At about 5:30am on February 11th, I loaded the kayak on the car with the help of my wife, before driving her to the train station. We set out pre-coffee, and my brain shifted into autopilot as if it were my normal commute. Add to that, that we were running tight on time for her to make her train. With my focus on getting her to the platform steps asap, it never occurred to me that I even had the boat on the car as I entered the parking structure, and the clearance bar caught under the bow of the boat.
It pried the bow up until the front of the boat flexed enough to allow the bar to snap free. The front hatch completely blew off, the deck seam split in the bow, and the interior seam tape delaminated in various spots from bow to cockpit. And a few long cracks around the deck and hull to boot. Thankfully I did not have bow lines on or I’d also have a bent hood, and other damage to the front end of the car. The crossbars on the outback bent with the pressure, but they didn’t fail either.
Homeowner’s insurance is covering the boat (minus the deductible), and a replacement Progression is already being hand made for me. Alan helped me bend the crossbars back, and more or less…all is well.
The takeaway of this sad tale is simply to remain aware of where you are and what is on your roof!
I put the video together as a part of my emotional healing process. As you can imagine…I too was a bit of a wreck!
3 responses to “A Tale of Joy and Sorrow”
The wife figures it just means she can get another motorcycle if I’m getting another kayak!
OMG Chris — isn’t your wife jealous?
I feel your pain.
After the first NACK BBQ I attended 4 years ago I strapped my Rawson to the top of my Prius. I did not know then that it mattered which way you run the tag end of the strap through the buckle of the Thule tie down. On the expressway in the passing lane, at 70 mile an hour, the strap came loose and the front of kayak slid down the passenger side of the car and bounced up and over the car landing on the grass median.