: Put them on as tightly as possible. They WILL stretch, and you'll
: have to pick apart the knots and tighten, possibly twice, no
: matter how much you think you stretch them before you put them
: on.

: On my 19" wide kayak, I could only get 2 crosses of the deck
: per latigo strip. Knot on inside on port gunwale, out through
: gunwale, over deck, in through starboard gunwale, back along
: inside of gunwale, out through hole, back over deck, in through
: gunwale, and knot on inside of port gunwale. I think Brian
: Schultz has some pics of this on Cape Falcon website. I thought
: I could go 3, but the strips just aren't long enough... This I
: why I buy wide strips of latigo, so I have plenty extra to cut
: straps from, and then the thickness of the leather is more
: consistent, as opposed to the first time when I ran out...

: I have a 3 strap/2 slider system on my front deck. This system
: doesn't really tighten anything, but it does seem to trap a
: norsaq or spare paddle if you slide the slider over to it. I'd
: much rather have 2 sliders per pair of straps (as most do for
: behind the cockpit) because moving the sliders to the outside
: does tighten the straps.

: I don't have any beads on my straps forward of the cockpit. I
: imagine they would prevent the sliders from full range of
: movement. It looks pretty and traditional, but I think that
: utility was more important for me.

: I caution you to put the first strap forward of the cockpit well
: forward. I thought I did for mine, but I find that I frequently
: catch the corners of my thumbnails on the straps right where
: they dive over edge of the gunwale. (Sometimes) painful
: "D'oh!" reminders...

: Brian

Thanks Brian.

Rosanna