C-Forum

OK this is a silly Q, but I'm accustomed to decked C-1s.

Is is preferred to cartop on the highway with float bags in place or removed?

I've been told leaving them in will shred them in short order, and that taking them out with kill mpg & make the boat more vulnerable to shifting & bobbing from wind load.

This is a composite slalom-type with LOTS of rocker. (Right down over the windshield, it feels like.) Lots of lacing, not much decking; so far I've pulled the bags out unless its just a short hop. Another issue is that my dumb VW hatch forces the bars to be way too close together -- been thinking of artificial rain gutters.

Thoughts?

i am of the school of leave 'em in. BUT you have to be religious about keeping them tightly inflated. Sure i've gone through a couple airbags but did a fair bit of paddling inbetween...course i don't have a race boat.
-racks-just make a 2by4 frame to extend out further for boat to sit on...but tie the bow down for sure
paul

I usually leave them in the boat, but you have to watch the bags as the temperature changes. They shouldn't shred if they are properly inflated, but they can expand in the sun and damage your boat. Be sure to keep the valvetubes from flopping around in the wind...that will cause a leak for sure!

Inflate them so that they're squidgy but not drum tight; just like storing a raft;

If the bag is fully deflated it will flop about and shred, if it's too tight, a change in temperature could burst it; and of course the airbags are actually responsible for a worryingly large part of the structural stability of traditional gunnled OC1's so removing them entirely is no good (and its a massive ballache).

One additional caveat... If you do remove them, make sure you get an earlier start than the rest of your group. No one likes waiting around as the open boater put air-bags in his boat. Especially the other open boaters.

if you can put a bungee cord say from the lacing to a d-ring on the hull over the bag, this will keep the bags pressure good.

Got a strap kind of doing the same thing is this picture, but the bungee is better as it "automatically" adjusts.
http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/2787 ... 6337JkKhcE

Taking your bags out *will* make them last longer. Buttttttt -

You have to deal with 2 large, wet clumps of wet nylon on the way home. As Phil noted, you will need extra time to install and inflate the bags - it takes a little longer than a kayaker putting on a skirt, even a cold one they haven't used in a while. If you choose to do that anyway, get a good electric inflator to speed things up. Also, replacing bags every couple of years isn't the worst thing ever unless you are an unrepentant skinflint. Oh, wait, that's part of the definition of "open boater"...

Two alternatives to leaving them inflated and in place -

1. leave the ends tied in (up under the deckplates), delate the bags, and stuff them into the ends (up under the deckplates). Keeps them from getting beat up by the wind, eliminates the "lump of wet nylon" problem and now all you have to do is inflate them and retie the other ends.

2. make a cover - see here :
http://picasaweb.google.com/scott.broam ... 3886824562
Takes me 2-3 minutes coming and going. I only need a place to store them while on the water.

Wow -- thanks for the quick replies!! (Post before bed -- read replies at breakfast!!)

I think I'll be going with careful inflation for now -- but still thinking about modifying the rack mounts -- I bought the hatch in part because it has a long flat roof, but the mount points are fixed over the door posts -- stupid design.

Thanx -- & lean downstream...

Temperature isn't that only thing that will affect the bags. So will elevation. If you're driving up a mountain pass, and you keep your bags in, you'll want to check them at various points to make sure they're not getting too inflated. I've had to deflate my bags going up a pass and then reinflate them once I'm over it.

I've got a rechargeable coleman air pump from wally world for air matresses. It can inflate a bag in about 20 seconds, it can also deflate them just as fast. Of course I often just leave them in depending on how often I'm paddling, and how long I've got to drive.