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Long story short: Dan, Dustin, and I set out from D with our three boats on the roof and just before 72, Dan asked Dustin to stop the car because he no longer saw my boat through the sunroof. He hopped out, looked up and, sure enough, the boat was gone. We drove back, peering left and right, looking for the bright red Pyranha S-8 all the way back to the takeout. Along the way, we passed an old brown Ford 150. No sign of the boat. And the only place it apparently could have gone to was inside the Ford 150. With my day finished–no boat–Dan and Dustin drove to the put-in promising to keep their eyes peeled for the boat. Meanwhile, I drove to Fredericktown to see if I could spot the brown truck–saw one (an s10, same vintage–but no boat in the bed). Still in my poly paddling outfit, I filed a report with the sheriff in town and then, decided to drive back to see if maybe, just maybe, someone had delivered the boat to Jim and Doris. As I drove back, I spotted the boat, 30 feet (?) off the road, upside down, in tall grass–the thing must have flown! I threw it in the back of my truck, drove straight to the put-in and had a really fun solo paddle–perfect weather, great level. When I saw Chuck and Di at the put-in, they affirmed that our whitewater kayaks have aerodynamic qualities–they really can soar off a roof! My apologies to the old brown Ford 150! A few lessons learned or relearned…
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Thanks for the offer Bilbo–I knew you’d be concerned! The seams looked good to me. Judging by the dirt on it (the dirt stain is still on the bow after a full day’s paddling!), I don’t think it ever hit any pavement; I think it just sailed and nose-dived. There’s was a good amount of water in the boat at the takeout, but I think that was from the cold roll I did at double-drop (opted for the paddling jacket with the comfy neck). Wow, was that boat fun at double drop and the wave at the entrance to Cat’s Paw. In fact, pretty much every green wave I saw. It had just that extra amount of speed I don’t get from the Jedi and that I need to catch green or pushy waves. It was also a lot slicier surfing–didn’t sit as quietly as the Jedi–which took some getting used to.
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Glad your boat was ok! I imagine you had to have felt sick when it was missing. I had a similar incident a few weeks ago with my 9r and super sport on the roof of Gina’s Chevy Malibu. We had just bought a cheap (crappy) roof rack online a few weeks prior and it made it down to TN and back bearing the same load. We deemed it reliable after that, but when we drove to the Saint, the rack came loose and the whole rig gracefully lifted off the car, glided down to the road behind us, and slid into the grass. It was miraculous that everything went unscathed. I think everyone at D got a kick out of seeing two blue boats sticking out of the hatch. To anyone who is thinking about buying a rack, spend the extra money on a popular brand. You might just save some money on boats in the future.
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I had a boat fly off and go up a 10 foot dirt embankment, and come to rest hidden under some cedars. A hundred miles later I noticed the sun’s shadow behind us and no boat was in the shadow,,,arghhhh! But luckily I remembered when I’d heard an odd noise and went back to that spot and there it was. Otherwise I would have never found it.
A racer behind me in arkieland saw my slalom Olympic boat, that I had forgotten to tie down shoot off my rack straight up like a missile. It came down flat with little damage. Thankfully I was on a back road.
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I use bow lines but not necessarily when we’re throwing boats on a roof for the short shuttle to the put-in. I think plenty of people would agree that our lashing standards for the shuttle to Millstream are way lower than our standards for cross-country travel. Of course, after my experience on Sunday, I’ll probably be lashing my boat as if it were my child, or something like that…
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When I first met Freddie it was at the Ozark Paddlers float on the Spring River, we decided to go to breakfast together and he forgot to tie his Aquaterra boat on the truck rack, and as he was traveling up and down hills, the boat would lift off, then come back to rest on the rack going up a hill. It was like a cartoon. It never fell off. That is until he stopped.
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As I was reading this, I was thinking of that exact story Bilbo ! I was racing across that field trying to get ahead of you guys ! Tie em on like you mean it !! I always use rope…. Who was it that had the line, “I don’t trust anybody who uses straps” I always got a kick out of that !
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You are correct Michael – I am plenty guilty of ignoring “lashing standards” on Saint shuttles. Even after the long-ago experience of speeding up D, glancing in the rearview of Nancy’s old yellow truck, and seeing someone’s yellow I-3 bouncing merrily down the road into Allgier’s pig farm. No name (but same initials as a popular music video network) still reminds me about the folly. Freddie’s boat was also riding on top that day, but fortunately (for me as well as boat! ;- ) it stayed put thru the ordeal.
Should have used a bow line!
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