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!


Kayaks are pretty seaworthy, sit-on-tops are just about unsinkable. That said, dealing with anything more than a 1-foot chop in a flat-bottomed lake boat is really no fun. If you find yourself caught out in rough water, try to keep the bow or stern pointed into the waves, or within 30 degrees of perpendicular, even if you have to take a roundabout course. Do not run parallel to the waves.

Boat wakes are also a threat. Most boats give no thought to anyone else, at least not anyone smaller than them, and will plow by without even looking at you. Always watch out for boat wakes, and turn into them like waves. When dealing with motorboats and jet-skis, I just assume they are drunk and not paying attention to anything. It hasn't failed me yet.

Crossing a boat channel is like crossing the highway: look both ways, wait for a good time, and do it as fast as you can. You do not have right-of-way. Unlike an automobile, a boat doesn't have brakes, and if you do something stupid, it will run right over you.