Canoe Tips
Tie OnONE U
nless you happen to live on the water, transporting your boat is usu-
ally the first part and maybe even the most dangerous part of any canoeing adventure. If you pry deeply into the stories of sea- soned canoeists you will find that most will sheepishly admit to having a canoe or two take heart-stopping rides into the ditches of this great country.What they boasted was a scrape and dent from a heroic eddy manoeuvre was in fact the pavement and guardrail. Like any other canoeing tech- nique,tying a canoe on the roof is a learned skill, one that takes practice and is almost never taught in an instructional course. But when it comes right down to it, loading your boat with an easy and safe system is the skill that is most likely to get you on the water.
Like the forward stroke, everyone has
their own personal version of essentially the same thing.Tying a canoe to the roof has many adaptations and before you can free- lance and develop a style of your own you need a solid
foundation.The following sys- tem is simple and it works. Safe travels and good paddling.
C
the r oof that is! A
1. Load the canoe onto a good quality set of roof racks that are wider than the width of your canoe and rated for a greater capacity than the weight of your canoe. The further the racks are apart the bet- ter. Ensure the canoe is centred from front to back on the racks.
2. On one side of the vehicle, using a bow- line knot, tie a rope around each rack and slide it tight against the canoe (photo A). Minding bystanders, toss the ropes over the canoe to the other side.
3. One at a time,loop the ropes around the bars as close to the boat as possible and tie a trucker’s hitch knot about twelve inches above the bar (photo B).A truck- er’s hitch is a mechanical advantage sys- tem that gets your boat three times tighter than simply putting on the rope.
B
So, heave away and stop just short of collapsing the hull, then wrap the rope around the rack for a little friction.
4. Tie at least two half hitches and then tie the rest of the rope out of the way (photo C).After you’ve done both ropes, the canoe should be held solidly on the racks. Test by pushing, pulling and moving either the bow or stern from side to side. If there is any movement, tighten it again.
5. The prudent canoeist then secures the bow and stern for two reasons; a back up system in case the ropes, knots or racks fail, and to reduce the bounc-
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