13

Let's say I want to tie a hard object to the top of my car, like a kayak. What is the preferred knot for cinching it down tightly?

I often run into this problem with boats, lumber, and the like. In the past, I've used a tautline hitch with success, but I've heard that it's not safe under critical loads. I've also used a trucker's hitch several times, and that seemed to work well, but I'm not sure what the norm is.

Mike M. Lin
  • 233
  • 1
  • 6
  • 1
    If you find your trucker's hitch difficult to undo, see this answer to a related question: http://outdoors.stackexchange.com/questions/5673/which-mid-line-knot-is-best-suited-for-a-truckers-hitch/5687#5687 – MrWonderful May 15 '14 at 16:22

1 Answers1

10

The knot(s) I would use are:

Make sure to perform this process for the front and the back of the object.

Check that the object doesn't shift, and recheck each couple hours of driving.

dangeranger
  • 4,504
  • 1
  • 25
  • 35
  • +1 for the trucker's hitch. I've yet to find a load that couldn't be wrangled with a truckers and a couple of half-hitches. – Lost Jan 26 '12 at 11:12
  • 1
    @Dangeranger, it's been two years since you gave me this advice and I've used the trucker's hitch countless times since. Thanks for introducing me to it ;) – Mike M. Lin Sep 24 '14 at 21:19
  • 1
    @MikeM.Lin glad I could help – dangeranger Sep 25 '14 at 15:24