I have owned Volvo 940 wagon for the past few months. I bought it with the intention of transporting CLC Triple (21 foot) and CLC 17LT kayaks side by side on the roof. Turns out that the older Volvo wagons have the longest, flatest roof around, allowing for a 75 inch + bar spread, which is ideal for my long kayaks.

I have now completed the fabrication of custom made racks which use Qwik-n-Easy mounts to clamp onto the rain gutters. When carrying the boats, the primary attachment is to the roof racks via straps or ropes. I will also need to secure the bow and stern of each boat to the car via ropes as a secondary restraint - this is in case one of the boats somehow becomes unattached to the rack, we don't need a 50 or 70 pound missile leaving the car. I need advice on how best to do this.

The easiest option seems to be to loop vinyl covered cable around the bumber shock absorbers, then tie bow and stern lines to the cable. This might stress the plastic covering hanging from the bumper. An alternate scenario in the rear is to mount eyebolts in the threaded holes in the frame where you would normally install a trailer hitch. In the front, there seem to be no prefab threaded holes, so the alternate would be to drill into something solid, then through bolt an eye screw somewhere.

Is securing the bow/stern lines to the shock absorbers on the bumber suitable?Comments appreciated regarding the suitability of these or other attachment points, especially from owners of similar cars.

Thanks.

SteveC