: At 100kph, an 18 foot kayak ~35 lbs makes a fine spear. The average
: windshield would hardly slow it down... Actually, the other
: vehicle is also doing 100kph, so the relative speed might be
: closer to 200KPH. I would not want to be on the receiving end,
: even if my simplistic picture exaggerates.

: My stripper has bow and stern lines permanently attached. It might
: take me two minutes to tie the permanent lines to the fore and
: aft attachments that I have mounted on the truck. The front
: attachment on the truck is a loop of 3/16" line attached to
: the hood latch fitting, the aft is another loop through the
: trailer hitch hole in the rear bumper. Both loops are protected
: from chafe by being led through a section of vinyl hose.

: Fast, and easy. And a heck of a lot safer. Any cradle arrangement
: can fail.

: Don't underestimate the torque applied to mounts spaced maybe 5
: feet apart by a kayak which overhangs both mounts by 6 feet or
: more. At highway speeds,with oncoming truck traffic, the surface
: area of a kayak can generate significant forces which can
: gradually loosen or break attachments. I for one think that bow
: and stern ties on kayaks or canoes should be a legal
: requirement. If you absolutely must choose only one, use a bow
: tie. At least then the consequences of a failure of one of the
: rack attachments will not result in the kayak launching itself
: sideways and ripping remaining attachments free. One extra
: benefit of a bow tie is that you can see that it is still intact
: while you are driving.

: Just my two cents worth.

: Allan Edie

: Best regards,

: Allan Edie

Happens with trailered boats too. Many years back, heading down a hill on the freeway in northern Ohio I remember a trailered runabout passing me in the median, no car, just the boat and trailer. Came to an abrupt stop at the concrete barricade at a bridge at the bottom of the hill. Whole bunch of tiny boat pieces, not much else, except for a really mangled trailer.

Bill H.