# The Art of Strappage



## AdrenalineRush (Oct 18, 2006)

i think that is an obvious win.

as for the wetness of the gear...slightly damp? or wring-out-able? or dripping?


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## COUNT (Jul 5, 2005)

Hmmm...well, most boaters shake/wring-out their stuff when they get out so it's not dripping, so damp is probably acceptable. So what, you say, defines damp? I would say that if it is still wet enough that you can smell the neopreme funk, it counts. But if you can't smell it, it's dry .

COUNT


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## BastrdSonOfElvis (Mar 24, 2005)

Impressive. That car must have moved down the road like a slug. Should there be any correction for smaller/larger bar spans? How does this apply to pick ups or vans? I think there should be additional points for speeds attained while in transit. There's more to this, COUNT.

One...Two...THREE boats on the roof...AH AH AH..

Big Sesame Street fan.

Baghdad out.


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## COUNT (Jul 5, 2005)

No, you're absolutely right. There definately is more to it. That was one of my main motivations in posting this (okay, other than the sweet pics). I'm very interested to see what the Buzzards have to add to this. 

This was just for in-town transportation so the fastest I went was 30, but I did take it off the ramp that we usually jump with our cars (not sure if it actually caught any air or not so I didn't think it was fair to give bonus points for that). But I do think there should be bonus points awarded if you catch air and keep all the boats on. I think I would have been willing to take this on the highway if I had needed to. It definately was weighed down enough to start affecting the car's suspension. 

Another suggestion I received was that you should lose all points if the entire roof-rack flies off but receive bonus points if the boats land in water. However I think that if the roof-rack flies off but everything remains in one solid block of strapped boats, nothing should be deducted (maybe even bonus points are deserved for that).

As for vans and trucks, this was the reason I chose to give bonus points for having a stack on your car equal to the original height of the car. It would take one to three more layers of boats than I had for a van or truck to get any of these bonus points. I do feel that there should be some handicapping system to account for the boats you can get inside a van and in the bed of a truck, though.

And I plan on breaking this record in the future.

But who's COUNTing, anyways?


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## oopsiflipped (May 9, 2006)

how about a bonus point for every boat over a certain length? 9'?

great pictures. only way it could be better is if you topped it off with a crossfire.


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## Dave Frank (Oct 14, 2003)

Truly impressive. did you get a strap count?

I once loaded 16 boats in my truck for a SBC shuttle, but I don't think I earned a single bonus point in your clever scoring scheme. 2 lines of six on the rack and 4 more in the back. I suppose some gear may have been in boats or cleverly tied on, but a simple rig in all.

What did the cop say to you? Just what is the rated GVW of a subaru? Those boats cant weigh much more than 500 lbs right?


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## COUNT (Jul 5, 2005)

I think we used 2 20 footers, 3 15 footers, 4 9 footers, and a couple 1-6 footers to connect where we came up short. We also had a couple bungee cords on the boat on the trunk. The disappointing part that makes me sure I could do more is the fact that I ended up using the 20 footers where I really only needed the 15 footers on the bottom stack. The top stack then got the 15 footers and they were too short so we attached some 6 footers to make them reach. The fact that we did this in the dark did make it significantly more difficult, too.

We had no safety straps, though.

The longer boats were actually the easiest to work with because unlike today's short play boats (Kingpin, Crazy 88, 2Fun) it's easy to get the strap around the hull so it won't slip off the end and let the boat squirt out while you're driving. Yeah, it would really be complete if you could have a classic boat of every type from each generation: A fiberglasser, a holoform, a Crossfire, etc., etc.

The cop got called because somebody thought we were robbing a house . We had just been talking about how we really hoped I wouldn't get pulled over with a boat strapped to the hood of my car when he showed up. He pulled up just as we were leaving and I almost backed into him :shock:. He came up and talked to me, asked what was going on and whatnot. I explained the situation, he helped me back out of the funky driveway I was in, and told me to drive slow and be careful! Never said a word about what he thought about the strap job or the boats on the hood and trunk! I'm still not sure how I got away with that :lol:.

I think 500 lbs is about right for the boats but I think we were close to 700 lbs when you consider my weight and the rest of the stuff in my car. The GVW for the chassee rating on the Subaru is 900lbs. So we were getting close enough that I think it definately affected the vehicle. Plus the rating is for how much the chassee of the car can pull and is usually referring to towing a trailer so I don't think it actually accounts for an extra 900 lbs added directly on top to the suspension.

COUNT


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## jeremy_warner (Aug 28, 2007)

you, are a master at the art of strappage, mad props. I'm absolutely terrible at tying things down on our little nissan hardbody. but, it has a ladder rack, so it's really easy to do it. How long did it take you to rig that up that well? and, how far/how fast did you drive?


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## caspermike (Mar 9, 2007)

Count, it is time to buy a truck brother....


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## CUkayakGirl (Mar 31, 2005)

I got really excited when I saw the thread title... I have to admit I was a little disappointed when I saw the text...hum, not really what I expected.

I have seen better :mrgreen:


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## rmpeddie (Apr 8, 2007)

*strapology*

I think sckools should offer classes in strapology... even degrees.


The OG's of Boards of Missoula awarded me a masters in the subject but I think your picture might qualify you for the chair of the dept.


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## b dash rian (Mar 30, 2007)

Count does need a new car presently..... I had to drive it to the airport, and all the boat outings with no car maintenance are catching up to the car faster than it should...


What about when i put two boats in the trunk, but they are partially on the back seat (folded down) and touching the front seats?


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## WhiteLightning (Apr 21, 2004)

bump....


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## onefatdog (Oct 25, 2003)

here's a good boat load photo, but not as good as derk's
rip derk, wish i could have paddled with you more often.
nate


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## freexbiker (Jul 18, 2005)

one more layer and you would have gotten points for being taller than the vehicle


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## tgrummon (May 29, 2008)

Its always fun to try and carry boats in a Carola with out a roof rack.


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## BoilermakerU (Mar 13, 2009)

Nic e! How about some artisitc elements to your scoring? Rows aren't very creative. LOL And how about some rules for rafts?


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## Moon (Jul 25, 2007)

How many rafts could Count have put on his Subaru????


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## skibuminwyo (Nov 8, 2005)

Moon said:


> How many rafts could Count have put on his Subaru????


 
Probably six or seven. That night he showed up at the put in for Cat I was amazed at the shit show that was Joe's truck.


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## BooF4FooD (Aug 13, 2008)

how we do it in the south!









Credit: Lupe (Arkansas)


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## Oh Be Joyful! (Aug 5, 2009)

bump: any good strappage lately?! 

rip amigo...


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## villagelightsmith (Feb 17, 2016)

20' canoe strapped hard atop an 11' Toyota. 1000 miles each way and crossed the US/Canadian border both ways. There was no way to make it legal without a chainsaw. Figured the Officers just said "_Geeze, Willard! Looky that big canoe atop that little bitty car! Can you get a count on the people inside that thing? Can you even SEE the people on the inside? Some people's kids, I tell ya! Let 'em go; of such were we, once upon a time!_ _Have fun, Kids!_" 
Talked to the RCMP at one point .. they just warned us to take it easy, 'cause the winds in the Frazer River Canyon can get kind'a gusty at times. (Thanks, Officers! Good advice!)


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