Tie Down Straps

Hi,

When I purchased my Rola WCU kayak attachment for the roof rack they came with some dodgey straps that clip together. After asking the guy what kind of a deal he can do for me he said that the std straps are crap and said he would throw in a pair of these "good ones". They ended up being their own brand of straps and although they look strong and the fastening system is miles better than the clip on the Rola ones, these straps have left marks on my ski from vibrating in the wind at anything over 60km/h.

I have noticed other types of straps that seem to have a thick rubber protective sheath around it and are around $70.

Has anyone had any troubles with their straps? or reccomendations for a particular brand? ...and any ideas how to remove the black marks left from the straps?.

Cheers

I've just started using some Sea to Summit tie down straps and have found them to be excellent. They have a strong metal buckle that is covered by neoprene so you don't scratch the roof of your car or side of your ski. Under $20 a pair in Aus
www.whitworths.com.au/main_itemdetail.as...83&intAbsolutePage=1

cheers
gixer

The sea to summit ones are good.

Having said that, I have never had any straps leave marks on my ski.

I generally use some now very old straps that I have had lying around for years.
I just don't want to throw away something that still works.

When I use the straps, I place the buckle in the hollow of the bucket.
The weight of the buckle tends to dampen vibration in the wind.
The added weight makes the resonant frequency of the system too low to be triggered by wind.
Make sure you have no twists in the strap.

I also have some lockable ones that have a metal weave inside to prevent theft.
These work great and I save them for when I need them so they don't wear out.

I've also got the lockable ones, i think they are SPT brand. Good for if you need to leave the ski on your parked car for an extended period. They work well but make sure you lubricate the lock to avoid any corrosion over time.

As it happens there's a Whitworths just down the road from work so I stopped in there on the way home and bought some of those sea to summit straps.
Thanks for the help.

I recently bought some Thule straps with a rubber protective sheath for the (decent) buckle. Would recommend these too.

If you are finding that your straps are vibrating loudly in the wind, try rolling the band over one or two times during stretches where the band is subject to wind at speed.

Consider that strap to have sides A & B. If you start with A on the outside, you would be finishing with side B on the outside as the strap goes into the buckle.

That way, the fold-over slides due to wind pressures instead of the strap oscillating in the winds. If you look at the loads on large trucks, you'll notice that they tend to do this.

As for the marks on your ski ? you've probably gotten into the habit of tying your boat down too tight. Loosen it up a tad.

When this was suggested to me, I was a little leary about it and ended up gluing some closed cell foam cut from a camp mat onto the cradles to provide extra friction/grip. You could also make your own sleeves to go over the straps easy enough - neoprene folded over and then sown together. Cost would be minimal.

Good luck.

Sean

GREAT SUCCESS!

The Sea to Summit straps worked a treat. No vibration noise and more importantly no marks on the ski. I must say that I did not tie the ski down as tight as I had done, I didnt notice if it had moved but it didnt seem to. I also positioned the buckle so it was over the foot well and seat.

Thanks for the help and advice.