Carrying a canoe on an '05 Subaru Forester Roof Rack

Marsh Jones wrote:
> Pull the factory cross bars and put them in the basement for resale
> w/car, get Yakima or Thule 'towers' and bars, and either company's boat
> clips. Spread the bars as far apart as you can, use good straps, and
> tie the bow to the tow hooks or use flip-out under hood straps. Worth
> every penny you spend, and it's a longer term investment than just one
> car. Subaru's factory bars are OK, and their rails are the best in the
> industry, IMHO, but I've yet to feel as secure with a fairly hefty boat
> on the factory rails. I have 2 sets of bars, 60" and 78". The 78s will
> take two 36" beam canoes with ease.
> Note - don't get Thule's fancy mounted straps. Just get 12-16' straps
> from NRS, Ketter, etc and loop them over and back. Much more secure and
> spread the load much better.

Don't know if Subaru still does, but when the Forester was relatively
new and in the Auto Show in STL (mid to late 90s?), the nice Subaru
rep. lady told me Yakima made the factory racks for the Forester, as I
yanked on the Forester's factory rack and moved the entire car on it's
suspension (a trick I use to test the solidness of a rack!)

John Kuthe...
 >> Stay informed about: Carrying a canoe on an '05 Subaru Forester Roof Rack 

I have a 1996 Subaru Outback. I took a 2 x 4, glued on some neoprene,
stapled on some carpet, screwed on a couple of wood blocks, and just
dropped it onto the Subaru rack main rails. I tie the 2 x 4 to the
cross rails so it does not move around. I tie down the canoe to the
main rails with the heavy NRS straps. I then add a line from the bow to
a couple of pieces of webbing attached to the fender bolts. The bow
line is just a backup, I have run without it. You could add a stern line
if you like, most people do. Works well, installs quickly, I have used
it for well over 1000 miles. The rack cost me less than $5.

However, this strategy seems much less attractive if you want to carry
two canoes. I considered building a wide rack, and decided that it
would just be too complicated. Maybe I will revisit the wide rack
sometime, but I would need to figure out a good way to clamp the 2x4 to
the rails. Maybe I should fire up my forge, and make some custom steel
clamps.

Richard



jesterpoet RemoveThis @gmail.com wrote:
> We're looking into purchasing a used canoe (an Old Town Penobscot 16, a
> 16 footer) and the only car we have to carry it is a 2005 Subaru
> Forester. There's a roof rack on the forester, and from rough tape
> measure estimates, it looks like it'll be close, but it will fit. I'm
> curious, though, if anyone has any experience with trying to carry a
> canoe on a stock Subaru rack, and what suggestions you would have.
> We've done plenty of canoeing, but have never had our own to carry
> around.
>
> Any input would be appreciated!
>
> Thanks!
>
> Todd
>


--
http://www.fergusonsculpture.com
Sculptures in copper and other metals
 >> Stay informed about: Carrying a canoe on an '05 Subaru Forester Roof Rack 

jesterpoet.RemoveThis@gmail.com wrote:

> We're looking into purchasing a used canoe (an Old Town Penobscot 16, a
> 16 footer) and the only car we have to carry it is a 2005 Subaru
> Forester. There's a roof rack on the forester, and from rough tape
> measure estimates, it looks like it'll be close, but it will fit. I'm
> curious, though, if anyone has any experience with trying to carry a
> canoe on a stock Subaru rack, and what suggestions you would have.
> We've done plenty of canoeing, but have never had our own to carry
> around.

Canoes are not that heavy. As long as you tie it down securely you
won't have a problem. People car top on all manner of vehicles (e.g.
Cooper Mini) without a problem.

Make sure you tie a bow line, a stern line, and a belly line. Two belly
lines if you're feeling unlucky. (Hint: Learn to tie a trucker's hitch
instead of buying fancy straps.) You want to excersize due diligence,
but it's not rocket surgery.

Use the 1-10-100 method of making sure your load is secure: check it
after one mile, check it again after ten miles, then stop and check it
every 100 miles.

//Walt
 >> Stay informed about: Carrying a canoe on an '05 Subaru Forester Roof Rack 

On 2 Jan 2007 16:39:41 -0800, jesterpoet RemoveThis @gmail.com wrote:

>We're looking into purchasing a used canoe (an Old Town Penobscot 16, a
>16 footer) and the only car we have to carry it is a 2005 Subaru
>Forester. There's a roof rack on the forester, and from rough tape
>measure estimates, it looks like it'll be close, but it will fit. I'm
>curious, though, if anyone has any experience with trying to carry a
>canoe on a stock Subaru rack, and what suggestions you would have.
>We've done plenty of canoeing, but have never had our own to carry
>around.
>
>Any input would be appreciated!
>
>Thanks!
>
>Todd
>
I carry a canoe on a honda C-RV with factory racks that are viryually
the same. I use foam blocks to protect the gunwales and the rack. I
tie it down to the rack and both bow and stern. You have to make sure
the stern line is attached somewhere on the canoe so that the line is
running forward from the bumper to provide tension opposite the bow
line. I've used both ropes and straps at different times and it's a
personal choice which you prefer.
 >> Stay informed about: Carrying a canoe on an '05 Subaru Forester Roof Rack 

riverman wrote:
[snip]> However, no matter which one you choose, it should be a deliberate
> CHOICE, taking into account the advantages of each one and used in a
> manner that best utilizes those advantages.
>
> In any case, those prepackaged tie-down kits are a waste of money, and
> they send a rather embarassing signal about your ability to really
> analyze a situation. Strange as it sounds, but I feel uncomfortable
> paddling with someone who I don't believe 'thinks about things', but
> instead relies on dogma and protocol, and if I notice my paddle partner
> using some prepackaged tiedown kit, my opinion of their ability to
> troubleshoot on-river situations deteriorates.
>
> YMMV
> </rant>
>
> --riverman
>
The *worst* are the ratcheting straps found 'four for $9.99' at Home
Depot/K-mart/et al. I replaced two gunwhales last year as a direct
result of those (not to mention the stress it caused the hull) and a
just rescued another. And yeah - a slip knot instead of a more
permanent loop is my preference on bow lines.

Marsh
 >> Stay informed about: Carrying a canoe on an '05 Subaru Forester Roof Rack 

So where should you buy ropes and straps? And how does someone who is
new to all of this determine what kind of ropes and straps to buy?
 >> Stay informed about: Carrying a canoe on an '05 Subaru Forester Roof Rack 

For what it's worth - I've always tied down canoes with rope and kayaks
with straps - don't ask me why!

Oh yeah, I replaced my Suburu racks with Yakimas. Don't listen to what
Yakima recommends for the length of your racks either - they recommend
the length that will go out to the edge of your roofline. You really
want to go roofline plus ~ 10 inches which will go out as far as your
sideview mirrors.
 >> Stay informed about: Carrying a canoe on an '05 Subaru Forester Roof Rack 

Per jesterpoet.RemoveThis@gmail.com:
> And how does someone who is
>new to all of this determine what kind of ropes and straps to buy?

I get my straps at a local windsurfing shop. The windsurfing industry seems to
have straps down to a fine art.
--
PeteCresswell
 >> Stay informed about: Carrying a canoe on an '05 Subaru Forester Roof Rack 

Railtramp wrote:

> Now originally, I used to use two belly tie downs.. The one in front
> attached to the left side of the front thwart, went over the top of
> the canoe and mated with the buckle on the right side of the vehicle.
> The back tie down attached to the right side of the rear thwart, went
> over the top of the canoe and mated with a buckle on the rear left
> side. Once attached, they were then secured in turn.

If I understand this correctly, you are not only holding the canoe down with the
straps over the belly, but wrapping the strap around the thwarts as well. This
is not a bad idea, as it allows the canoe to have at least some redundant hold
if the strap loosens.

> That method seemed like too much work, so I just switched to lefft
> side front and reat over the top secured to the right side. A bow and
> stern line and she is ready to go.

Bow and stern lines return to a level of redundancy that exceeds your previous
method. Good plan. I'll never understand why people think zero redundancy is a
good idea.

Mike
 >> Stay informed about: Carrying a canoe on an '05 Subaru Forester Roof Rack 

A friend of mine regularly carries his 14ft yak on top of his Subaru
Outback with out any problems and he even travels with it on the
freeways. He is using the Yakima bars and the kayak rack that goes with
the bars.

I have a GMC Jimmy with a less solid rack in my opinion and use the
factory bars and thule kayak racks and have no problems at all. Even
with both of my boats going down the highway they ride just fine.

alan
http://www.alanhefner.com/kayakingsource/

jesterpoet.DeleteThis@gmail.com wrote:
> We're looking into purchasing a used canoe (an Old Town Penobscot 16, a
> 16 footer) and the only car we have to carry it is a 2005 Subaru
> Forester. There's a roof rack on the forester, and from rough tape
> measure estimates, it looks like it'll be close, but it will fit. I'm
> curious, though, if anyone has any experience with trying to carry a
> canoe on a stock Subaru rack, and what suggestions you would have.
> We've done plenty of canoeing, but have never had our own to carry
> around.
>
> Any input would be appreciated!
>
> Thanks!
>
> Todd
 >> Stay informed about: Carrying a canoe on an '05 Subaru Forester Roof Rack