Summertime. If you want to drive fast with a 16’6” canoe on top, you better make it secure. This method is bombproof.
1. Make up some front and rear tiedown straps
Cut some 10” lengths of 1” wide nylon or polypropylene strap. Lightly melt the cut edges on an electric stove element to prevent them from fraying. Fold them in half and have a shoe repair guy put a brass grommet through the ends. Now instead of trying to find good tiedown points under the car (a real pain in the ass), open the hood and unscrew a fender bolt. Slip on the tiedown strap, and tighten the bolt down again. Repeat on the opposite side.
Close the hood and you now have tiedown points where you need them. These can stay on all summer if you want – just loosen the bolt a little and turn 90 to hide them under the hood when not in use.
Make that rear spoiler useful. Fasten tiedown straps here using the spoiler bolts. (sorry, autofocus fail)
2. Foam blocks, roof rack, ratchet straps, cam straps, rope ?
If you don’t have a roof rack, get a set of foam blocks. Unfortunately, they are often not tall enough to prevent the canoe yoke from touching the roof due to the rounded roof profile of modern cars (if you have a Mazda 3 you will have this problem). The foam blocks here are made taller by cutting and glueing 2 together – use contact cement, then wrap the joint with duct tape.
The best place to position the blocks is right near the front and rear edges of the roof where it’s stiffest. Tip: if you lose a foam block on the highway (they can blow off believe it or not) cut one of the remaining ones in half to make two shorter blocks.
Ratchet straps (1) are better than cam straps (2). When cam straps are used again and again, the webbing gets worn smooth in the place where the cam bites it. Eventually, it just won’t hold tight anymore.
If you have to use foam blocks, you need to pass the ratchet straps around the canoe, then through the inside of the car while the doors are open (not through the windows). I position the ratchet mechanisms so they are inside the car. And I put a half twist in the strap on the outside (both sides of the canoe) to prevent the strap from vibrating and howling in the wind when driving at highway speeds.
3. Fancy roof rack and rope
Yakima or Thule, both are equally capable. But my Yakima has gunwale brackets which make loading and positioning the canoe too easy. And IMO, rope is the best choice. It gets tangled a lot less and doesn’t loosen up as much when it gets wet from driving in the rain. And there's no mechanism that can fail.
Take a length of 3/8” braided rope and tie it to the driver’s side of the rack with a bowline knot. Toss the loose end over the belly of the canoe.
Tighten it down there using a trucker’s hitch…
Secure with two half hitches…
Then wrap the remaining loose end so it doesn’t blow in the wind. Repeat for the second rack. If you have to pull over on the highway to adjust these knots on the passenger side, you’ll be standing safely on the shoulder of the road, away from traffic.
Go to the bow and attach two lengths of braided rope (1/8” is fine here) to the canoe’s hand hold using bowline knots.
Use the trucker’s hitch again and secure the bow to the front tiedown straps you installed.
Tightening the bow ropes can sometimes cause the canoe to shift slightly to one side or the other. In this photo, the boat shifted to the right and inch or so. I re-tied it afterwards to make it centered with the grill. If your ropes are loose, driving a 100 miles into a strong cross wind may shift the canoe a couple of inches anyway, but it's hard to plan ahead for this.
Tie down the stern in the same way.
You should have the canoe centered above the entire length of the car. Don’t just center it above the roof. You want the front and rear tiedown ropes pulling in opposite directions from each other for stability. And it’s much easier and safer to drive when you don’t have 6 feet of canoe poking out behind your bumper. (If you’re hauling short kayaks and such you can ignore this advice).
Rock the canoe's bow left and right. The car and canoe should move as one. When an 18-wheeler comes your way on a two lane highway it will create a lot more wind noise and turbulence when you both pass because of the canoe, but the canoe will stay put whether you use a roof rack or foam blocks.
Happy paddling.
1. Make up some front and rear tiedown straps
Cut some 10” lengths of 1” wide nylon or polypropylene strap. Lightly melt the cut edges on an electric stove element to prevent them from fraying. Fold them in half and have a shoe repair guy put a brass grommet through the ends. Now instead of trying to find good tiedown points under the car (a real pain in the ass), open the hood and unscrew a fender bolt. Slip on the tiedown strap, and tighten the bolt down again. Repeat on the opposite side.
Close the hood and you now have tiedown points where you need them. These can stay on all summer if you want – just loosen the bolt a little and turn 90 to hide them under the hood when not in use.
Make that rear spoiler useful. Fasten tiedown straps here using the spoiler bolts. (sorry, autofocus fail)
2. Foam blocks, roof rack, ratchet straps, cam straps, rope ?
If you don’t have a roof rack, get a set of foam blocks. Unfortunately, they are often not tall enough to prevent the canoe yoke from touching the roof due to the rounded roof profile of modern cars (if you have a Mazda 3 you will have this problem). The foam blocks here are made taller by cutting and glueing 2 together – use contact cement, then wrap the joint with duct tape.
The best place to position the blocks is right near the front and rear edges of the roof where it’s stiffest. Tip: if you lose a foam block on the highway (they can blow off believe it or not) cut one of the remaining ones in half to make two shorter blocks.
Ratchet straps (1) are better than cam straps (2). When cam straps are used again and again, the webbing gets worn smooth in the place where the cam bites it. Eventually, it just won’t hold tight anymore.
If you have to use foam blocks, you need to pass the ratchet straps around the canoe, then through the inside of the car while the doors are open (not through the windows). I position the ratchet mechanisms so they are inside the car. And I put a half twist in the strap on the outside (both sides of the canoe) to prevent the strap from vibrating and howling in the wind when driving at highway speeds.
3. Fancy roof rack and rope
Yakima or Thule, both are equally capable. But my Yakima has gunwale brackets which make loading and positioning the canoe too easy. And IMO, rope is the best choice. It gets tangled a lot less and doesn’t loosen up as much when it gets wet from driving in the rain. And there's no mechanism that can fail.
Take a length of 3/8” braided rope and tie it to the driver’s side of the rack with a bowline knot. Toss the loose end over the belly of the canoe.
Tighten it down there using a trucker’s hitch…
Secure with two half hitches…
Then wrap the remaining loose end so it doesn’t blow in the wind. Repeat for the second rack. If you have to pull over on the highway to adjust these knots on the passenger side, you’ll be standing safely on the shoulder of the road, away from traffic.
Go to the bow and attach two lengths of braided rope (1/8” is fine here) to the canoe’s hand hold using bowline knots.
Use the trucker’s hitch again and secure the bow to the front tiedown straps you installed.
Tightening the bow ropes can sometimes cause the canoe to shift slightly to one side or the other. In this photo, the boat shifted to the right and inch or so. I re-tied it afterwards to make it centered with the grill. If your ropes are loose, driving a 100 miles into a strong cross wind may shift the canoe a couple of inches anyway, but it's hard to plan ahead for this.
Tie down the stern in the same way.
You should have the canoe centered above the entire length of the car. Don’t just center it above the roof. You want the front and rear tiedown ropes pulling in opposite directions from each other for stability. And it’s much easier and safer to drive when you don’t have 6 feet of canoe poking out behind your bumper. (If you’re hauling short kayaks and such you can ignore this advice).
Rock the canoe's bow left and right. The car and canoe should move as one. When an 18-wheeler comes your way on a two lane highway it will create a lot more wind noise and turbulence when you both pass because of the canoe, but the canoe will stay put whether you use a roof rack or foam blocks.
Happy paddling.
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