Reassessing Bow and Stern Lines....

Dang, that sucks big time.  I've had very scary thoughts float through my head a few times about something like that happening while on the interstate.  Hope things go well with the insurance.

Those are painful photo's to see.    I have had 2 times in my life where I had epic failure of roof racks that were costly.  One loaded with ski's and the second with surf boards.   
What type of vehicle were they mounted on?
  I figure the strongest forces they have to deal with is the wind coming up off of the hood of the vehicle trying to push them up and off while going down the road.    I do not put the nose of the kayaks any farther forward than the front bumper so the bow line is pulling them straight down.   Granted, every completely secure method is only that till fate has it fail. 
 

Thank you for posting this. I just quit shopping for roof racks.
 I honor you for posting this and potentially saving someone else from a similar catastrophe. Thank God no one was injured.  Remember...the only real loss was plastic, and I do believe your insurance will cover it.
I am going to design a two kayak steel trailer I can haul behing my Jeep or the Sub.

Going out to check rack right now...

Damn shame.  Glad no flesh got hurt.  I think we would all be interested in the failure mode.  What broke and how were they tied down on the J carriers?  Many run the straps over the roof or lumber rack cross members, and not just through the carriers.  I only use bow and stern lines on long trips.  Maybe I'll change my SOP to any highway travel. 

Lots of sympathy, and thanks for sharing the warning. 

The only thing I did different yesterday is put the T15 on the racks backward.  Of course, that doesn't many anything.  As I went around strapping the kayaks in, as per norm, I check the kayak's security to the bars, and then the bar's security to the car.  Everything was firm.  I drove 4 miles to Fisherman's Marine to make a quick purchase, snugged up the straps, and headed out.

It was as I was merging onto I5 from Delta Park that things went wrong.  I was just moving into the lane when I heard a "pop."  It wasn't a whole lot different than the sound of a strap hitting the roof, but just a bit more solid and enough to register as a different sound. I looked immediately up through the windshield and that moment was when the kayaks disappeared from view.  The sound I heard was the catastrophic failure of the front clip.  I was driving the Kia, and had it FULL of gear.  I don't even think I had hit the speed limit yet.

Most of the traffic was able to come to a stop and avoid carnage except for the Jeep in the picture.  His biggest fear was the kayaks coming through the windshield, but instead they jammed up under the bumper pretty well, and did a bit of damage to his rig.  Nothing serious and my insurance will take care of that.  I was quick to drag the kayaks off to the shoulder - an easy task since they were still strapped to the rack.  Last thing I like to do is tie up traffic.  The guy in the Jeep pulled over in front of me as we exchanged information.

I called Alder Creek since I knew they were the closest people that might be able to help get the yaks off the road.  Sure enough, they did, and Jason drove out and we put the kayaks on his rig.  The boats are still at the shop, and I'll likely take the convertible down to get them today.

I've replayed the incident over and over and over.  Would a bow strap have helped?  Perhaps.  The T15 is longer than the Kia and I've often wondered how effective the additional straps would be if they were called in to play.  But, since they were not there, it's hard to say what happened.  I've historically, like many of us here, have only included bow and stern tie downs when taking the kayak a long distance.  I was a few miles from home, and wasn't even going to be leaving city limits.  I had hauled the kayaks in this same configuration with this car, this rack, these tie downs exactly the same way before. 

Car insurance won't cover anything other than the car (which has a door ding on the roof that I"m not the least bit concerned about) and maybe the rack.  I had already been thinking about a trailer, so if I do get any monies for rack replacement, it will all go to the trailer fund.  I won't know how much my home owner's insurance will cover things, but from what I've heard from other people, they might only cover one of the kayaks.  One interesting note that I learned, State Farm does have an add-on "kayak insurance" that would have covered both kayaks, no problem.  So, if you're shopping for insurance, or already have State Farm, that is something to look into.

Bummer. Glad it didn't cause a wreck and injuries!

I have used roof racks to haul canoes, yaks, sailboards surfboards, dimensional lumber and other stuff ever since I have been driving and have never experienced a rack failure.
Everything from cheap "Bay Standard" surf racks, soft racks, cheesy factory-installed racks, home-made 1x2 fir  (clear, straight grain) bars with Quick 'n Easy clamps, Yakima gutter towers on my B2200, and Yakima bars for my Forester, to name some of them.

One thing common to all is that I have always been very careful and anal when strappping stuff on them (Ok, I did drive off once back in '91 with my 6' 10" not strapped down, but it blew off into the grass...not a rack failure, but a brain fart...board only got a couple of shatter dings), and never have seriously overloaded them.
I have always used a bow line when hauling my yaks or canoe on my roof.  Never had more than one boat on the roof at a time, though. I don't use a stern line, since my stern sticks way back beyond my rear bumper and the bow line seems sufficient to hold the yak straight and keep it from fishtailing on the roof. When I'm heading outside my local area, though, I often throw a line or a bicycle cable lock around the rear rack bar and the rear thwart (canoe, U-12) or thru a scupper hole (Tarpon), to keep the yak/canoe from hurtling forward out of the straps if I get in a head-on, as well as to stymie thieves.

 My Yakima towers are locked on, and the clamps seem really strong. I'd be more worried about ripping the factory installed tracks right out of my roof than I am about my towers failing and coming off  the tracks. But then again, I only haul one boat at a time on my roof. It sits dead center on my racks, with the bow slightly angled down from horizontal (like my roof-line), and upside down, so I think the hull and angle let the wind push it down rather than lift it. I have cut my bars down from 58" to 48" to reduce wind resistance.

I quit using my Mako saddles (PITA to take on and off all the time, and I don't like 'em up there causing drag) and load all my boats upside down now, so the gunwales contact the rack bar. I also use my canoe trailer if I want to haul something right-side up.

I plan to use the trailer more for my Tarpon 140, now since that is the heavier boat and the one that is harder to slide on the roof racks upside down. I can get it ready to launch while its sitting on the trailer and just back it into the water so it floats off the berth.   Or lift one end at a time to transfer it to my Wheeleez cart.

My racks seem very solid and secure. I can't imagine them coming off! That must have been a really scary situation!

My Tandem Island was too long and heavy for car topping so I bought a 4x8 folding trailer from Harbor Freight, added a plywood deck, 2 4x4 beams and a 4x8 sheet of plastic privacy lattice. Three straps and it's very solid. Zero wind drag. Saves my old back, too.

I got State Farm boat insurance for $6/month and the trailer insurance is sixty cents a month.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ah man, that's freaking brutal.

Hoppa, thanks for the insurance tip. Cheap even if if I never use it.

Yes, thanks! I am going to have to look into that. I'm almost done with my Harbor Freight 4x8 trailer. Finishing the bed and rails still. Also, I should insure my Trailex canoe trailer, since it has the puny 8" wheels. Oh yeah, maybe also my EZ Loader with the john boat.
I've never insured a boat or trailer, and never had any accidents while towing, but trailer parts, bearings, and tires can fail.


 

Hoppa, thanks for the insurance tip. Cheap even if if I never use it.

I have a fear of this happening.  Especially on trips like this last weekend (650+ miles).  I "try" to check all my lines every 100 miles or so.

I'm also in the process of selling my big sled trailer in hopes of buying a smaller trailer for the kayak.