Hi there.

I haul my S&G boats around on top of my F-150. The front bar is a gutter-less rack from Fred Meyers with non-ratcheting webbing clamps. The back racks are closed cell minifoam glued onto wood, with ratcheting clamps securing it, through bolts, to the roof of the canopy.

The 'spread' is 60 inches. The rear clamp is located just aft of the cockpit, at the rear bulkhead, while the front clamp is located to be at the front bulkhead. This way, I feel like I can really tighten the rear webbing without crushing the boat, and at the front I tighten as much as I can. That is, the hold down straps are located at strong points on the boats, and I usually do not use bow and stern lines.

With this arrangement, I've come to feel pretty secure even at freeway speeds with crosswinds and such.

For long trips like yours, I do use bow and stern lines. However, they have very little tension on them; they are there for two other reasons. First, when I start my trip, I'll look at the lines to see where they are located relative to the truck. That way, if they move to the side, I know that the boat has shifted on the racks and needs to be checked. Second, if I do have an unlikely double failure with my straps, the lines will at least keep the boat with the truck rather than go off into another car or whatever.

In any event, I don't put a lot of force on them, as it is easy to deform the boat that way. Also, in my case with the F-150, as opposed to the unibody Explorer, the rear canopy can flex relative to the cab, so I feel I need to allow for that.

If you think you can trust that factory rack, this arrangement might save you a bunch of work trying to beef up your bow and stern for a temporary need. If you don't have bulkheads, would it be easy to make up a couple of temporary ones that could be jam-fitted into place for the trip? Maybe minicell foam or a glued-up laminate of cardboard?

See you there!

Pete,
in Snohomish, WA