Hi All,

I am new to the sport and have purchased a second half W1 board and sail etc.
Now I have just to transport the thing! Any tips, advice and recommendations as to the best, most suited roof rack to go for?
I have a Berlina sedan.
Thanks in advance.

Ive got a set of Thules. They are expensive but you get what you pay for. A far more expensive problem if cheap ones snap and your board goes flying through the air and snaps, let alone hits a Bentley driving behind you.

I cart two sailboards stacked on each other at 120kmh no worries at all. I use occy straps as I had a near board death experience with tie downs - beware if they get wet - they stretch. Hopefully it was just a quality issue with the ones I had.

Ellobuddha said...

Ive got a set of Thules. They are expensive but you get what you pay for. A far more expensive problem if cheap ones snap and your board goes flying through the air and snaps...

It's a Wally - it will bounce! (from experience)

Hi, All,

I certainly agree that a good quality tie-down is the way to go, but suggest that 2 x tie-downs are used on the front rack (where all the wind load is) and 1 x tie-down is used on the rear rack. If one front breaks, the second is there as a back up (and I found this out the hard way).

Regards,

WindmanV

AUS4 said...

Ellobuddha said...


NEVER NEVER use Occy straps, the most dangerest things on the planet.
They will rip your eye out and when you go around a corner your board will go straight ahead. I thought they had been banned.

after years of ropes and/or tiedown ,rachety things I went back to occy's. the trick is to actually think carefully about how and you use them

landyacht said...

AUS4 said...

Ellobuddha said...


NEVER NEVER use Occy straps, the most dangerest things on the planet.
They will rip your eye out and when you go around a corner your board will go straight ahead. I thought they had been banned.

after years of ropes and/or tiedown ,rachety things I went back to occy's. the trick is to actually think carefully about how and you use them

If you think carefully you won't use them , not without the correct safety equipment that is eg: full face hemet, riggers gloves, kevlar body armor, a cordened of work area and a flashing overhead light. [}:)]

BTW OH&S safety officers at our work has banned their use on our work van racks.
But feel free to give them a try if you dare

Thanks for the tips guys, appreciate it.
Looks like Thules will be the way to go. By the sound of it they may be more expensive than the board!
Now, occys or tie downs, that's the next dilemma!
Muchos grachos.

nebbian said...

Real men use rope

What would be a good rope to use?

Google "Elastic restraining Strap" and "safety".

There is absolutely no way I would ever trust an occy strap to keep anything on the roof of a car. They are designed to stretch! I have always used webbing straps, and have NEVER seen them shrink. I have driven over 8000kms last year (Noosa, Great Ocean Road etc) with boards on the roof with webbing straps.
They do need looking after as they can fray where I tie knots, but at least any damage is visible. Occy straps may be damaged in the core, and the damage invisible until catastrophic. They are like a timebomb on the roof.

JB

Whenever I'm taking a Wally (or any longboard) on a long trip, I take a line from the front tow ring or bumper of the car and use it to tie the boards down at the front. Dunno if it's ever been needed, but it sure does help the peace of mind when a lorry slipstream comes the other way.

Haydos said...

Hi All,

I am new to the sport and have purchased a second half W1 board and sail etc.
Now I have just to transport the thing! Any tips, advice and recommendations as to the best, most suited roof rack to go for?
I have a Berlina sedan.
Thanks in advance.

I have a VE commodore and use Rhino racks,have been good,quite solid.
Stay away from the Pro Racks from Supercrap Auto's as I had them but after I saw my SUP fly through the air and clip a truck on the freeway with the racks still attached to the board I am a firm believer in buying the best racks you can get.