Board off Roof

Discussion in 'Mid Atlantic' started by eshore, Jul 23, 2010.

  1. eshore

    eshore Well-Known Member

    564
    Jul 22, 2008
    :eek: So one of my roof rack crossbars came loose and my board flew off of my roof when i was going about 50 or so. I slammed on the breaks and now i have some pretty bad dings and on the tail. I dont know what to call it but its like i can see the glass layer "chilling" and the foam layer underneath. Its a FCD epoxy board. Any ideas for repairs??? :confused: Also anyone else have any horror stories of boards flying off. I feel lucky it just dragged because of the leash and that it didnt hit another car.
     
  2. aka pumpmaster

    aka pumpmaster Well-Known Member

    Apr 30, 2008
    I had 4 boards fly off on the tunnel bridge on the way to hatteras one time. somebody on a boat got lucky that day!
     

  3. Zeroevol

    Zeroevol Well-Known Member

    Jun 22, 2009
    Argh! I think you board flying off your roof is worse than snapping it in the water! Probably because the snap is instant and when it flys off of your roof, slow motion takes affect as you watch it in your rear view mirror spinning to its death.... I have only had this happen once to me. My front rack strap broke. The rack came off with the board so it brought it down quickly and on the side of the road in the grass. I lucked out with only a minor crack on the corner of the tail. Also glad it did not hit another car and hurt someone else. I am sure you are going to get some good stories with this thread!!
     
  4. Gfootr

    Gfootr Well-Known Member

    538
    Dec 26, 2009
    I lost a long board off the roof on NJ Parkway on a late Sunday afternoon. Flew over 200 yards, but never hit a car. Landed right on the white lines.

    Worst part was running out into 4 lanes of oncoming traffic to grab it. Few scratches (the board) and a ground down fin. After I got off the road a Trooper came over and bawled me out for 15 minutes.

    Still ride the board!
     
  5. steelwave42

    steelwave42 Well-Known Member

    438
    Nov 7, 2006
    That sucks but at least its fixable... I can't believe a fiberglass board could fly off the roof of a car and survive, but it looks like a few have by reading these posts.

    The other night, around sunset I was standing a step in the bus lane in OCMD with my boy getting ready to cross the street. I was drunk, really drunk. Anyway, a little compact car flys by going about 60mph with a longboard hanging about 3 feet out of the back window, stowed sideways in the back seat. The nose came within inches of slicing my stomach open... gotta love summertime. Idiots like that deserve a broken board and if I would have seen him coming I would have smashed the thing with my 22 ouncer.
     
    Last edited: Jul 23, 2010
  6. wallysurfr

    wallysurfr Well-Known Member

    918
    Oct 23, 2007
    that's why I put my passenger seat down and sit 'er right next to me riding shotgun...

    BTW: if your board flies off and hits a car and damages it or causes an accident you are liable.
     
  7. Retro

    Retro Active Member

    40
    Oct 24, 2008
    i was driving the other day with mya longboard diagonal in the back of my pickup and a 5-gallon water jug behind it (for washing off after session). i had to gun it to get into traffic, and the water jug actually slid into (and broke) the bungee cord holding my board in. looked out the rearview mirror to see the longboard and water jug bouncing down the road. got a week-end worth of repairs ahead of me (the tail is ground off and the rails took some dings) but the board is gonna be fine.
     
  8. surfman

    surfman New Member

    2
    Jul 23, 2010
    Is there anyone sane here?

    Folks, instead of whining about the scratches on your boards flown off your car roof, imagine this:
    You are driving on a 4-lane highway at your typical 70 mph in a dense flow. All of a sudden you see a 7-8ft surfboard flies off a car in front of you crashes right into your windshield. In a fraction of a second - anything from you unconscious in the woods to multi-car fatal accident. All this because some idiot with a butt in place of his head does not know how to tie down a board or to install the roof rack properly.

    And wallysurf is right - that idiot is liable, not limited to a 15 minute bawl out from a trooper...
     
  9. LBCrew

    LBCrew Well-Known Member

    Aug 12, 2009
    True story... a tourist was driving a rented car with a longboard sticking out the side window down an narrow Nantucket street. The board hit a kid on a bike and severed and broke the his neck. The kid died before he got to the emergency room.
     
  10. delawaredell

    delawaredell Well-Known Member

    183
    Nov 20, 2009
    I forgot to tie my board on one night after transferring it from a friends car to mine at their house, and luckily the board bag string caught on my roof rack, and it just flung around on the roof some. Broke 3 inches off the nose, and broke the epoxy 1 1/2 inches in another place. I check the boards all the time now. If I hear anything I stop and check. .
     
  11. eshore

    eshore Well-Known Member

    564
    Jul 22, 2008

    Yea that's exactly like mine. Just a crack in the bottom tale plus I'm lucky it was an epoxy board. My dads just happy it didn't cause an accident and the he's not liable. I have a good hour and $25 worth of repairs and I will never use a roof rack again considering I have an SUV where my board fits. It seems as if this happens to boards a lot.
     
  12. MATT JOHNSON

    MATT JOHNSON Well-Known Member

    Oct 11, 2009

    Did that happen inbetween OC and Cape may if so I think I saw that happen


    I have been using thule racks for years and never lost a board. I never trust them cheap soft racks or them 40 dollar ones with the rubber bungge straps
     
  13. snobowin

    snobowin Well-Known Member

    49
    Sep 5, 2009
    In this case more $$$ is worth it

    I have been using Thule for 20 years for boards, kayaks, canoes, skis and snowboards traveling up and down the east coast. Never had a problem. Quality costs. I also have been using Yakima for bikes and boards for 10 years with the same result. Both brands are expensive. Sometimes I throw boards in the back of my pickup and bungie them but only for in town trips at slow speeds. Sorry to hear about any damaged boards though. Most of the time they can be fixed.
     
    Last edited: Jul 23, 2010
  14. GoodVibes

    GoodVibes Well-Known Member

    Jun 29, 2008
    Great thread

    Makes you stop and think how something so simple can go so wrong in a blink of an eye.
     
  15. eshore

    eshore Well-Known Member

    564
    Jul 22, 2008
    to all others out there who are going to get around, Use Protection!!! "a board bag". I wish I never made that mistake
     
  16. eshore

    eshore Well-Known Member

    564
    Jul 22, 2008
    mine wasnt even the straps. my whole roof rack crossbar system came loose. it put a huge dent on my roof when the board flew off too.
     
  17. divinesurf

    divinesurf Well-Known Member

    73
    Oct 10, 2009
    idk what you guys have been doing tieing your boards down but i just came back from a serious road trip down the coast and my dad was flying at 100 mph no joke and my boards did not fly off. after that i do not see any reason for boards to fly off when properly tied down unless your using a soft rack.
     
  18. berthpass

    berthpass Member

    23
    Jan 19, 2010
    yesterday I was driving back from obx and saw a guy pulled over on the side and it looked like he had lost a couple of boards on his rack while driving because he had that "f**k!, this sucks" look on his face as he was checking out his boards. Felt real bad for the guy.
     
  19. number3181

    number3181 Active Member

    33
    Jul 19, 2010
    My brother and I were driving over the North Causeway in NSB and he forgot to check his straps. His board flew off at about 45mph then proceeded to ragdoll down the bridge. I hopped out of the car to grab it for him and the bastard almost ran me over. It made me feel alot better about my board. I can't believe it held up so well. A couple small cracks on the nose and a small spilt on the rail.