# Kayak tie-down



## bcraley76 (Apr 14, 2004)

Guys -

I have a toyota tundra. Just put Yakima rack on the truck cap. Putting two SOT yaks on the roof rack upside down... question is since the racks don't come over the windshield, I'm I safe with just two straps over the yak and around the bars? Or do I need to use bow and stern straps also? I've gone on close to home trips with just the two straps without problem but planning a 7 hour trip at highway speeds in the next week.

Thanks!


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## SMBHooker (Jan 3, 2008)

bcraley76 said:


> Guys -
> 
> I have a toyota tundra. Just put Yakima rack on the truck cap. Putting two SOT yaks on the roof rack upside down... question is since the racks don't come over the windshield, I'm I safe with just two straps over the yak and around the bars? Or do I need to use bow and stern straps also? I've gone on close to home trips with just the two straps without problem but planning a 7 hour trip at highway speeds in the next week.
> 
> Thanks!


Provide pic - why not just in the bed of the truck?


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## bcraley76 (Apr 14, 2004)

SMBHooker said:


> Provide pic - why not just in the bed of the truck?


Because we're going for a family vacation and the bed of the truck is going to be full of other stuff.


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## Bubbagon (Mar 8, 2010)

No sweat. You're good.
Check them after an hour on the road. But you'll be fine.


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## bcraley76 (Apr 14, 2004)

Bubbagon said:


> No sweat. You're good.
> Check them after an hour on the road. But you'll be fine.


Thanks! That should have said... Yaks (not racks) do not extend over the front of the windshield. They hit about mid-roof on my extended cab.


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## Bubbagon (Mar 8, 2010)

I knew what you meant. 
There's no way to put a bow strap on them anyway. You'd be tightening against your rear window, which I know from experience, is a very bad thing,  
Two good straps around the bars and you're good.


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## Shortdrift (Apr 5, 2004)

Maybe try Yakima for an opinion.


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## chris1162 (Mar 12, 2008)

Make sure the straps run through a handle or something so they are actually attached to the kayak and not just holding it down.


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## Bubbagon (Mar 8, 2010)

For what it's worth, I've been kayaking and tying down kayaks for well over 20 years.
There's no need to run any straps through handles, or whatever. Bow straps do NOT help keep the kayak from sliding backwards. Their only purpose is to keep the kayak from "lifting" off the rack. Which is why you're not supposed to "crank down" bow straps, but instead just have them "slack free".
Two straps, around the bars, you're set.


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## crittergitter (Jun 9, 2005)

Bubbagon said:


> For what it's worth, I've been kayaking and tying down kayaks for well over 20 years.
> There's no need to run any straps through handles, or whatever. Bow straps do NOT help keep the kayak from sliding backwards. Their only purpose is to keep the kayak from "lifting" off the rack. Which is why you're not supposed to "crank down" bow straps, but instead just have them "slack free".
> Two straps, around the bars, you're set.


Eh, are you sure it's only 20??


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## dhf125 (May 5, 2014)

crittergitter said:


> Eh, are you sure it's only 20??


I am not familiar with your vehicle, but I have a honda accord I haul my 12 foot kayak around for the last 4 years. I would never get on the interstate without bow and stern tiedowns. Last year I went to southern kentucky using the interstaete. The two biggest issues on the interstate are the 18 wheelers and the draft when they pass by, and strong winds, especially strong cross winds that will really shake your kayak. I have a Yakima roof rack and also use two straps to tie it down. I also haul it upside down.


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## Rocknut (Apr 17, 2015)

I haul a 14' and a 12' yak on my subaru. My cross bars are only about 30" apart. I run two traps around each yak plus a bow and stern strap. I run it up around 80 with no problem. I strap the yaks down separately not together. My 14' yak extends almost to the front bumper. The wind off of semi's seems to be what moves the yaks around. My bow straps are tight enough so they don't shake in the wind.

On my full size pickup with a crew cab I would lay the yaks upside down and use two straps for each yak. Since the yaks did not extend over the cab very much.


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## bcraley76 (Apr 14, 2004)

Here's my setup. What do you think? Really no way to use bow and stern straps.


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## Rocknut (Apr 17, 2015)

You should be good with that setup


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## BuzzBait Brad (Oct 17, 2014)

I've had 3 kayaks on a chevy cavalier a few times lol talk about sketchy. I like bow and stern straps though. It just makes me feel a bit more comfortable.


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## Bubbagon (Mar 8, 2010)

bcraley76 said:


> Here's my setup. What do you think? Really no way to use bow and stern straps.
> View attachment 239513


OH! I guess I was thinking a hard tonneau cover. You could totally run bow straps on that set up if you wanted.
These are nice to use in your hood for the bow straps:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Shorelin...75035&wl11=online&wl12=49398419&wl13=&veh=sem


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## Spiritedlead (Jun 18, 2017)

bcraley76 said:


> Guys -
> 
> I have a toyota tundra. Just put Yakima rack on the truck cap. Putting two SOT yaks on the roof rack upside down... question is since the racks don't come over the windshield, I'm I safe with just two straps over the yak and around the bars? Or do I need to use bow and stern straps also? I've gone on close to home trips with just the two straps without problem but planning a 7 hour trip at highway speeds in the next week.
> 
> Thanks!


Always a good idea to put bow and stern lines when you're doing highway driving. I do it. Those winds can really lift and put extra pressure on those straps. Plan for the unexpected. Better safe than sorry. Have fun!!


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## TDD11 (Aug 5, 2015)

You run 2 straps per kayak, or what? 

There's no way I'd go down any road with only 1 strap passing over the kayak. It needs to pass over the kayak twice, a couple feet apart, at the very least. Better yet, use 2 straps. Redundancy is never a bad thing when it comes to securing loads and safety.


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## bcraley76 (Apr 14, 2004)

TDD11 said:


> You run 2 straps per kayak, or what?
> 
> There's no way I'd go down any road with only 1 strap passing over the kayak. It needs to pass over the kayak twice, a couple feet apart, at the very least. Better yet, use 2 straps. Redundancy is never a bad thing when it comes to securing loads and safety.


Of course! Two straps per Kayak around each crossbar... is anyone dumb enough to do anything less?


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## TDD11 (Aug 5, 2015)

I think you'd be surprised. Lol


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## 9Left (Jun 23, 2012)

Yea... don't mess with bow or stearn straps, there is no need for them, two straps around the yaks and tightened to the roof rack on either side is fine...if you put a strap from the front of the yak down over the hood and attach it to the bumper, the only thing it is going to do is vibrate like hell in the wind and annoy the crap out of you while you're driving


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## Bubbagon (Mar 8, 2010)

Pro tip: Put a couple of "twists" in the straps for bow tie downs. They won't vibrate in the wind.


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## YAK_THE_FLIPPER (Jan 2, 2015)

My story about tie downs...

My first fishing kayak was a 10 foot sit-in. I carried it thousands of miles on the roof of my old Taurus without any problems. I had Thule roof bars and I used Thule J-cradles. I always ran a ratchet rope from the bow and also from the stern and secured to anchor points under the front and rear bumper.

Eventually, I got tired of stooping down and trying to feel around for the anchor points under the bumpers. I gave it some thought and decided the bow and stern lines might be overkill. I have seen many people just use the cradles without any additional tie downs, so it probably wasn't necessary. I decided to make a compromise and just run the ratchet rope from the bow to the stern (under the two Thule bars) so there would be a little bit of downward tension on the each end of the yak.

I pulled out of my residence with this configuration and everything was ok for about seven miles. I pulled on to I-275 and accelerated up to highway speed. It was Memorial Day weekend so there was a good bit of traffic around. I took a peek up through my sunroof and everything seemed to be going ok.

I accelerated 5 more miles an hour and the boat began to chatter. I heard the chattering sound for about 5 seconds followed by a WHHHHHOOOOOOOSSSSHHHHHH!!! I looked through the sunroof and the yak was GONE. In the same split second I saw the yak in my rear view. It had sailed into the air and was crashing down into the highway. It was still secured to the front J-cradle which was still attached to one of the Thule cross bars. The whole front cross bar had worked loose because the nose of the boat was pushing up very hard without the ratchet rope pulling it down toward the front bumper. I was so very fortunate that no one was directly behind me. I could have easily killed someone that day!

I quickly pulled over to the emergency lane and pulled the mess off the highway. I wanted to elude the unsecure load citation that I undoubtedly deserved. I took the yak out of the cradle and removed the cradle from the cargo bar. I opened the trunk and put my backseat down. I shoved the boat into the trunk and secured it the best I could with some rope and bungee cords I had. I drove to the next exit with my hazard lights on, then took back roads to get home.

To this day I don't know why the roof rack failed. I am pretty sure I installed it correctly and I believe it was as tight as it could be. I eventually got a pick-up truck to transport my yak and I don't know if I would ever trust a roof rack system again.


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## dhf125 (May 5, 2014)

YAK_THE_FLIPPER said:


> My story about tie downs...
> 
> My first fishing kayak was a 10 foot sit-in. I carried it thousands of miles on the roof of my old Taurus without any problems. I had Thule roof bars and I used Thule J-cradles. I always ran a ratchet rope from the bow and also from the stern and secured to anchor points under the front and rear bumper.
> 
> ...


To me the J-cradle puts the kayak in a very unaerodynamic position on your roof. I haul my kayak like bcraley 76, upside down and laying flat. Less wind force hitting the kayak. I was loading up one day with very strong winds and before I could tie my kayak down a strong gust of wind blew my 55lb kayak off my roof like it was a leaf. And that was not moving in a parking lot, so just imagine the wind force flying down the highway at 70mph. It seems to me the J-cradle turns your kayak into a kite on the roof of your car.


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## KTkiff (Jul 30, 2004)

At minimum I would go with the bow line. I have taken 15 hour trips with no issues.


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## bcraley76 (Apr 14, 2004)

I'm slowly becoming convinced that I shoukdbrun bow lines so I don't have to be worried the entire 7 hour trip. I guess I can push the yaks forward enough so the bow straps don't hit the front edge of the roof.


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## Bubbagon (Mar 8, 2010)

I wouldn't scoot the yaks forward, just put a foam block under the strap at the roof line.


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## G-Patt (Sep 3, 2013)

Bow lines are probably a good measure of insurance for you. For what it's worth, I use medium size pool noodles on my flat rack (not a J rack), which allows for some compressive holding strength when using the 2 Thule straps. I've never had an issue traveling between 65 and 70 mph using this system. But for a 7-hour highway trip, I'd be putting on the bow lines to keep from worrying about it. Good luck! I'm sure finding a way to do that without messing up the paint might be a challenge, but the internet, YouTube and your common sense are good resources. Let us know if you found a way that works.


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## bcraley76 (Apr 14, 2004)

Spoke w Outdoor Source today. They claim w a 12' boat and the crossbars spread far apart I should be ok w out a bow tie down. However for piece of mind on the long trip it's good measure to use the bow strap for the long trips.


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