I want to put a roof rack on my new Fit for transporting my canoe or kayak. Is there some place under the car to use for front and rear tie downs? -I'm not seeing them. What do towtrucks use to get the car on a flatbed? Can I use the tow hook bolt holes on the front and rear bumpers? The owners manual is not clear about this, but it does say 'don't use the tow hook' for a tie down. Why not? How are you guys with boats transporting them?

LOVE the car, but need to haul my boats!

Thanks-Penny

 

id get a roof rack or your gonna scratch your car up even if you do really awesome,.,. if you have to :::"but need to haul my boats!":::then buy a roof rack

 

You've got small, round, access 'panels' in your bumpers that pop out to reveal a screw hole. In your tire changing kit are some I-bolts that screw into those holes. One in the front and one in the back. May not be conveniently located for tying down a boat; the front is on the left and rear on the right.

Cheers!

jT

 

You guys mention a roof rack, but don't you still have to tie down the front and back? So where do you tie it down whether you have a roof rack or not? I've never done it but I'm curious because I'm getting into canoeing and have an 09 Fit!

 

You could always tie it to the roof rack. Don't use the tow hook. It's designed for direct tensile loading(as in being towed), not shear loading (as in tying stuff down)

Once you've strapped it on the racks, tie the painter back to the roof rack to stop the canoe overtaking you when you brake. If there's an attachment point at the other end, tie that to the other roof rack to stop the canoe getting left behind. Then you're covered.

 

Could you go around the back bumper and tie it to something solid underneath? I don't know why there isn't a metal loop to tie a string on down there. Or is that not a good idea? I currently don't have a roof rack but it seems that it's preferable to using foam on the gunwales, correct? I don't know how much canoeing I'm going to be doing so I don't know if I want to get a roof rack. Must it be a custom one for the 09 Fit?

 

I wouldn't go around the bumper, because you will rub off the paint.

Definitely get a roof rack. You will need special mountings for the Fit, but most manufacturers offer a kit.

If you aren't going to use it regularly, get the type that sits on your roof seams and secures under the door opening. They are designed so that if you fit them right, there will be little or no sign they were there when you remove them. How much sign depends how careful/fussy you are.

You can also get ones that need drilling and there is another thread where this is discussed (with pics). I personally wouldn't go that way, but I'm told the resulting rack works better. You can remove the rack itself and just leave the little mounting pillars when you are not using it.

Once you have the rack, I think you can actually get brackets to hold a canoe, so your bumpers can remain unmolested.

 

I appreciate your help. Other than not having to place the canoe directly on the roof with foam, what advantage does a roof rack offer when putting a canoe on top? When not using a roof rack you put the straps through the car but with a roof rack you tie the canoe to the rack, right? How does that make it more secure? Forgive my ignorance; I've never had a roof rack or transported a canoe!

I'm not even sure where they would sell a roof rack for an 09 Fit in Winnipeg. I suppose Honda where I got the car would but everyone always says to avoid the dealer because they charge through the roof (pardon the pun!).

 

Just check out Yakima or Thule web site...they will have everything you need based on application.

 

I got a Yakima rack to carry our two short (10 feet long) kayaks. With the rack on as Yakima recommends - cross bars 30" apart - there's no need to tie down the front and back of the kayaks, the straps to the cross bars hold them down fine. We also have a 17' long canoe and that will need front and back tie-downs to keep it steady in the wind. No problem in back because we also have a hitch receiver (for the bike rack) which makes a great place to tie off. At the front, however, there isn't much to tie to. I haven't loaded the canoe on the rack yet so I haven't looked too hard. As soon as I find some way to make the front tie-down work I'll post something here.

 

Could you tie the front on both sides under the hood? One guy said he did that. Those racks are expensive. Just checked the Yakima and Thule sites and it would cost me like $600 CAD for the thing. That's crazy.

What is it about a roof rack that makes it better to transport a canoe? I don't fully understand why it's better than strapping it to the roof. Is it more secure? How? Forgive my ignorance!

 

Less damage to your roof and a place to tie it in that order.

The rack is attached so that it is rigidly held against a spot that will take the load with minimal damage and minimal contact with paintwork. If you just tie your canoe to the roof, even with one of those soft racks, any dust between the load and the roof will act as cutting cream and leave marks in your paint at best, or dents in your roof at worst.

 

I'd also add that a roof rack with gunwale brackets provides a more secure mount than foam blocks. There's almost no chance of the canoe moving side-to-side with tight gunwale brackets on the rack. I've had foam blocks move around a bit as wind lifted a canoe a bit and allowed the blocks to change position which furthur loosened the tie downs and required a stop to rejigger everything.

Also, a rack with crossbars, and especially if you have a "boatloader" accessory some manufacturers offer, allows one person to load a canoe and slide it around atop the rack pretty simply. With foam blocks you really need two people to place a canoe in position with one try.

And the ability to tie down to the rack is huge. Almost any tie-down method used for foam blocks will have a strap/rope resting/rubbing against a painted surface, possibly require the doors be tied shut with the windows to remain down, etc.

 

Actually, I have seen some DIY connectors that bolted down along the edge of the fenders using the bolts that are hidden under the edges of the hood. It's a good position for tie-downs because you can run a rope or strap up the the front of the boat without having it drag over the fender or bumper to scrape the paint. The ones I saw were aluminum angle sections that had an edge sticking up vertically between the hood and fender. That edge had an attachment hole drilled through it. If a person was clever about it it would be possible to use some kind of hinge so that it flipped down under the hood when it wasn't needed for a tie-down!

 

To add to the roof rack comments, the roof rack distributes the weight of the cargo evenly and over a larger area, which reduces the chances of damaging the roof. Safety reasons are very important, too. Without it being fully secured onto the roof rack, a kayak or any other cargo that just sits on top of the vehicle can slide and possibly fall off. Bright side is that you will make it on TV on the 5 o'clock news.

 

LOL. Or YouTube! Great comments. I appreciate them. It does make a lot more sense. And you guys are right, with the added gunwale brackets, there is no lateral movement. A roof rack just keeps everything safe and secure. Not having to strap around the roof through the car is definitely a lot better because you'd avoid scratching everything. I also like the fact that the canoe can't really move forward or back like it could with foam pieces where the strap is just wrapped around it but not to it.

The Thule and Yakima racks are interchangeable between cars except for the feet part which is specific to the car, correct? I would prefer not to get a rack for my Fit and then find it's totally useless if I was to get a new car down the road. I'm more willing to get a rack if I know I'll be able to use it for years on different cars.

The only problem with the Fit is the front and back tie downs. Why isn't there a hook at the back?