Hauling a surfboard

[musthave]

My daughter is receiving a surfboard for "graduation" from 6th grade.

No doubt, at 7'6" it will fit inside the 80, but not with 5 people too.

My roof is factory naked. I have a short rack from Shane, but don't usually have it on unless camping.

Is there any easy method of travelling with the surfboard on the roof, without a rack?

Anybody have pictures of their 80 with surfboard(s)?

I could put my short Shane rack on but that prohibits me from things like the airport and parking garages.

 

[thedoughboy]

No pics but done it too many times to count. Get two long pieces of 1 inch webbing (or rope). Put the board on the roof, in a bag, with the fins forward facing up. With all 4 doors open loop webbing over board, through the door openings and secure both ends. It helps if your webbing has some sort of syncing mechanism. You can also loop the webbing through the oh $h*t handles on the interior roof of your cruiser.

You don't want to drive 80mph and you don't want to drive hundreds of miles like this. Use common sense on your speed and watch the board for movement.

Glad your daughter is getting a new stick!

 

[Newps]

These are the type you want, quick and easy set up.



There are a lot of different manufactures of these.

 

[mdandashly]

May be able to do it the same way you do a kayak on a naked roof. Two foam pads and straps. Only concern is holding the front end down but you can use the leash mount for that.

 

[musthave]

Thanks, both great ideas, as always!

 

[tromz]

I never put my boards on the roof. The wind and vibrations cause stress cracks on the board. The straps used can cause dings and dents. I normally roll with one and two dogs so the seats are folded or out. With five you might want one rear jump as well. You can thread the board right up the middle. Fold just the back of one seat and you can slide a longboard right through and between the front seats. I've packed 4 people in for a short ride one board each. Ya kinda bridge the boards across the seats.
Hope that helps.
Ps. Also bad day when said roof tie system fails due to the "airplane wing ya got der"


Tromz

 

[hamishpotter]

if you don't want to put a fixed rack on your roof, I recommend an FCS soft-rack - I've travelled all over the world to surf and their strap buckles have worked the best (and aren't heavy to ding boards like some other soft racks). I often take mine with me in case the local transpo does not have proper board racks.

http://www.thesurfboardwarehouse.co...kQYMsU6E5vkKpKPuwe7nJRmIV_eyKAnccLWJe6dfD_BwE

If you get her a nice board you might either pick up a good day-bag (or a travel bag = more padding) for the board or keep it inside. Inside is usually best, as long as it's not hitting anything or getting banged.

I also think you can put them on racks and take good care of them. I've had good experience with Thule racks - just get round board pads since the square ones can sometimes push the padded side off of contact with the board.

Another option is getting a Tufflite board, which is lighter and a bit more ding-resistant.

Boards are more delicate than they look, so handle with care. Helps to rinse with fresh water and dry it post-surf. If you take good care of it it should last a long time.

Your daughter's lucky and about to embark on a great lifetime adventure!

my $0.02

J

 

[hamishpotter]

One last thing, in my experience if you put a board on a rack it's best to go fin side up and facing ahead (so the board is pointed backwards). That way if the straps loosen, since the board's more likely to slip towards the rear the fin should catch and keep the board on the roof. That's saved a few friends' boards

 

[tromz]

^what he said. Yea surfboards are disposable. They ding they break. It's all about strength vs. weight vs. cost


Tromz

 

[tromz]

If ya got six months out of a board surfing daily you did good


Tromz

 

[fjcalifornia]

FCS soft racks are EASY or you could go the pricey route....

1) Yakima drill in foot bases called Yakima Landing Pad 6 or 7
http://www.rackattack.com/yakima-permanent-base-racks.asp

2) Get tracks installed, and put on InO Surf Lockable racks. Tracks requiring drilling too.
http://www.rackattack.com/yakima-permanent-base-racks.asp

in SF expect to pay $150-250 for the LABOR


Nothing says TOURIST like an ill positioned board on a roofrack - this MATTERS

It is FIn UP and tail forward (aka California style)

 

[tromz]

^ha nothing says tourist like a board on top of your car!!! Localism does exist. Simple fact in populated areas. There's more surfers than there are waves.


Tromz

 

[Kief]

If you wax your board then plan on a mess if inside the rig. Bags are cool you just have to try to keep the wax from getting on the planing side of the board. Soft racks are cool but I use a set of beater Thule pads on the gutters and can have them off in 5 minutes.The are not as likely to loosen up. Don't drill any holes- leaks and rust will follow. Ditto on the fins up and forwards. I've ridden with boards in various rigs and most of the dings inflicted were a result of mishandling/poor transport and storage. Long trips with the boards inside aren't fun.
Consider airflow off of the windshield when positioning the board and also watch out for the tailgate hitting.

 

[FiftyTwoEighty]

We live at the beach, and nothing screams tourist than a soft rack.

We've traveled thousands and thousands of miles up and down California surfing and paddling our coastline and mountain biking, climbing, and skiing our mountains with a lockable 4 bar Thule/Yakima/Inno system with zero incidents to our gear.

It is an investment, but consider finding a set of used crossbars and some pads. Any ratchet can secure the board to the crossbars. As others have said, fins forward. I've lost count of the number of surfboards that I've dodged on PCH in my vehicles.

 

[musthave]

We live at the beach, and nothing screams tourist than a soft rack.

We've travel thousands and thousands of miles up and down the California surfing and paddling our coastline and mountain biking, climbing, and skiing our mountains with a lockable 4 bar Thule/Yakima/Inno system without zero incidents to our gear.

It is an investment, but consider finding a set of used crossbars and some pads. Any ratchet can secure the board to the crossbars. As others have said, fins forward. I've lost count of the number of surfboards that I've dodged on PCH in my vehicles.

Wow, that's a surf rack!!! Nice!!!

 

[California80]

We live at the beach, and nothing screams tourist than a soft rack.

We've travel thousands and thousands of miles up and down the California surfing and paddling our coastline and mountain biking, climbing, and skiing our mountains with a lockable 4 bar Thule/Yakima/Inno system without zero incidents to our gear.

It is an investment, but consider finding a set of used crossbars and some pads. Any ratchet can secure the board to the crossbars. As others have said, fins forward. I've lost count of the number of surfboards that I've dodged on PCH in my vehicles.

Is that Morro Bay?

 

[FiftyTwoEighty]

Is that Morro Bay?

Yes! It was too wind blown that day -- 20mph gusts! NO THANK YOU!

My wife and I spend a bunch of time roaming between SLO, Monterey, and Half Moon Bay.

 

[tromz]

Oh yea wax on the roof is a problem too. Scars the paint


Tromz