Surfboard on hard racks

[BaNZ]

Do I need to get a sock or a bag for my surfboard if I mount it on the car? It's around 20km to the beach and I'll probably be doing max 90km/h. I heard it's better to get a bag to protect the debris / rock from the road? Some also said that it's best not to drive over 80km as they seem to have cracks around the area where the straps are tied to the board.

[Lebowski]

Just get a bit of foam to put on the roof crossbars under the board. The type that is for plumbing insulation is good. Make sure the board is firmly tightened down so that it doesn't move too much, but don't crank it down so much that it cracks the glassfibre. You can get away with the straps being surprisingly slack, so best to err on the side of caution.

Once, my friend and I put the boards on the roof but forgot to tie the straps. Somehow they managed to stay up there for a good 5 minutes of driving before we noticed them moving and had a look.

[Lebowski]

Oh, and I wouldn't worry about the board being protected from stones really, unless you're following other cars at speed on a gravel road. I also wouldn't worry about your speed. Damage to the boards tends to come from tying them down poorly.

[BaNZ]

Oh right, I have already got some protection foam on the crossbars. I also find it too time consuming if I have to remove the fins to put it in the bag.

[still-learning]

Oh right, I have already got some protection foam on the crossbars. I also find it too time consuming if I have to remove the fins to put it in the bag.

Leave the fins on...if the bag is the correct size the board should fit with the fins on...well i leave mine on and haven't had a problem.

[dtc]

Now you can decide if the board should be fins front or fins back...

Personally - for long fast trips - fins to the front. Reason is that if the board starts slipping as you are driving (due to the wind pressure), then it will slide backwards and the fins will catch the tie down strap.

However, if you feed the strap through a board bag handle during the tie down - if you have one - then it doesnt really matter as the handle should keep the board on the car barring any catastrophic failure/error.

There is no issue leaving the fins on; its only an issue if you are carrying more than one board in which case you just have to be careful about placing the boards.

[BaNZ]

I didn't buy a board bag and have the fins in the front. It looks fairly stable and have driven on the motorway for half an hour. The reason why I didn't buy a bag is cos the board is second hand and have a few nicks in the coating.

[dtc]

If it doesnt damage the board then no issues. You can always put an old towel or t-shirt or something between the board and the rack if you need more protection.