Tiing the the bow of a car topped Laser

[LooserLu]

Hi all,
When I want to go sailing with my Laser, I have to transport my Laserhull on the top of my car to the next lake. For this I have to tie the hull with several strap´s. One of it is fixed at the bow of the hull in front of the car. This is needed, because in higher velocity the bow could accelerate if it is not fixed.
Personally I put not too much tension to this strap, just enough so that this strap not only hang around and that it is enough for driving 70mph on the highway/interstate. A little photo you will find at my PhotoGallery here at TLF ("no specification" album).

At the thread "Pro Rigging vs. Classic" from Rob B at TLF-Discussion-area "Laser Sailing" the question came up, how to fix the plastic-boweye, if it pulls away in fact the strap has too much tension.

Mr. Kirkpatrick (from Teamvanguard) already replied at this thread above:
"…you are asking for trouble if you tie your boat tight to the car using the boweye. I have seen people rip the boweye straight out of the boat when doing this.
(....)
The big difference is that in the cunningham/outhaul base, the pull in the base is in shear - across the screws. In the case of the boweye, you are pulling that nearly straight out when using it to tie the boat to the car. In shear, the whole length of the screw is working. In tension (i.e. the boweye), only the threads on the screws are working. Big difference. (....)"

What´s your experiance with tieing the car-topped Laserhull at the bow-eye? How do you tie it, got the boweye pulled out, refixing the boweye (if it is in a different way as GeoffS, drLaser, Mr.Kirkpatrick already told at the "Pro Rigging vs. Classic")?
Thanks for your comments

LooserLu

 

[Chris123]

You can make a loop of line, maybe about 18 inches or or 0.5m in diameter.
Slip the loop over the bow of your boat, like putting a collar around a dog's neck.

Tie three longer pieces of line to this collar.

One runs back to some strong part of the roof rack. This one stops the boat from sliding forward in a sudden stop.

One runs down to each front corner of the car. These prevent the bow from lifting, and from swinging side to side.

You can keep the whole thing tied together -- "dog collar" with the three "leashes" attached to it -- and slip it onto your boat in about 30 seconds. If you're feeling extravagant you can use some sort of snap shackles to attach the bottom front corners to the towing beckets on your car, and then it's down to about 15 seconds.

The same thing doesnt work so well in the stern.

 

[Rob B]

I car top my laser on a 1997 Chevy Tahoe. I made racks using 2" x 4"'s, (wood) and pipe insulation and hold them to the existing roof rack system/luggage rack with U bolts. I left the racks longer on one side to hold the spars w/bungee chords. To secure the boat I use 2 ratchet type tie down straps. I find that the natural curves in the beam of the hull both fore and aft keep the boat from being able to side foreward or backward and the pressure from the front strap is more than enough to keep the bow down. I do use a line on the bow eye, but it is tied pretty loose as it's only purporse is a "safety net" in case something lets go. My whole roof rack system, wood racks, ratchet straps, bungee chords cost me about $35.00.

 

[perrylaser175120]

For a bow tiedown I use one line from one corner of the car to the bow eye. I tie it there (half hitches) and then run it up to the handle of the Seitech dolly. I tie it there and then run it down to the other corner of the car.

I've been driving with it like this for years with no problem (and I drive like a maniac). I think it splits the load enough between the bow and the dolly.

 

[Mullet Time!]

We drove down from Calgary, Alberta, Canada to Southern California last spring while car topping my laser. WE mounted two 2x4's on the top of the van with two straps going across the boat sideways. Secondly we tied a rope from the hiking strap to the trailer hitch so that the boat could not slide forward. Finally, we tied a rope to the bow eye and down the front of the van to a towing hitch on the underside of the car. this was so the boat could not move forward. WE had some very windy days of driving down through utah and idaho but the boat held up fine, not moving or pulling out any parts. Last summer we tied a europe to the top of the van without a bow tiedown and it ended up ripping the whole roof rack off, as the tiedown prevents the boat from lifting off the car.