The best engineered single scull roof rack
Charles Carroll
Do any of you know this rack? Or maybe someone has had experience with
it? On the Noble Hardware Website it is advertised as "The highest
quality, best engineered single scull roof rack ever ..." It certainly
looks easy enough.
http://www.noblehardware.com/RoofRackModel2.htm
Cordially,
Charles
James HS
wrote:
Hmmmm - not sure how they claim that!
I have one of these by Tim Crooks
and you can see how simple - but how incredibly effective it is - can
take a single or a double and relies on the strength of webbing.
It is a bit crude, big and ugly, but does what it sais on the tin!
James
MagnusBurbanks
intended). In addition I would be concerned about fatigue in the
folded vinyl, and sunlight-perishing of the vinyl if left outside
between uses.
I have a rack comprising a single aluminium bar with a soft-material-
covered V welded at each end, over which a bungee can be secured. This
has served me without problems for 1x and 2x for 15 years. I believe
these can be purchased for around the same cost as just the Coupling
Kit in the Noble link mentioned above. Carl sells them, I think.
Cheers
Magnus
Steven M-M
"best," but it is certainly excellent. It gives my 1x a secure and a
gentle ride. Here in Central USA we can get powerful crosswinds, and
this rack has been the best in those conditions compared to others
I've used. It is also easy to set the boat in the cradle and secure it
with the top clamp. At highway speeds the rack is silent and the boat
stable. (I add a third strap near the front cradle, but that's just my
cautious nature. Did the same with other racks.) Scott made, at no
extra charge, custom clamps that work on the roof rack for my BMW
wagon. The boat trailer for Scott's club, Rocky Mt Rowing, uses the
black vinyl tubes, and I've seen no sun damage. With its high altitude
and consistent sunshine, Colorado is the skin cancer capital of the
USA, so those black tubes get a good test. Unlike my roof rack, I'll
bet that trailer lives outdoors. If you have any questions, Scott will
give you a straight answer.
Steven M-M
twc
cost of a shell, I have no problems with an "over engineered" car
rack. The thing is solid; I simply do not worry as much about the boat
when driving. I don't have to worry about straps -- getting them tight
enough but not too tight, having them abrade on an edge, or loosening
on the road. It takes only a few seconds from when the boat is set in
the rack before you are ready to drive away. Honestly, if you have the
extra couple of dollars to give it a try, I don't think anyone would
willingly go back to a traditional rack.
Tom
Charles Carroll
Thank you so much for your comments on Scott's rack. It is good to
read that your experiences have been so positive; and that Scott's
racks have proven to be rugged, durable, easy and quick to load, and
offer a secure and gentle support for the boat. Could you ask for
more?
Ironically, I have seen Scott's racks. I just didn't recall. I got an
email from a friend who sculls out of my Club in Sausalito. He
reminded me that he had bought one of Scott's racks. As soon as I read
this I remembered the rack on top of his car. It looked very
impressive. He bought it to take a shell from San Francisco to
Seattle.
So the endorsements have all been outstanding.
Last year Carl sent me a photograph of a single and a sectional double
on top of his car. The car was on a Ferry that was crossing the
Channel. I don't know who the single was for, but the double was for
Frans Goeble and Peter Michael Kolbe. Although they have raced against
each other many times, they have never raced as partners. This would
be the first time.
In any event, the reason I mention this is that Carl had wrapped all
the shells in bubble wrap. Since I am not particularly fond of boat
covers, bubble-wrap struck me as a sensible alternative. So this leads
me to wonder if my shell, wrapped in bubble-wrap, would fit into one
of Scott's racks. I'll write to Scott and ask.
Thanks again,
Charles
Carl Douglas
> Steven, Tom et al,
>
> Thank you so much for your comments on Scott's rack. It is good to read
> that your experiences have been so positive; and that Scott's racks have
> proven to be rugged, durable, easy and quick to load, and offer a secure
> and gentle support for the boat. Could you ask for more?
>
> Ironically, I have seen Scott's racks. I just didn't recall. I got an
> email from a friend who sculls out of my Club in Sausalito. He reminded
> me that he had bought one of Scott's racks. As soon as I read this I
> remembered the rack on top of his car. It looked very impressive. He
> bought it to take a shell from San Francisco to Seattle.
>
> So the endorsements have all been outstanding.
You can't say fairer than that.
>
> Last year Carl sent me a photograph of a single and a sectional double
> on top of his car. The car was on a Ferry that was crossing the Channel.
> I don't know who the single was for, but the double was for Frans Goeble
> and Peter Michael Kolbe. Although they have raced against each other
> many times, they have never raced as partners. This would be the first
> time.
Actually, although they have raced each other since that historic 2x
event in Amsterdam, I think they had never raced each other before.
Although of similar ages, their periods at the top of their respective
trees were a few years apart, and lightweights (FG) get relatively few
races against heavies (P-MK).
>
> In any event, the reason I mention this is that Carl had wrapped all the
> shells in bubble wrap. Since I am not particularly fond of boat covers,
> bubble-wrap struck me as a sensible alternative. So this leads me to
> wonder if my shell, wrapped in bubble-wrap, would fit into one of
> Scott's racks. I'll write to Scott and ask.
We bubble wrap to maximise protection in transit for new boats which
lack covers, but would recommend using (good) covers as these offer
better protection against all the things which can harm any boat. I
prefer covers made in 2-sections which can be slid on from each end
without zips or ties, except for the (overlapping) join between them.
These closed socks are less likely than 1-piece covers to be dragged in
the mud & get dirt inside them. And it's easy to arrange velcro-closed
slots to allows you to leave the riggers on the covered boat.
Cheers -
Carl
--
Carl Douglas Racing Shells -
Fine Small-Boats/AeRoWing Low-drag Riggers/Advanced Accessories
Write: Harris Boatyard, Laleham Reach, Chertsey KT16 8RP, UK
Find: http://tinyurl.com/2tqujf
Email: ca...@carldouglas.co.uk Tel: +44(0)1932-570946 Fax: -563682
URLs: www.carldouglas.co.uk (boats) & www.aerowing.co.uk (riggers)
Charles Carroll
Well, so much for the bubble-wrap idea. Looks like I will have to go
with a boat cover after all.
Did I ever tell you the story about the two shells that blew off on
the freeway?
They were being car topped from Sausalito to Lake Tahoe for the Tahoe
Regatta, which is usually held in the second week of June. The man who
was transporting them got them on the racks and tied down. I believe
he was very careful and conscientious and followed instructions to the
letter.
So they get out on the freeway and start driving. Apparently they didn't
get very far when the shells blew off.
Both shells stayed tied to the racks. And the racks stayed on the roof
rack.
The cross winds were so strong that they picked up the shells, racks
and roof rack, and tore the roof off. The man who was transporting
them - they were his shells - said he looked in the rear view mirror
and saw the whole system bouncing down the freeway behind him with
cars swerving right and left in an effort to avoid the pile.
I guess the lesson is not to forget to make sure that your roof is
strong enough to support your rack and shell in a high wind ..
Cordially,
Charles
Carl Douglas
Ouch!
What ever happened to gutters around car roofs? But they did need to be
in good condition.
Many years back a car with a 2x and a couple of 1x, on racks on a roof
rack, was driving up our M1 motorway to a regatta. The gutters may have
seen better days, & something gave way. The whole lot lifted as one &
blew a bit sideways before tipping nose down, whereupon the boats dived
in formation into the tarmac. They braked hard, which kept them abreast
of the boats. It was, they said, like watching a Tom & Jerry cartoon,
mesmerised, as the 3 shells rapidly shortened as passing together
through the road surface.
Walter Martindale
wrote:
Woo woo!!
It was before my time but... I understand that the little section of
coxswain seat that's bar section at the Vancouver Rowing Club was a 4+
that had been roof-racked on a van that was on the lion's gate bridge,
between Vancouver and North Van. (similar to but smaller than golden
gate bridge)...
The boat blew off the van, and the coxy seat is all that was left. I
believe this happened late 1970s...
Cheers,
Walter