http://www.wikihow.com/Carry-Surfboards-on-the-Roof-of-a-Vehicle
[]Never put a board nose first on a vehicle. []Always place your board fins forward and up on the rack.
i think it is plain bs
wrt braking: board will come off the front of car.
wind resistance increased when tail first…
What do you guys reckon—
Wouter
i dunno but always carry your board fins out when rock hoping and reef jumping
Well I was always taught that when strapping your board(s) to the roof of your car to put the fins up and to the front of the car, with the nose hanging off the back. If my memory serves me right, if you have the nose forward and belly up, the nose rocker is going to point down towards your windshield, and at highway speeds and wind gusts that nose is gonna flex, possibly cause unnecessary stress cracks. I do believe Transworld Surf had these exact tips and reasons in there mag awhile back.
However, I’m not sure if board(s) in a bag, or just bare board, if there’s a difference.
I do see a lot of people putting boards nose forward where I’m from, but I dunno, whatever.
Tyson
Never put a board nose first on a vehicle. Always place your board fins forward and up on the rack.
I’ll agree with that. How come?
Well, for a long time I was in the rental biz. And before that, racks were not…as dependable, you might say. And this particular question got tested a few times.
And if the straps are a little loose with the fins in the back (we called 'em ‘skegs’ back then ) , or if something let go, the board can slide back and off the rack at speed. And make new friends with everyone following you. Oh, and as the board gets thinner, as it slides back things get looser and looser and all of a sudden, whoosh… bap-bap-bap, the sounds of horns and brakes and then that awful SCREEEEE-GARAUNCH sound when the semi-truck ( Articulated Lorry to the non-US majority ) behind you makes it into a skimboard…or several skimboards. 'Cos the big truck always wins. And I dunno why, but for some reason when that happens, there is Always a big truck following.
With the fin or fins in the front, well, if it slides back some, the fins catch it. Maybe it flaps a little, but that gives you an indication that you Really Ought To Fix That instead of having to post a question here about how to do a really major ding repair, y’know?
I’ve actually fixed a couple of boards that had gone off a roof and into traffic. One of them, I glassed over the tire marks, sort of a trophy kind of thing, "This Board Survived - " etc.
Board coming off the front under braking? Well, those would be Really Good Brakes, you know? Far better than I ever had. Or have, come to think of my current rolling wreck. I’d be a lot more concerned with how much force was on the board from aerodynamic drag at highway speeds, pulling it towards the back.
Now, if you went and hit something, that’s gonna be a much higher deceleration. But even then, the board ( being relatively light) will have less momentum than, say, the driver of the car, and will be less likely to be flung forward into an inanimate object. Like, say, the steering wheel or the windshield or the dashboard. I’m something of a seat belt fanatic, having gotten up close and personal with them in the past.
And, now that I think of it, the guy I worked for in the rental biz had ( back in the '70s ) a Ford Bronco. Four wheel drive, and he was tooling along at about 75 miles per hour with six popouts on top on an expressway when both front wheels decided they wanted their freedom and went ahead independantly ( the front wheel drivetrain failed disastrously) , leaving the front of the car with no visible means of support. Helluva bang. Abrupt stop.
The boards flew off, to the front, but two things were at work:the boards were relatively light ( even being Dextras ) so they landed relatively softly, a few scratches and that was it. And with the now nose-down Bronco stopping traffic, they didn’t get run over. Once he got a new car , they were good to go.
Deck down, bottom up: definitely. With the deck up, at best you melt the wax a little. And that gives the board about as much traction as a wax-covered cheese. Plus, you get lots of nice little bits of melted wax on top of the car. Granted, it’s a wonderful rust preventative, but not gonna impress your girlfriend any.
And if you have a sunroof and it’s open, it can get really ugly. Wax in your hair, etc… Wax in your girlfriend’s hair? Oh yeah, and you’ll never hear the end of that one. Or, you might hear the end of it, immediately.
At worst, the melted wax acts as a Pretty Good Lubricant under the straps. Which can make the board slip a bit…See ‘Articulated Lorry’ above.
Wind resistance, now. That’d be an issue, maybe, but then again…
Your basic…okay, extremely basic…surfmobile. The airflow in the front is gonna be the most powerful, as the car goes down the road at speed. It’s going straight into the wind. Some air flow is diverted upwards, around the contours of the front of the car, but it’s been weakened by being diverted. So what hits the bottom of the board after coming up the front of the car isn’t as significant as what’s hitting it directly.
If the relatively straight tail is sticking out there it’s pretty much parallell with the airflow, there’s no downforce on the board, squashing it into the rack. Probably doing the deck no good. Maybe loosening the straps a little. Remember that ‘Articulated Lorry’ thing? Right. And, having heard it, it’s a horrible sound, foam and glass meeting tires.
At least, that’s my take on it all…
doc…
airplane wings go in the trunk…
Thats the way to do it. you can spot the kooks on the road because they have their boards wax up or fins out back…
QFT
Thats the way to do it. you can spot the kooks on the road because they have their boards wax up or fins out back…
That was very funny [and valuable too]
Thanks for that great post.
Wouter
“Back in the day,” when boards were thicker and glassed heavier, it didn’t matter. I put my boards nose first all the time.
But one day I put an EPS longboard on nose first and the thing buckled.
That was the last time I did that.
Thanks, I’m glad it didn’t come across like I was coming down on you for that.
Now, something else they mentioned…no, lets say they harped on it… in that article:
- Straps that wrap around the rack and surfboard must be inspected for worn or weak spots. Buckles on the straps should be the cam-spring type and not d-ring style. No-Rust zinc buckles are preferred.
And
Secure poly webbing straps with Zinc Buckles and buckle pads
Note the ‘zinc buckles’ bit. It’s true, there’s definitely a difference;
Lets have a closer look-
See the lightweight construction? And the kinda cheezoid teeth? Let me quote the site I use for webbing supplies* :
Before cam buckles, virtually everyone had some straps around with these buckles. They were extensively used by the military and are still big in Surplus Stores. For light duty applications, they are hard to beat. They are easy to cinch, but they can slip under pressure.
Oh boy, do they ever, especially after they have been used a while. Or if they get bent a little, which happens surprisingly easy. You find them on the vast majority of racks offered for sale, especially soft racks. These things sell for $1.05 US versus $1.65 for the good, dependable cast cam-buckles like this one here:
These are dependable, rugged and they don’t bend. They can be broken, but it’s not easy. When tightened, they stay tight. All my gear uses cam buckles. Oh, and the sewing there is what’s called a 'Box and Cross ’ stitch pattern - more on that in a moment.
But the industry is quite happy to foist off lesser stuff on the basic buyer. I guess they figure surfers ain’t too bright. Besides which, they’re not gonna accept liability for what happens. Like a munched board.
Some of them even use plastic hardware, which has this wonderful tendancy to break or crack and then break. Bad enough when they use it for the buckles - you’ll find yourself checking those anyhow, but they have been known to use it for tensioners and such and when those go, things get very loose very fast.
Oh, and poly webbing? Right, it’s not as strong as nylon webbing, and not as abrasion resistant, but then again, nylon webbing can stretch when wet, which isn’t the best possible thing to do when carrying boards, on top of a car, maybe in the rain. Sunlight (UV ) eventually weakens it, so it’s not a bad idea to check the stuff now and then, plus have a look at the stitching and see if it’s starting to go. That stitching you see above is how it’s supposed to look, if some is missing or if you see thread hanging out, beware.
I like http://www.strapworks.com/ for the materials, they have good stuff reasonably priced and good information. Including Moose the Answer Dog .
Hope that’s of use
doc…
haha, i always laugh when i hear that
airplane wings go in the trunk…
Doc,
Sewing is actually quite fun
no access to a heavy duty sewer, but i did make some nice velcroed separations in my shaping basement.
Cheers for those links
Wouter
“But one day I put an EPS longboard on nose first and the thing buckled.”
I’ve wondered if any of the compsand longboards designed with flexibility in mind have ended up looking like the Tacoma Narrows Bridge “galloping gertie” when tied to the top of a car? Fast flex return as opposed to slow damped return might not work too well there …
I do mine tail first fin up
If its nose first the wind hitting the rocker creates lift
like a wing
the board will start to bounce at speed
It actually is fun, fun and kinda profitable if you do a little canvas work for the yachties now and then.
As for a decent machine, it’s amazing what you can stumble across. At the moment, I have three industrial machines, old Singers, and the motors and tables for two of 'em were freebies along with two heavy-duty industrial machines themselves - ‘take them away, please’ the nice lady said.
And then there’s the Necchis. Built in the '50s, all metal construction. One was a gift and the other was found in the local dump; a great place for finding old tools of all kinds, the vast majority of what tools I bring home need only oiling and a little adjustment.
This was the dump find - one of these, though I found this particular picture on eBay:
Bruiser of a machine, it happily punches through six layers of canvas. And somebody threw it away when Granny stopped sewing or something. And I see them in the dump nealrly every time I go. Old Singers, you name it. See what someone is throwing away near you. Parts can be found for nearly all of them.
So, time to look around a little, no? Besides which, I haven’t even mentioned custom board bags, etc…
have fun
doc…
I seem to remember a tiny article in a surf magazine years ago about a study done by Mercedes Benz with surfboards on the roof. The conclusion was… tail first, fins up. The only argument I’ve heard to the contrary that made any sense was the downside that if in a board bag, the back edge of the fin could damage the bag.
In mileage tests of my own, I’ve actually recorded improved mileage with a board on top. Not sure that I can explain that nor can I be sure my calcs were valid. Seems like it should have increased wind resistance and decreased my mileage.
drive a dirty pickup doan’ need em
Words of wisdom Doc. What is the deal with trucks running over flying boards? My brother’s let go do to a poorly engineered
bungy system and was promptly run over by a cement truck. Twenty years later and I can still see the “Oh Shit” look on his face.
Well, that doesn’t surprise me. They’d check pretty well, Benz would. They could do wind tunnel tests very, very easily, as I’d imagine they have their own wind tunnel.
Board bags and fins, yeah, the trailing edge of the tip would be it, probably. But, reinforcing the inside of the bag shouldn’t be a problem. Y’know, the handyman’s secret weapon…duct tape. And, maybe, if the board was facing the other way and the bag flapped some, I think you’d have the same problem, maybe.
And you know, it’s entirely possible that you got better gas mileage with a board on top. So many cars are, or at least were, designed with ‘styling’ first and economy last, that messing with the airflow over it might improve things. If the airflow over the back of the car was diverted some, so it was more laminar flow and less turbulence, it’s entirely possible.
Heh- is there an aerodynamicist in the house???
doc…
Ayeeeeeee - bungees. Evil, evil, nasty things. You can’t tell when they are about to go, when the little rubber fibers in there are about to snap and let the whole shebang go for a flight. And they always wear out, and get old, and snap.
I have patched …or basicly kissed off, as many boards 'cos of bungees as to anything else. Gawd, there was this guy Haffs…
Haffs, I don’t know how he did it. He was some kind of slum landlord, and he owned a bunch of vacation houses here that went for very big bucks in the summertime. He wasn’t stupid, at least about some things. And he had this amazing gig as a part time lifeguard, he;d been doing that for something like thirty five years.
He would have this cheezy old Subaru wagon, and around here it seems like they are lifeguard issue if you’ve been around for any length of time, they all have 'em. And he’s drive that around with a fairly nice, fairly new longboard on top that he’d borrowed someplace. Different one every year.
But what didn’t change was these lousy old bungees he used. He must have gotten a bale of them, cheap, in around 1970 or something. Every year, he’d have somebody else’s expensive board on top of his car…temporarily at least…with these old, rotted bungees. And sometime, every summer, the board would find its freedom.
But ya know, for some reason, the Law of Following Trucks was something he managed to skip out on. His borrowed boards would maybe tap a guardrail and whifferdill into the weeds, pretty much unscathed.
He wasn’t a stupid guy. He worked as a swim coach, part time lifeguard, and he didn’t have to. He came from money and did well besides. He wasn’t dumb…but he was tight with a buck. Straps, well, they cost money, and he had those old bungees. And used borrowed boards.
The guys that were dumb? Maybe the jokers who loaned Haffs the boards.
doc…