Roof Loaded

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how to load a canoe on a car roof?

What's the proper way to load a canoe on a car roof?

I tie canoes to my roof rack frequently. What I do is:

1. Place the canoe across the two roof rack bars with the gunnels on the bars.

2. I tie a rope around each bar next to the canoe with two round turns and a bowline.

3. I throw the rope over the canoe, around the bar on the other side, back over and around the initial bar.

4. I crank down tight and secure with a trucker's hitch.

5. Because roof racks or their attachment points can fail, I also tie two ropes to the bow and stern of the canoe (sometimes just one) and secure these two tie points under the vehicle, also using a trucker's hitch for snugness. (I had one surprising experience on a long road trip the continued wear and vibration, actually tore a section of rain gutter right off the car, when I only had the canoe tied to the rack and not the car)

Over thousands of miles, I've never had a canoe come loose with the above method.

Note, I see no need for all the rack accessories when it comes to a canoe. Tying the canoe straight to the bars works well. For 20 years, I've been using the same basic method for securing canoes to the bars of our canoe trailer in the outdoor program I run. Never a problem.

On ocassion, I've just used the foam gunnel blocks instead of a roof rack. In addition to the bow and stern tie downs, I'll tie a rope or length of webbing to a thwart , through the interior of the car with the doors open, out the other side of the car, around the thwart on the other side, back into the car and again pull tight and secure with a truckers hitch. Shutting the doors ,helps hold the cord or webbing in place so the canoe can not slide to the side. This is an inexpensive option for short trips, but for frequent or longer trips, I recommend getting a real roof rack.