Surfboard on Roofrack

Joeyjoejoe43

Hi Guys,

Any advice on transporting your board around the country? I have a roofrack and a ratchet strap, but I can see some damage on the Epoxy board caused by the strap. I think I will buy a 2nd ratchet strap and that way I wont need to tighten it as much given that there will be two. Another thing I tried was outting a sock between the board and the strap to protect the board. Does any one have any other suggestion or is there a custom made surf ratchet that wont damage my board... Thanks for any suggestions.

CRenegade

Hey,

I have this a year and half: http://www.micksgarage.ie/proddetails.aspx?pid=816995&pk=3B81F

its a designed surfboard holder setup - but the only con is that it will not take any more than 2 boards. Keeps the boards sturdy in travel without damaging them

spaceHopper

Ratchet straps are all wrong and put to much pressure on the boards.

I used these for sercurity http://store.magicseaweed.com/SPT-Lockable-Rack-Straps/Item/191/

and also something like this all the time
http://store.magicseaweed.com/Curve-Adjustable-Tiedowns/Item/2501/

You can get them in woddies and home base, if you are carring one board then something about 2 meters long x 2 one for each bar, a set of 5 meter straps is also handy of you have more boards.

I always tie off the end of the strap, I don't trust the clip.

You don't need to much tension on the strap just enough to hold the boards down.

The most important thing is to loop the straps around the bar close the board and never at the end of the bars as they will slip off. I'm surfing 10 years and have never lost a board off a roof touch wood.

Also put padding on the bars, either buy some in a surf shop or on line or get some pipe insulation in a hardware store.

cornbb

Using ratchet straps seems like a very bad idea, I imagine it would be very easy to crush the rails of your board by overtightening them.

I use the straps with the spring and cam mechanism, like these: http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_172268_langId_-1_categoryId_165760

I haven't done any damage with the likes of this.

Mickeroo

Ya reckon padding is necessary if you've got a bag, I've not got round to getting padding but it seems to be ok so far with just the bag on it?

spaceHopper

Mickeroo wrote: »

Ya reckon padding is necessary if you've got a bag, I've not got round to getting padding but it seems to be ok so far with just the bag on it?

You can get enough pipe insulation to do a roof rack twice over for 2 euros in any good HW storer? can't hurt to have it.

Joeyjoejoe43

Thanks a lot for all the feedback, much appreciated. I will pick up the Thule kit or similar Id say.. Bit pissed off about damaging the board, but there are just a few slight compressions, so hopefully this wont affect the boards performance.

Joeyjoejoe43

cornbb wrote: »

Using ratchet straps seems like a very bad idea, I imagine it would be very easy to crush the rails of your board by overtightening them.

I use the straps with the spring and cam mechanism, like these: http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_172268_langId_-1_categoryId_165760

I haven't done any damage with the likes of this.

These look like what I have... I dont see any Cam mechanism there??

cornbb

Maybe I described it badly, I meant a tie-down mechanism like this:

http://www.aquatecfishing.com/images/tie%20down%20straps.bmp

Not ratchet straps like this:

http://www.strapsandbelts.com/images/tie-down-straps.jpg

xxyyzz

Speaking of surfboards on roofracks - If you are strapping your board to the roofrack nose-first, make sure that the nose of the board is pointing down. If it points up the board generates lift in the wind. The number of cars heading eastbound yesterday evening with the front of the board 3 foot off the roof of the car dragging in the wind was rather worrying. It aint rocket science :rolleyes:.
You really shouldn't be carrying a board with a soft-rack for long cross-country journeys IMHO. They aren't strong enough. It's very difficult to carry a longboard under your arm when there's any sort of wind so imagine the kind of forces generated when its strapped to the roof of a car doing 60mph.

(sorry for the thread hijack but the title was apt.)

Sammer

I reckon invest in a decent board bag and then the straps wont damage your board.

JeanOH

find some way to put it in the car...even if the missus has to sit behind you...boards on the roof are asking for disaster full stop...and not to mention the waste of diesel because of your airplane wing!!! there's always a way to put it in the car...if not then you have to make the transition to a surfer and get a vehicle to suit your surfing, not a roof rack to suit your car

Mickeroo

Mine fits in the van as long as i don't bring a passenger.

echosound

JeanOH wrote: »

find some way to put it in the car...even if the missus has to sit behind you...boards on the roof are asking for disaster full stop...and not to mention the waste of diesel because of your airplane wing!!! there's always a way to put it in the car...if not then you have to make the transition to a surfer and get a vehicle to suit your surfing, not a roof rack to suit your car

Agree with this - I can fit a longboard and minimal inside my car (two longboards if I take the fins off one), and it's a bogstandard saloon with a ridiculously awkward panel blocking part of the through-space when you drop the back seats down. Wind the front passenger seat right down, put your boards in from the boot and slide them over the back of the lowered front seat, towels underneath to stop wax smearing on your seats.

You'll only fit a max of two boards and two people doing this (passenger sits behind you on the 1/3 split of the rear seat). Works for us, hate having boards on the roof, feels like one long panic attack driving along worrying about the boards on the roof and whether a freak wind will whip them off and skewer the driver behind you (I'm a "worst case scenario" type panicker!).

Japer

Joeyjoejoe43 wrote: »

Hi Guys,

Any advice on transporting your board around the country? I have a roofrack and a ratchet strap, but I can see some damage on the Epoxy board caused by the strap. I think I will buy a 2nd ratchet strap and that way I wont need to tighten it as much given that there will be two. Another thing I tried was outting a sock between the board and the strap to protect the board. Does any one have any other suggestion or is there a custom made surf ratchet that wont damage my board... Thanks for any suggestions.

Do not buy the ratchet straps you see in hardware shops. All surf shops sell pairs of proper surfboard straps - the buckle is lighter on these so it will not scratch the board. They usually have a little bit of neoprene under the buckle too. Ratchets are heavy, awkward + you could overtighten / damage the board. Get a board bag too, or a set of roof rack pads.

promethius

good thread!
My tuppence or two cent worth:
Thule straps are excellent along with some pipe insulation on a decent hard roof rack.
Funny about the nose up see it on a lot of cars on the sligo dublin road on a friday
Softrack is not great besides a short journey, could definitely lose a board, i'd hate to see how the accident like that would play out regarding insurance etc, a long board could do serious damage to another car or person, remember lethal weapon!
I can fit a 9.5, 8ft and 66 all inside the golf hatch back without any issues, have those socks for them so no mess to interior. putting a board in the car is the best option always.

yank_in_eire

xxyyzz wrote: »

Speaking of surfboards on roofracks - If you are strapping your board to the roofrack nose-first, make sure that the nose of the board is pointing down

Is this nose-first business an Irish thing? In nearly every other place in the world I've surfed boards get strapped tail-first with the fins pointing up. Is there some advantage to the nose-first thing that I'm somehow missing out on?

ThOnda

Yep, if the fin is in front and your straps go loose, the fin catches by the first strap, at lease for a while.
Not to mention aerodynamics of a car, the reverse orientation of the board gets the closest to the wind stream above your vehicle.

FlashD

Is this nose-first business an Irish thing? In nearly every other place in the world I've surfed boards get strapped tail-first with the fins pointing up. Is there some advantage to the nose-first thing that I'm somehow missing out on?

:D

Sure is an Irish thing alright. Nose first = kooks (a danger to the public)

Strap your boards 'nose first' and you can expect to arrive at your break boardless some session.

....or worse end up malling some one with an airbourne board.

Regards.

Mickeroo

FlashD wrote: »

:D

Sure is an Irish thing alright. Nose first = kooks (a danger to the public)

Strap your boards 'nose first' and you can expect to arrive at your break boardless some session.

....or worse end up malling some one with an airbourne board.

Regards.

Pretty sure the board is more aerodynamic if the nose is to the front......

c-note

I use ratchet straps on both surfboards and windsurf boards,
the boards are ALWAYS in protective bags care is taken as to the placement of the ratchet (not on a corner etc),

you do need to be carefull as you can wreck a board if overtightend, use commom sense. In my experience they have NEVER become loose (2 boards on roof from dublin>belfast>scotland>Tiree, arrived solid,18hrs moving)

running one strap around two roofbars can sometimes cause the roofbars to be pulled twards eachother (depending on how they are tightened) which is BAD. also offers no redundancy if one strap fails.

i use the lighter staps (non ratchet type) as well as bungee chord for securing sails and delicate things, you need to keep a much closer eye on theese. personally i would not use them for securing boards if intending to travel over 80kph.

as far as nose up/down/forward/backward goes, it dosnt matter a **** once you have it strapped right. i belive the most aerodynamic config is with nose forward pointing down.

a quick google: someone does a VERY EXTENSIVE guide!
http://www.its.caltech.edu/~surfer/crossbar_rack_instructions.pdf

xxyyzz

yank_in_eire wrote: »

Is this nose-first business an Irish thing? In nearly every other place in the world I've surfed boards get strapped tail-first with the fins pointing up. Is there some advantage to the nose-first thing that I'm somehow missing out on?

Personally I don't think it makes a much of a difference if you have it nose-first or fins-first, but if you have it nose first make sure the board is upsidedown i.e. fins pointing up. It seems to be a common mistake with people travelling west for the weekend and it must be lethal on the motorways.