Saw Board fly off while towing on the ROAD

I was driving home from work yesterday and saw another boat with there boards on the racks while driving down the road at 45mph, there was one car in front of me and then the truck and boat, next thing the car in front of me swerved to the right real hard, what do I see a wakeboard flying through the air, I swerved to the right also as I was watching the board bounce across the road, what a trip, just think if it hit the driver behind the boat in the windshield or it even could have caused a major accident, and the guy just kept on going, when he gets to the launch he will probably freak out, what the F happen to my other board. If he only knew, I wasn’t going to stop and tell him and I don’t think the other person did either, I think when I see people driving on the road with there boards on there tower, I think I will just shake my head and say what an idiot.

Haha, when I was in school at the University of Utah I would snowboard a lot. I just got a new car with a ski rack and I guess I must have forgot to lock it down. Because on my way to Brighton my board came loose and flew straight up in the air and came down like a missle on the nose. Splitting the nose open.

It was funny to watch in rear view mirror, luckily it was early in the moring and no one was around.

(Message edited by drewdown on June 27, 2006)

I saw someone towing a really nice mastercraft on the freeway last week. he had a couple of boards in the racks as well. I pulled up next to him, and tried to point it out for him. he just nodded, and waved. not sure if he realized what I was saying to him. totally a dangerous thing. I dont think the racks are made to hold the boards in at such high speeds.

I saw this guy with four wakeboards and two skis goind down the road 80 MPH! Skis were flopping around like crazy...

This was on the Loop 101 North by Scottsdale, AZ a couple weeks ago.

thats the type of person that buys a wakeboard boat and a couple boards without knowing that you cant tow with them in the racks or the bimini up

An older Malibu going down the highway passed me on Friday that had his racks full of boards doing about 70mph thinking he was the coolest thing on earth since toilet paper.

You just shake your heads at these types of people and think what tools they are.

Is this why they put warning stickers on every part of the boat??

there is no warning about boards on the racks on the road but its just common sence since they almost fly off in the water going 40 mph, what do you think would happen at 80

Bocephus I love that pic, its fitting that the boat is an X30, I have seen about 10 different X whatevers with boards on thier racks going down the road, these are usually the same boats power turning or pulling tubers aswell. Classic

Mike,

That's funny. I usually don't pick on MC owners, but I have seen more boards in the racks on MC's than any other brand while going 80 down the freeway.

Someone on this board once said: 'A board in the hand is worth two on the road'.

I agree and would never do it but the racks on that x-30 are different than what I have. Look at the clamp on the top of the board.

wakeboarder271, How are you enjoying the new Parks board? I hope the road rash is not that bad.

Brian
I like LF trip 138 but since my major face plant that sent my eye balls to the back of my head, I went back to slalom skiing, now all I worry about is the nose enemas when I get pulled up. Kids are doing all the wakeboarding; my one kid loves that board.

So...where do you all carry your boards when towing? I'm quite familiar with all of the name calling, but I still put mine up in the racks. My racks grab boards really tightly, when strapped there is no way they are coming out. That said, I realize the strap could fail and lead to a problem, but likewise a number of other things could go wrong with a similar conclusion.

I don't usually have room inside the truck for boards. I'm not to keen on the idea of a board floating around in the cab in an accident though. Usually there is room in the bed and sometimes they end up there. The thing is...they are just floating around in the back of the truck...in an accident or emergency they could fly out of there much easier than they could if they were strapped into the racks. Same goes for setting them inside the boat.

Other than the limited space inside the cab, I don't see a whole lot of places that are really any more secure than the racks.

I guess it's a good thing an idiot like me keeps his boat in a slip for the summer and doesn't tow very often or far.

Well, lets just put it this way. The chance of your board racks failing while going highway speeds is much higher than you getting in an accident and having them fly out of your truck bed or from the bottom of the boat. The force of wind against your board/bindings is huge at that speed and will rip the boards out of the racks sooner or later. In the picture above the skis were literally bouncing up and down in the racks, moving approximately 8-10" in the rack.

Hell, I barely trust my racks going across the lake at 40mph. I wouldn't even consider trying to drive 60-65 with the boards up there. Incidently the claming MC racks are killer to use, but don't hold a board worth a crap. We've had boards come out before while on the water in the wind.

Nate, I had one almost come off once, before I "knew better." I saw it in the mirror. Pulled over. Now they always go in the back of my truck. Sliding around a little in the back isn't going to hurt them any. Even camping trips, I make room in either the truck or the boat.

Nate I am confused why do you not put your boards in your storage lockers. Thats where I put mine when I am driving. I would never put mine in the racks while I am on the road. Liek everyone has said they get loose on the water at 40 so imagine what 75 looks like.

Also with the boards on the racks while driving down the highway you're putting other motorists at risk. I understand there are plenty of risks out there when driving down the road but a flying wakeboard should never be one of them. Put the boards in the storage lockers or in the truck. I don't want to see a lawsuit against a boat manufacturer for defective racks that wouldn't hold a wakeboard at 80mph down the highway.

I throw mine in the board racks, but I only live a mile from the ramp, and it's a slower road. If I'm going a long way, I'm in the motorhome, and have plenty of storage in the RV

wakeboarder271, I was referring to the board that came flying your direction. Figured you got a new board out of the deal.

Brian
yeah really, should have grabbed it and took it back to him and said DUDE WHATS UP!

(Message edited by kenteck on June 27, 2006)

Bocephus: I see the point about ski's being loose in the racks and if I had anything like that my boards wouldn't be in there either. As it is, it's difficult to slide boards in and out of my racks, they hold the boards tight (enough that it won't even fit my HL-Catalyst skate). There is very little/no movement. Admittedly though, they can come out...we just had it happen when a board was accidently left unstrapped on the water (but we were going slow and it shook out rather than blew out). We got lucky that there were only minor injuries. This is what has me second guessing what conventional wisdom says is my own bad practice.

The few who talk about "freeway speeds" as 65, 75, 80 etc'...have no right to preach at me about safety. Don't pull your boat that fast.

Stewart, I put what I can in the lockers...the problem is that my typical load is at least 4 wakeboards, a surfboard, and a skate. With vests and gear for everybody, locker space gets tight.

I will certainly reconsider my practice, but I'm not entirely convinced. I've followed this topic here for a while, and don't want to just be argumentative. I come from the aviation community so I'm a safety freak in general. This particular issue just seems to go a little further than losing a board on the road. As mentioned here, you need to consider other drivers and flying boards...but you need to also consider vehicle occupants and emergency situations. I don't claim to have the answer, I just don't think it's black and white...and was asking where the wise guys put them to get the scoop, not to argue. Lockers seem ideal, and I'll probably change my load plan to try and make room for an extra board or two.

I get some funny looks when I pull up to the lake with a couple boards in my racks. I live 2 miles from the lake, and only hit about 35-40 mph on the way. I would not keep them up there if I was going any faster. Also have my bimini to think about. It does not hold up at freeway speeds (found that out the hard way last summer).

There is always a way to either put them in the truck cab, bed, or the floor of the boat. If I don't put them in my racks, I have at least 3-4 boards, and a surfer, all in the cab/back seat of my truck.

Not worth having them in the racks at freeway speeds. Just looking for trouble that way. Could easily cause an accident, or even worse, whack a motorcycle rider, etc.

Umm how about its illegal to run your boards in the rack on the highway, is that good enough reason to stop doing it since endangering everyone on the road is not? Store the boards in your lockers, back of your tow rig or on the floor of your ride. THe down force coming over the bow of your boat will keep everything in good order if you have the board angled correctly. Keep it real peoples, do not need any bad PR for our sport.

Yeah...the law would be a real good reason. Is it in fact a law? If the law says I should take it out of the nice secure racks that it's positively locked into, and let it bounce around in the back of the truck...then I'll be happy to go along with it. I doubt it's a law, and that you could prove it is beyond what you heard through the grapevine or some subjective interpretation of a more general part of the vehicle code. My boards are clamped and strapped while yours are relying on being placed at the right angle and some kind of downforce from the bow of the boat.

I've seen some big/heavy stuff come out of the back of a truck before. Lockers are obviously the best solution, but a freeriding board in a truck bed or boat floor doesn't seem any more secure than strapped into a properly maintained and inspected rack.

Please understand that I'm not advocating the use of racks going down the highway. I'm asking what kind of alternatives people are using. Safety needs to be considered carefully...and tossing boards in the back of the truck or floor of the boat in lieu of using the racks just seems like throwing out the baby with the bathwater.

(Message edited by mammoth on June 27, 2006)

ive picked up a couple of boards on the side of the road, cant use any of them tho cause they get road rash bad!

I have board bags for all of my boards. throw those into the bed of the truck, and they are good to go. I dont worry about them getting dinged up, and I dont have them in my rack!

I got 4 boards that we take usually and we set them on the floor sideways, nose down, in the walk way, under the steering wheel, the boards are the last thing that we put in and try to wedge them some where, haven’t had a problem yet.

How about using some bungee cords in the back of the truck to secure the boards if you're worried about them becoming projectiles in an accident?

As far as being illegal, you can get cited for anything an officer thinks is an unsafe or unsecured load.

I grew up working in a lumber yard, and would see people strapping huge things onto/under/out the windows of there car using twine to tie it down. Most were a whole lot worse then boards on a rack.

Rob, you mean bungee cords like the ones that hold boards in a rack? Great idea.

Jeff...that's what I meant by 'subjective interpretation of a more general part of the vehicle code'. The same argument could be made if an officer thought the board could fly out of the bed of a truck. Unreasonable in both cases.

a long distance or highway, you should be smarter than that if not Karma will catch up with you.

how about the fact that the board racks are not designed/engineered for speeds above 40-45, the top speed of the boat? Boards waggling in the breeze above that will cause premature stress cracks in your boards and board rack mounts and possibly void your warranty.

The funny thing about the photo above is that if the driver saw you snapping a picture, he likely thought you were admiring his setup! In reality, you were documenting his/her stupidity.

Jman

PS: I lay my boards in the boat. They aren't going anywhere. In the event of a crash severe enough to cause them to fly out, I doubt the boards are going to be at the top of your list of concerns.

CWB boards are the only one that flew out of my racks.(b/c they are way thinner then any other board.)

That said,I never lost a CWB board or any other board for that matter in the back of my truck.That means the boards are only in the racks on the water.I live only 4 miles away from the ramp and do not go over 45mph and you won't see any boards up there.

Nate I think every here has provided enough info for you to try a new way of storing your boards. I hope that you take everyones input as lookin out for a fellow rider and his gear.
Hope everyone dominates this weekend and has a great 4th...

My rule of thumb is not to drive with boards racked any faster than I'd be going on the water.
I'm with Jman as far as freeway towing, boards are stowed and covered in boat.

Only time I ever drive with boards racked is on the way to the ramp anyways.

There should be a law against freeway towing with racked boards. That's got to be one of worst misuses of common sense I've ever seen.

Who is the genius yesterday with the red boat ( I couldnt tell what kind it was ) going North on the 101 @ Indian Bend with boards in the racks?

I had to swerve for a broken board on the west bound 40 in Arizona returning from Havasu Tuesday. My kids wanted to stop and harvest the road kill bindings.

There is a group of air nautiques in my area and they always ride together and have their boards on their racks. it the funniest thing in the world.

David, that's totally funny man. Hell ya, I would've pulled right on over and reaped on those bindings. Especially if they were like CWB or something, i love my 05' Zues bindings.

get a tonneau cover and be done with it

Personally, I never tow with boards in the racks. I think it is pretty stupid actually (not trying to attack anyone). There are plenty of other places to put them. I just lay them in the boat side by side in the bow walkway, and sides of the motorbox, and have been doing so for years and years without any problems. As for the argument about boards flying around in an accident, I doubt the boards will be a major concern. And if your board gets majorly damaged by just being in the back of a truck, perhaps you are driving too erratically.

I see it as a very "rookie" thing to do, just like driving around the lake/delta/river with your bumpers out, but with costlier consequences.

Driving over Mt. Hood (Oregon) today I saw a supra with swivel racks that were turned in, but still had the boards in them. To me it still seems stupid to do that, just not worth the risk.

Nate this is not personal at all..If you haven't seen a board fly off a rack on the highway, then you haven't seen something unsafe yet. Watch out if you become the receiving end of a lawsuit and lose everything. I'd rather have my head severed by a flying board in my cab than be the person who kills someone from my stupidity. Tools will always be tools.

i read this thread a few days ago. personally, my boards mean too much to me to be leaving them on the tower while towing. having said this, today, for the first time, i left my boards on the racks plainly because i was in a rush to get home. they are all ok but when i arrived home i was like "PHEW!!, THAT WAS LUCKY!!!!"
i just dont think its worth it. it takes less than 5 minutes to take them down and lay them on the floor of the boat

I'm new to wakeboarding, just purchased a Moomba LSV, 3 boards, etc... One of my first questions was do you tow with wakeboards in the racks. I asked the dealer, checked multiple manufacturer sites, and of course wakeworld discussion boards. The anwers were a resignating "do not leave your boards in the racks during higway travel." Since you are in the aviation industry I am under the assumption you understand Newtons Action & Reaction of Lift, as well as Bernoulli Lift. Apply those rules to a wakeboard and the effects of those on a rack travelling at 45 mph to 80 mph and no manufacture gurantees their rack to hold up. So, its just a matter of time. Would you want your family behind a boat that has wakeboards on the racks going 70 mph down the highway?

My father-n-law saw two life vest fly out of a boat. He stoped and picked them up. He was never able to catch back up with them. So next week I will find out what kind of new ones I have.

People who travel on the freeways with their boards in the racks are ALL complete morons. Take some pride in what you own. You spend anywhere from 30-80K on a boat, another 2K on boards and bindings, think about it. You are totally damaging your racks and boards, not to mention the potential danger to other people on the road. Put one or more boards on the floor of the boat, another in the lockers, and if you have any more, put them in the cab of your truck.

The same people who run with their boards in the racks are the same people who are power turning all over the place. They need to be educated. The sad part is, when you do try to be nice about it, they act like their crap don't stink. I hate that more than anything. Guys like that don't deserve to have a boat. Just my opinion.