Date: Wed, 28 Apr 1999 09:22:55 -0500
Reply-To: Jim Fritz <jfritz@DECORAH.K12.IA.US>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Jim Fritz <jfritz@DECORAH.K12.IA.US>
Subject: Re: My canoe on my Westy
Content-Type: multipart/alternative;
RE: My canoe on my Westy 4/28/99
Alistair,
FWIW I have an 18.5' Wenonah Kevlar Minnesota II for lake tripping in the BWCA. While mine is a lot lighter and I don't have the problems of getting it on top (also makes my life a lot easier when portaging!) I still have the same wind-racking that anyone has with a canoe on top. I use the extruded foam that plumbers use to insulate water pipes. I've found 5' pieces of it. I open the slit in the foam, slide it onto the gunwale and that protects the canoe and my Westy. Lashing it down is accomplished with luggage rack mounts, the tow hooks on the front bumper, and a webbing cinch/clamp that I slide under the back portion of the poptop. Haven't travelled extensively with this setup yet but seems as tight as anything I was able to do with my Passat Wagon and that's seen thousands of miles and dozens of trips.
Jim in Iowa
91 Passat Wagon GL
89 Westy
66 Beetle
Alistair Bell wrote:
>Last summer, on the appropriate date of July 1, I bought the canoe of my
>dreams. Its an 18' cedar canvas "Greenwood" (made by Bill Greenwood, oh
>about 30 years ago). To my eyes, its lines are very similar to an 18'
>Aktinson Traveller.
>
>Its a sweet canoe to paddle but a wee bit on the heavy side when it comes
>to humping it up on the van.
>
>For the first few trips I used those foam blocks that fit on the gunwales
>and strapped the canoe to the pop top, the straps being secured by rubber
>covered hooks on the gutter. These work ok, but it was hard to place the
>canoe ontop of the van without scraping the gunwales or the poptop.
>
>I tried some Thule racks (tall) but I was unable to attach them so that the
>poptop could still be raised - his was important if we were to take the
>canoe on long trips.
>
>So in a fit of desperation I devised the following method.
>
>I bought a piece of HDPE (high density polyethylene) strip, 42"X1.5"X1/4",
>and drilled a 3/8" hole about 2" in from each end. Then I stuck on some
>good quality, thin, double sided tape to one side of the strip, covering
>that side completely. I then stuck the strip onto the rear of the top of
>the poptop, flush to the rear edge of the poptop and centred from side to
>side.
>
>Then, gulp, I drilled a 3/8" hole throught the poptop at each end of the
>strip where the previously drilled holes were. The fibreglass layup is
>quite thick at this point, surprisingly so! In fact, somebody otta make a
>mold of the poptop and layup a lighter and stiffer version. Anyway the gods
>must have been smiling on me that afternoon for the drill exited right
>through the metal strip that secures the canvas (on the outside).
>
>I had a couple of stainless eyebolts (nice marine ones, welded and
>polished), the threaded portion is 8mm diameter and about 5" long. These
>were going to go throught the drilled holes, but first i cut a couple of
>1.5" pieces of 1" diameter HDPE rod and drilled a 3/8" hole through the
>long axis and slid one on to each of the eybolts. Then the eyebolts were
>secured to the poptop (used so polyurethane caulk as a sealant).
>
>
>Now I could get the canoe to the van and rest the bow (upside down) on the
>HDPE strip and then slide the canoe forward until the bow reached the
>luggage rack, then i could move to the front of the van and pull it the
>rest of the way. It works remarkably well, and doesn't damage either the
>canoe or the poptop.
>
>Before I securely lash the canoe down I place 2"X4" pieces of thick rubber
>mat (stall mat) between the gunwales and the poptop - two pieces at the
>back, just infront of the HDPE strip and two right on the front edge of the
>luggage rack (those forward bits were actually stuck down using double
>sided tape for the duration of a 3 week trip).
>
>The rubber pieces protect both the gunwales and the poptop and act as high
>friction pads resisting side to side and forward /backward motion.
>
>The canoe is lashed down using the rear eyebolts and the luggage rack lash
>points (mmm, they do look weak, should replace). I also lead the bow
>painter directly back and secure to a luggage rack lash point (this
>prevents ANY forward motion of the canoe. I use truckers/riggers hitches
>and nylon rope - this gives some elasticity and cinching effect. The bow
>painter is polypropylene, not as stretchy.
>
>This system has been tested on highways (up to 75mph) and logging roads
>with no problems.
>
>
>Alistair
[text/html]
| 
