Hi, looking for a solution to keep all the gear on the roof racks. I have a big learners board. Can't think of anything better than buying two bags, one for the board and one for the rest of the gear and putting it on top of each other.

Any suggestions?

just don't do this - more windsurf CC humour for my critics

Joe, I did not know you drive a Porsche.

I carry up to 4 boards on my corolla roofracks and I'm not game to go over 90kms in case the whole lot comes off..Maybe I'm paranoid ( 12year old racks) but roofracks would have to be pretty solid attachment to carry all the gear on top? Mine are just held on by a few screws through the roof.

What type of car? If you try the Thule website you can add your vehicle (fit my vehicle) and it will show the racks suitable.
.
Most are rated to 100kg so will take 2-3 boards and equipment bag easy enough.

Thule are a bit pricey so you may be able to get similar/copies. I have Whispar brand and once I got familiar with them I can
remove them from the roof rails in 5 minutes. I leave them on but will take them off if driving on freeway without boards as
they whistle at a certain speed which seems to be annoyingly 110-115 km/h.

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sboardcrazy said..
I carry up to 4 boards on my corolla roofracks and I'm not game to go over 90kms in case the whole lot comes off..Maybe I'm paranoid ( 12year old racks) but roofracks would have to be pretty solid attachment to carry all the gear on top? Mine are just held on by a few screws through the roof.

Sounds like paranoia might be appropriate under those circumstances.

Joe's picture might be humorous, but i would have thought that was pretty much the standard method when using proper roof racks? TasDoc, was that you at Port Sorrel Sunday with the Subaru forester? Perhaps two sets of straps, one for the board, and one over the other bits stacked on top.

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Mort67 said..
Joe's picture might be humorous, but i would have thought that was pretty much the standard method when using proper roof racks? TasDoc, was that you at Port Sorrel Sunday with the Subaru forester? Perhaps two sets of straps, one for the board, and one over the other bits stacked on top.

Yep, that was me
Do I need a bag for the bits on top, or it should be fine without?
Thanks

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sboardcrazy said...
I carry up to 4 boards on my corolla roofracks and I'm not game to go over 90kms in case the whole lot comes off..Maybe I'm paranoid ( 12year old racks) but roofracks would have to be pretty solid attachment to carry all the gear on top? Mine are just held on by a few screws through the roof.

Thousands of dollars of kit secured by $4 worth of screws! That's nuts! IMHO.
Are they stainless screws??

Putting your sails on the roof is tricky to do without crushing them. I still like them in my car.

ARB roof basket with Thule roof bars mounted on top. Sails, booms, masts etc go in the basket and boards on the roof bars. Not cheap, but carries loads of kit with no sail crushing and quick to load up.

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JazzyandJase said..
Putting your sails on the roof is tricky to do without crushing them. I still like them in my car.

I normally have them in my car too, but we are planning a 10-days road trip, there's going to be four of us in the car, so we need to put as much of stuff as possible on the roof.

A 150mm PVC drain pipe with end cap should provide protection from crushing if your sail would fit in (or at least the narrow end to 3/4 of overall length? I had a sail shipped from WA in one of these.

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Simonzee said..
ARB roof basket with Thule roof bars mounted on top. Sails, booms, masts etc go in the basket and boards on the roof bars. Not cheap, but carries loads of kit with no sail crushing and quick to load up.

I like the idea, but it looks a little too big for a Forester. Does it come in different sizes?

here is an actual outing with two(2) sailors
just make sure sail bag is attached properly - we lost a mast $%^&*
sail bag came off @ 100 kph speed
three (3) boards , 3 masts and about 5 sails on the car, rest inside

Yep they make different sizes, I think the ARB website even has a car configurator to help you choose right size. BTW I put this together for road trips as well, for regular sessions my sails are in the car.

Hey guys,
First week in February is our Tassie Road Trip, where we take around 3 boards each on the forester roof, plug a gear bag on the roof.
Here's a better pic, of just the family away for the weekend - gear bag holds boom, mast and sails + wetsuit/harness etc - although that adds heaps of weight.

You can get all in one gear bags for board as well - let google help ;-)

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BSN101 said..

sboardcrazy said...
I carry up to 4 boards on my corolla roofracks and I'm not game to go over 90kms in case the whole lot comes off..Maybe I'm paranoid ( 12year old racks) but roofracks would have to be pretty solid attachment to carry all the gear on top? Mine are just held on by a few screws through the roof.

Thousands of dollars of kit secured by $4 worth of screws! That's nuts! IMHO.
Are they stainless screws??

Not sure if you mean this but many cars have a system these days where there are rails or tracks on the roof to attach racks, In some cases thee may be held by a few bolts or screws. Probably fine unless the get rust in them from dripping wet sails.

And remember that most roof racks are actually only attached by four threaded screws.

Problems and fixes:
- Sail crushing fix: roll up each sail on a pool noodle.
- Racks failing due to wind load at highway speeds: can attach a rope from the kit, to the front of the car. Prevent scratches where the rope touches the bonnet by using a piece of foam or similar. Photo shows carrying 2 boards + gearbag with boom and 3 sails with security rope.
- Crushing the roof due to excessive load: shed some kit or family .

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BSN101 said..

sboardcrazy said...
I carry up to 4 boards on my corolla roofracks and I'm not game to go over 90kms in case the whole lot comes off..Maybe I'm paranoid ( 12year old racks) but roofracks would have to be pretty solid attachment to carry all the gear on top? Mine are just held on by a few screws through the roof.

Thousands of dollars of kit secured by $4 worth of screws! That's nuts! IMHO.
Are they stainless screws??

Not sure..selling the car soon ( great car but partner bringing work car home ) so won't have to be paranoid anymore..

Also need to keep in mind the rust issue if putting on the roof. Any drainage from wet gear will cause issues later.

Just read this as I was about to start packing for a road trip. Here is my set up:



Rhino racks, 3 boards, 5 sails (4.5 - 7.8) 3 masts, 2 booms, 1 paddle. I've got a bit of packaging between the boards to stop crushing, sails are loose in bag gun sails combo bar -- best bit of non-sailing kit Ive every bought) and don't get crushed. This is obviously for highway, intercity driving only (with people in the car), not just "going to the beach", as it is, in the words of my co-pilot, a "bit of a palaver" to get on the roof. (sails, booms, masts and even boards just go in the car for local trips)

Hi
How do people deal with sails being in the car wet? I usually find that they hold a fair bit of water.

Looks nice and tidy. Do you think I can do the same with a 80cm wide board? It takes up about 3/4 of the roof racks width

How about a light trailer?
Before a got this

I used this trailer.


It weighs 80 lbs and has real motorcycle shocks and coilovers for a really smooth ride. I found it really handy if the beach is far from the parking lot. I would unhook it from the car and roll it to the beach. It can be locked to a tree or a lamp post. The the box is lockable, so are the straps.

I did about 12,000kms around Europe with a board and quiver bag (with 3 sails, boom, mast, all bits and pieces as well as wetsuit etc). Nice and easy, all safe and quite straightforward to lock to the car. Nothing fell off the roof, even on the Autobahn.

That's surely the easiest way!

A tip for anyone using tie-down straps. To prevent them from buzzing or vibrating when at speed, put a half twist in the strap. Apparently this is not such an obvious solution, judging by the number of vehicles I see cruising down the highway with straps humming in the breeze.

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MikeyS said..
A tip for anyone using tie-down straps. To prevent them from buzzing or vibrating when at speed, put a half twist in the strap. Apparently this is not such an obvious solution, judging by the number of vehicles I see cruising down the highway with straps humming in the breeze.

cheers for the tip. That noise drives me fargin crazy but weirdly enough not all the time. Perhaps i had a twist and didn't notice

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Bugs74 said..
Hi
How do people deal with sails being in the car wet? I usually find that they hold a fair bit of water.

I derig my sail last, so it has as much time as possible to dry. I have a rubber mat in the station wagon cargo area. I incline the sails in the car so they drain towards the rubber mat. I remove the sails a soon as I get hope and store them vertically in my garage. I wipe dry any water collected on the rubber mat. I leave the windows open when the wagon is parked in the garage so any remaining moisture evaporates.

If you need extra hold down strength to avoid the paranoia get a pair of fifteen dollar straps from Bunnings...tie the first thru the front windows( like a soft roofrack) and use the other strap to tie your gear down onto that one...soft roof rack can also be created by wrapping a towel around the first in a pool noodle shape