Tie-Downs

To transport your kayak, you'll need some way of securing it, whether on a roof rack, truck bed, or trailer. I recommend the type of tie-down strap shown above, with hooks on the ends, and cam buckles, not ratchets. Ratchets are a pain in the ass, and you don't need all that much force anyway. In fact, you don't want too much force, your boat is only made of plastic!

When it comes to tie-downs, more is better. On the truck rack, I use four per boat - two to secure it fore-and-aft, and two to secure it side-to-side. If you're good at puzzles, you could figure out how to do it all with just two, but I don't like to think that hard, and tie-downs like this are cheap. In the truck bed, two would do, but I have four, so I use them all. Especially on the highway with high wind loads, you will never regret using extra tie-downs.

Your tie-downs should be at least as long as your boat, so you can reach from anywhere to anywhere else, or have plenty of length to wrap around things. Light-duty tie-downs are perfectly adequate - you're not trying to crush your boat or pull the handles off !!! An inexpensive set of four should run you under $20.

Don't forget to secure the paddle as well, and the seatback. And don't trust the bungie cords to hold your PFD in place at 70 miles an hour!


Mercer County
( 40.28435, -74.67324 )

  1. Assunpink Access ( 40.23568, -74.58683 )
  2. Assunpink Lake - Upper Freehold ( 40.21542, -74.51702 )
  3. Brainerd Lake - Cranbury ( 40.31113, -74.51178 )
  4. Collier's Lake - New Egypt ( 40.06799, -74.44856 )
  5. Colonial Lake - Lawrence ( 40.25527, -74.72369 )
  6. Crosswick's Creek - Bordentown ( 40.14816, -74.71812 )
  7. Crosswick's Creek - Groveville ( 40.16705, -74.67717 )
  8. Crosswick's Creek - New Egypt (N) ( 40.08505, -74.54006 )
  9. Crosswick's Creek - New Egypt (S) ( 40.06679, -74.53226 )
  10. Crosswick's Creek - Walnford ( 40.13480, -74.55762 )
  11. D-R Canal - Amwell Rd ( 40.50340, -74.58268 )
  12. D-R Canal - Blackwells Mills ( 40.47550, -74.57220 )
  13. D-R Canal - Griggstown (N) ( 40.43834, -74.61397 )
  14. D-R Canal - Griggstown (S) ( 40.42912, -74.61816 )
  15. D-R Canal - Kingston (N) ( 40.37489, -74.61854 )
  16. D-R Canal - Kingston (S) ( 40.37326, -74.61861 )
  17. D-R Canal - Lawrence (N) ( 40.27450, -74.70332 )
  18. D-R Canal - Lawrence (S) ( 40.26746, -74.71071 )
  19. D-R Canal - Lawrenceville ( 40.30501, -74.68490 )
  20. D-R Canal - Manville ( 40.52861, -74.58178 )
  21. D-R Canal - New Brunswick ( 40.50806, -74.46376 )
  22. D-R Canal - North Trenton ( 40.24901, -74.72865 )
  23. D-R Canal - Plainsboro (E) ( 40.34321, -74.62964 )
  24. D-R Canal - Plainsboro (W) ( 40.34190, -74.63758 )
  25. D-R Canal - Princeton (N) ( 40.33879, -74.64715 )
  26. D-R Canal - Princeton (S) ( 40.33224, -74.65186 )
  27. D-R Canal - Province Line Rd ( 40.30273, -74.68819 )
  28. D-R Canal - Rocky Hill ( 40.39826, -74.62702 )
  29. D-R Canal - Somerset (N) ( 40.54077, -74.51404 )
  30. D-R Canal - Somerset (S) ( 40.52390, -74.49248 )
  31. D-R Canal - Trenton (N) ( 40.23886, -74.74194 )
  32. D-R Canal - Trenton (S) ( 40.18384, -74.74666 )
  33. D-R Canal - West Windsor ( 40.30844, -74.67979 )
  34. D-R Feeder Canal - Ewing ( 40.26529, -74.84790 )
  35. D-R Feeder Canal - Lambertville (S) ( 40.34206, -74.94044 )
  36. D-R Feeder Canal - Rt 202 ( 40.37987, -74.95175 )
  37. D-R Feeder Canal - Washington Crossing ( 40.29842, -74.86852 )
  38. D-R Feeder Canal - West Trenton ( 40.24497, -74.81917 )
  39. Dallenbach Pond ( 40.41254, -74.44296 )
  40. Davidson's Mill Pond - East Brunswick ( 40.41117, -74.49789 )
  41. Delaware Canal - Morrisville PA ( 40.21792, -74.77976 )
  42. Delaware Canal - New Hope ( 40.37983, -74.95835 )
  43. Delaware Canal - Newtown PA ( 40.26858, -74.86017 )
  44. Delaware Canal - Washington's X'ing PA ( 40.29014, -74.87709 )
  45. Delaware Canal - Yardley PA ( 40.23742, -74.82909 )
  46. Delaware River - Beverly ( 40.06894, -74.92243 )
  47. Delaware River - Burlington ( 40.08236, -74.85662 )
  48. Delaware River - Burlington ( 40.08192, -74.85063 )
  49. Delaware River - Florence Twp ( 40.12238, -74.80412 )
  50. Delaware River - Lambertville (N) ( 40.36072, -74.94531 )
  51. Delaware River - Lambertville (S) ( 40.34235, -74.94193 )
  52. Delaware River - Titusville ( 40.30711, -74.88066 )
  53. Delaware River - Trenton ( 40.18662, -74.75351 )
  54. Dick's Sporting Goods - West Windsor ( 40.30691, -74.67877 )
  55. East Amwell Lake ( 40.40023, -74.84316 )
  56. Etra Lake - East Windsor ( 40.25288, -74.49829 )
  57. Farrington Lake - East Brunswick (C) ( 40.42465, -74.47680 )
  58. Farrington Lake - East Brunswick (N) ( 40.43900, -74.46646 )
  59. Farrington Lake - East Brunswick (S) ( 40.42201, -74.48242 )
  60. Gropp Lake - White Horse ( 40.18761, -74.68888 )
  61. Grover's Mill Pond - Princeton Junction ( 40.31282, -74.60565 )
  62. Helmetta Pond ( 40.37817, -74.42657 )
  63. Lake Carnegie - Plainsboro ( 40.34362, -74.62973 )
  64. Lake Carnegie - Princeton ( 40.36681, -74.62597 )
  65. Lake Luxembourg - Langhorne PA ( 40.20011, -74.91904 )
  66. Lake Manalapan - Jamesburg ( 40.34525, -74.43662 )
  67. Lake Weamaconk - Englishtown ( 40.29140, -74.35704 )
  68. Lawrence Brook - Milltown (E) ( 40.45144, -74.43663 )
  69. Lawrence Brook - Milltown (W) ( 40.44831, -74.44367 )
  70. Mercer Lake - Hamilton ( 40.26561, -74.64191 )
  71. Mercer Lake - West Windsor ( 40.26960, -74.64114 )
  72. Mill Pond - Princeton Meadows (E) ( 40.32460, -74.56567 )
  73. Mill Pond - Princeton Meadows (W) ( 40.32735, -74.60233 )
  74. Millhurst Pond - Freehold ( 40.24590, -74.34066 )
  75. Millstone River - Blackwells Mills ( 40.47487, -74.57503 )
  76. Millstone River - Cranbury (E) ( 40.29359, -74.52675 )
  77. Millstone River - Cranbury (W) ( 40.29590, -74.56250 )
  78. Millstone River - Griggstown ( 40.43898, -74.61783 )
  79. Millstone River - Kingston ( 40.37419, -74.61962 )
  80. Millstone River - Manville ( 40.53124, -74.58753 )
  81. Millstone River - Plainsboro (N) ( 40.34262, -74.62981 )
  82. Millstone River - Plainsboro (S) ( 40.33874, -74.62880 )
  83. Millstone River - West Windsor ( 40.32139, -74.60831 )
  84. Miry Run ( 40.24052, -74.64696 )
  85. Neshaminy Creek - Newtown PA ( 40.23271, -74.97409 )
  86. Peddie Lake - Hightstown ( 40.26870, -74.52219 )
  87. Perrineville Lake ( 40.22667, -74.43784 )
  88. Prospertown Lake - Jackson ( 40.13497, -74.45779 )
  89. Raritan River - Branchburg ( 40.55644, -74.68838 )
  90. Raritan River - Duke Island (E) ( 40.56082, -74.64751 )
  91. Raritan River - Duke Island (W) ( 40.55279, -74.68330 )
  92. Raritan River - Highland Park ( 40.48864, -74.42226 )
  93. Raritan River - New Brunswick ( 40.48760, -74.43280 )
  94. Raritan River - Piscataway (N) ( 40.54085, -74.51236 )
  95. Raritan River - Piscataway (S) ( 40.50935, -74.46641 )
  96. Raritan River - Power Canal ( 40.55112, -74.67136 )
  97. Raritan River - Raritan ( 40.56492, -74.63884 )
  98. Raritan River - Somerville (E) ( 40.55798, -74.61520 )
  99. Raritan River - Somerville (W) ( 40.56539, -74.63173 )
  100. Raritan River South Branch ( 40.54640, -74.69603 )
  101. Raritan River South Branch - Flemington (C) ( 40.52105, -74.82666 )
  102. Raritan River South Branch - Flemington (E) ( 40.50354, -74.77814 )
  103. Raritan River South Branch - Flemington (N) ( 40.53810, -74.83934 )
  104. Raritan River South Branch - Neshanic (E) ( 40.50873, -74.72776 )
  105. Raritan River South Branch - Neshanic (W) ( 40.50250, -74.74182 )
  106. Rising Sun Lake - Upper Freehold ( 40.20699, -74.46339 )
  107. Rocky Brook - Hightstown ( 40.27108, -74.52353 )
  108. South River - Grekoski Park ( 40.43898, -74.36086 )
  109. South River - Old Bridge ( 40.41228, -74.36362 )
  110. South River - Sayreville ( 40.45397, -74.37222 )
  111. South River - South River ( 40.45838, -74.38361 )
  112. Spring Lake ( 40.19512, -74.73217 )
  113. Stone Tavern Lake - Upper Freehold ( 40.19587, -74.48596 )
  114. Stony Brook - Pennington ( 40.33257, -74.75809 )
  115. Stony Brook - Princeton ( 40.33219, -74.65340 )
  116. Stony Brook - Rosedale ( 40.33168, -74.77828 )
  117. Turn Mill Pond - New Egypt ( 40.06371, -74.44772 )
  118. Weston's Mill Pond - East Brunswick ( 40.46677, -74.42603 )