We recently cartopped our 17′ Grumman canoe 900 miles and tried out Seattle Sports Sherpak Quick Loops to secure its bow and stern. The straps took only seconds to install and provided the essential tie-down points for the long highway drive.Skipper’s family has a history of cartopping canoes and we know it is just as important to secure the bow and the stern as it is to secure the middle of the boat to the roof racks, especially on longer vessels like the Grumman. The lines to the ends help prevent the bow from swinging sideways in the apparent wind generated at highway speeds and keep boats from sliding fore and aft during sudden starts and stops. On old cars, it can be easy to find places to attach bow and stern tie-downs, but many new cars may not have anchor points because of aerodynamic cladding of the underbody and hood-gap streamlining. Older cars were also built with rain gutters, which provided a positive attachment for a roof rack. Racks clipped on new cars don’t have a grip that is as secure, and while the straps across the middle of the boat will hold it to the racks, only the bow and stern lines can help hold the racks on the car. The rubber hose fixed to the end of this Quick Loop has been set just inside the engine compartment and will get trapped when the hood is closed and latched.
Photographs by the authors
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Those are pretty neat. Neater than what I have done using holes of convenience in the sheet metal running across the car at the front of the engine compartment. I’ve tied big figure-8 stoppers in, doubled up webbing, then tucked the loop through a hole. They live in the engine compartment under the lip of the hood. Same principle, but uglier. For the stern, I use the trailer hitch if available or line loops cow-hitched to internal tie-down rings and led out.
These are really handy. They also make Sherpak Hood Loops, a version that screws into a hole (a “quarter-panel bolt”) in the frame around the engine compartment. I like those because then the front of the canoe, which bears the biggest brunt, isn’t secured just by the hood latch. The downside is the straps stay inside the engine bay all the time, so you need to make sure they are away from moving parts, and I suspect they won’t last as long as Quick Loops stored in the garage.
It looks to me that the webbing straps on the outside of the vehicle would rub against the paint work on the side of the bonnet where they exit.
We’ve had no problems with rubbing. And anything tied under the car, even if you could find a tie-down point, would definitely rub the paint on bumpers and fenders.
On my 2013 Honda Fit there were tie-down bolts under the hood so I could permanently fasten a Thule tie-down strap that was usually safely away from moving parts in the engine compartment and then pulled out with my pack canoe on the top of the car.
My 2021 Mazda CX-30 looks completely different under the hood with no place to fasten the old straps so I got a pair of the Sherpa Quick Loops and they work fine. The first time I used them, however, one fell into the engine compartment when I opened the hood after removing the boat and it was difficult to extract. Just be careful to pull them out as far as possible before opening the hood.
People whose car choices are dictated by their boat choices are friends of mine.
This is nothing all that new. I’ve been using loops for years, although mine are secured under a bolt under the hood. Very secure, very secure, and invaluable in strong side winds.