Canoe tie down in front?

[travis9935]

I just got a canoe with all the necessary racking, where abouts do you tie it in at on the front? (without the strap touching and rubbing on the paint) I thought that little square tab on the front bumper was like a towing attachment point but there's nothing behind it. On my speed3 there was one of them with a little loop screw that screwed in there to use as a towing hook. The back bumper also has this with nothing behind it whats the point of it?

[onecrazyfoo4u]

The only option I know of is to use the tow hook under the car...but that would rub the bottom of the bumper. You can always put a cloth or towel inbetween the tow strap and bumper/paint so it doesn't rub.

[Iwik]

Here's what I use for my sit on kayaks when they are on my Journey.

http://www.mec.ca/product/5022-901/sherpak-quick-loop-tie-downs/?q=tie%2Bdown

You open the hood, put them in and close the hood with the strap hanging out, tie the front of the kayak to the loop.

Iwik

[travis9935]

There is no tow hook? Not sure if I'd trust the hood strap method either. So what's the removable square tab for then? Kinda useless!

[Iwik]

Well the strap works for tying the front of my 10' and 8' kayaks while on the roof rack to the front of the vehicle, it can't pull out while the hood is closed. If you can find something better, all the power to you.

Cheers

Iwik

[CCCacher]

I found a pretty good way to do this. My 15' canoe when centred on the roof racks only sticks out to about the bottom of the wind shield. I didn't want to run a rope over the front of the hood as it would rub paint and break my bug deflector.

Under the hood I found two brackets with a slot in them that was about the size of the fabric of my ratchet straps. I cut off about a foot from two straps (leaving more than enough to hold down the canoe on the racks) and looped it through these slots. I tied a knot on the the loose ends and pulled the loop tight. It sticks out between the hood and the plastic trim that surrounds the wiper area. They work great for holding the front of the canoe secure. You have a bit of a rope in your view out but it isn't too bad.

Check out the pics in my gallery.

Edited June 3, 2014 by CCCacher

[jkeaton]

I've never found out what those removeable square (or round) pieces are on the fronts of cars these days. I've read they are for tie downs during transportation on traiins or boats, but I've removed mine and there is nothing behind them but the foam impact protection stuff.

[CCCacher]

New pics added to my gallery of the canoe loaded up.

[travis9935]

It's a good idea but I'm not sure if those little tabs would support my canoe with a oncoming semi! I've found just using a soft nylon strap wrapped around the engine mount underneath, coming up around the license plate holder to work pretty well. No scratches yet.