develop awful harmonics in the slipstream .....two straps across the beam has worked best for me.

Get a couple of bettter quality 40-50mm tie downs , cut them to your specific length and dress the ends.

[vnx205]

A system I have used for a decade or so is very secure.

A security rope on the bow is a very good idea. Just ask a friend of mine who lost a K1. The kayak was securely attached to the roof bars, but when he passed a truck, the bars were ripped off the vehicle, damaging his vehicle in the process. The kayak, still attached to the bars, landed on the road and a following car ran over them.

Did I mention that I think bow ropes are a good idea? :)

Most vehicles attach the mudguards with bolts under the edge of the bonnet. (Maybe some modern vehicles use plastic clips. I wouldn't know. :) )

Remove one bolt on each side fold a 80mm to 100mm length of 25mm nylon webbing in half and melt a hole for the bolt with a soldering iron. Replace the bolts.

When the tie down is used, the webbing protrudes from the gap between the bonnet and the mudguard. When not in use, the webbing folds down out of sight.

If that explanation isn't clear, I could probably make the effort to take a photo or two.

Just remember that a bow rope is a backup. Don't do what some people do and crank it down tight enough to crack the hull. There is a lot of leverage at the bow.

[vnx205]

I have tied down to the bow and stern previously and the lines develop awful harmonics in the slipstream .....two straps across the beam has worked best for me.

Get a couple of bettter quality 40-50mm tie downs , cut them to your specific length and dress the ends.

What is this fascination with straps? :)

Learn to tie the proper knots and use ropes.

Harmonics problem solved.

Two straps across the beam is not the answer. It didn't help my friend's K1. :)

[austastar]

Hi,
I used a combination of rope and bungee strap to create a firm grip on the boat without crushing it.

Link (http://www.aulro.com/afvb/projects-tutorials/243249-bungee-cord-rope-ends.html)

Vary the length of rope/bungee to suit your individual tie down needs.

Cheers

[DiscoMick]

I use ratchet straps. I feed a strap through a central hole in the kayak, down around the bar and up again and then over both sides of the kayak and down to the bars again.
I use two straps, one before and one after the widest centre point in the kayaks. I also use a third strap to tie both bows down.
Make sure the kayak's nose is lower than the stern so the wind pushes it down onto the bars, as you don't want the wind trying to lift the kayaks up, pulling on the bars. Hope that helps.

Sent from my SM-G900I using AULRO mobile app

[Old Arie]

Thank you all for your input. I think that the webbing idea will work best for me.
Regards Old Arie

[cjc_td5]

Placing a twist or two in the webbing straps removes most if not all flutter in the wind.