Equipment transport
June is a time when visits to the seaside are becoming more frequent - either for one-day windsurf trips, family vacations for extended weekends or even the main summer vacation. Fellow windsurfers can be recognised on the road by far away – due to the amount of equipment on the roof. :)
At the same time, we have noticed from that many of you are still not safely transporting your equipment on the roof. Many of you often place all your equipment on the roof and fasten it with straps. Some individual pieces are so well compressed and secured, while others move almost freely on the roof. The safety of all road users is paramount and your equipment must be properly secured. There is nothing extremely wrong if you don’t put the board in the separate bag (not the best solution if you really want to keep your board safe and prevent all potential damage – especially to the newer boards that are more sensitive), when tying it on the roof rack. This type of transport is extremely harmful especially for sails. In order to properly tie the sail to the roof, you need compress it strong with straps and this creates wrinkles and folds that permanently weaken the sail in these areas. One simple stronger pressure can be enough and the sail breaks. Or you can't even put it on the mast because it tears up during transport and you notice it as soon as you unroll it. In addition to having a spoiled holiday right at the beginning, as you were left without your favourite sail, it immediately creates you 800 € of additional expenses for purchase of a new one - if you want to windsurf. The following year, your story repeats on another sail.
Not even booms are immune to damage. We have already seen cases where the grip literally peeled off the tube or the head of the boom made a damage in the board. With all these damages, repairs or replacement of equipment due to improper transport, you are again losing big amounts of money you could spend on something else. Although we could say that it is good for our business that people change equipment often, but for us it is really more important that you enjoy and relax on your holiday - for this you need undamaged equipment from day one.
The most elegant solution to keep the equipment as protected as possible is to buy a large hard roof box - say 260 x 80 cm - in which you will put a board and a whole bunch of camping equipment in addition to 4 rigs. Of course, such a box costs 1000 € or even more, which is too big cost for many. Or the lack of available space prevents you from having it safely stored during the time you don’t need it.
The optimum solution for many is buying a rig bag. There are different lengths and widths. In such a bag you will be able to put your slalom board in the lower separate compartment, and in the upper all 4 of your biggest sails, kid's rig, all the needed booms and masts. At the same time, you will have enough space for a harness, wetsuits and some other surfing and other camping trifles. If you want to have the board separate, you can get a bag that is only for rigs (so sails, masts, booms and other accessories). Again, different lengths are available so that your equipment is optimally stowed and protected.
Out of season, when you don't need the bag, you can easily fold it and put it in the closet. This bas takes up very little space :)
Many of you have questions how to tie the bag on the roof to not squeeze the sails with straps. These bags have special loops on the edges (at the bottom), through which you place the strap and tie the bag to the roof racks. Your equipment is safely stored and protected, as the straps do not squeeze it.
Many of you are still not sure about use of these bags…
What about in case of rain? The bags are made from water repelling polyester and inner layer is from water proof material. Your equipment will stay dry even after several hours of driving with it or just leaving it on the rain.
What about stitch quality, UV resistance and more? Again, we can say from experience that these bags, with proper use, can stay with you for a very long time, if you do not leave them lying in the sun all summer when you come to the sea.
What about zippers on the bag? They are anti-corrosion, which means that you can still open and close it without any problems after the holiday or after the season. Nevertheless, we recommend that you wash it with fresh water if it is dusty or has some salt on it. We recommend this especially, if you plan a longer period of non-use, to wash away the salt particles that get stuck between the zipper teeth. The zipper will work even better.
These bags will not only come in handy for the car transport. Have you ever considered of taking your windsurf gear on the plane - but you have nowhere to put it? These bags are also suitable for air transport. We recommend that you buy additional wheels for easier transport, as the bag is fully loaded with a board and three rigs, which is difficult to carry around the entire airport. :) Just pay attention on weight limitations by airline :)
Few more thoughts about placing the equipment to the roof: We often see that many boards are placed directly on the solid steel roof racks. Older boards (that were literally indestructible), you could easily place as such on the roof, tied directly to the roof racks. Newer boards (which are made of lighter and more delicate materials) can be quickly damaged if you tie them tightly to the roof racks. Therefore, we recommend that, in addition to having a board in the bag, you also buy foam linings, which you install on the roof racks. This is a really small cost and the board will be eternally grateful to you, because even the smallest repair immediately costs you few times more as the protective foam does.
There are many of you who ask us what kind of strap belts you need. Most of you use basic ones that you can buy in almost any store, and some are in a dilemma as to whether you need the extra heavy-duty ones that usually use in transport of heavier and big materials. We do not recommend such straps too much, as you can quickly tighten the board too much on the roof and damage it. We therefore recommend the use of moderate force when tying the equipment, but at the same time check that it is well and firmly fastened. In any case, make sure that the metal buckle of the strap belt does not rest directly on the board, as it can damage it by rubbing. Some strap belts are additionally padded under the metal buckle and are the most friendly and reliable for your equipment. Some also have keylock to prevent from untying it without the key. This is also usable :)
At the same time, we have noticed from that many of you are still not safely transporting your equipment on the roof. Many of you often place all your equipment on the roof and fasten it with straps. Some individual pieces are so well compressed and secured, while others move almost freely on the roof. The safety of all road users is paramount and your equipment must be properly secured. There is nothing extremely wrong if you don’t put the board in the separate bag (not the best solution if you really want to keep your board safe and prevent all potential damage – especially to the newer boards that are more sensitive), when tying it on the roof rack. This type of transport is extremely harmful especially for sails. In order to properly tie the sail to the roof, you need compress it strong with straps and this creates wrinkles and folds that permanently weaken the sail in these areas. One simple stronger pressure can be enough and the sail breaks. Or you can't even put it on the mast because it tears up during transport and you notice it as soon as you unroll it. In addition to having a spoiled holiday right at the beginning, as you were left without your favourite sail, it immediately creates you 800 € of additional expenses for purchase of a new one - if you want to windsurf. The following year, your story repeats on another sail.
Not even booms are immune to damage. We have already seen cases where the grip literally peeled off the tube or the head of the boom made a damage in the board. With all these damages, repairs or replacement of equipment due to improper transport, you are again losing big amounts of money you could spend on something else. Although we could say that it is good for our business that people change equipment often, but for us it is really more important that you enjoy and relax on your holiday - for this you need undamaged equipment from day one.
The most elegant solution to keep the equipment as protected as possible is to buy a large hard roof box - say 260 x 80 cm - in which you will put a board and a whole bunch of camping equipment in addition to 4 rigs. Of course, such a box costs 1000 € or even more, which is too big cost for many. Or the lack of available space prevents you from having it safely stored during the time you don’t need it.
The optimum solution for many is buying a rig bag. There are different lengths and widths. In such a bag you will be able to put your slalom board in the lower separate compartment, and in the upper all 4 of your biggest sails, kid's rig, all the needed booms and masts. At the same time, you will have enough space for a harness, wetsuits and some other surfing and other camping trifles. If you want to have the board separate, you can get a bag that is only for rigs (so sails, masts, booms and other accessories). Again, different lengths are available so that your equipment is optimally stowed and protected.
Out of season, when you don't need the bag, you can easily fold it and put it in the closet. This bas takes up very little space :)
Many of you have questions how to tie the bag on the roof to not squeeze the sails with straps. These bags have special loops on the edges (at the bottom), through which you place the strap and tie the bag to the roof racks. Your equipment is safely stored and protected, as the straps do not squeeze it.
Many of you are still not sure about use of these bags…
What about in case of rain? The bags are made from water repelling polyester and inner layer is from water proof material. Your equipment will stay dry even after several hours of driving with it or just leaving it on the rain.
What about stitch quality, UV resistance and more? Again, we can say from experience that these bags, with proper use, can stay with you for a very long time, if you do not leave them lying in the sun all summer when you come to the sea.
What about zippers on the bag? They are anti-corrosion, which means that you can still open and close it without any problems after the holiday or after the season. Nevertheless, we recommend that you wash it with fresh water if it is dusty or has some salt on it. We recommend this especially, if you plan a longer period of non-use, to wash away the salt particles that get stuck between the zipper teeth. The zipper will work even better.
These bags will not only come in handy for the car transport. Have you ever considered of taking your windsurf gear on the plane - but you have nowhere to put it? These bags are also suitable for air transport. We recommend that you buy additional wheels for easier transport, as the bag is fully loaded with a board and three rigs, which is difficult to carry around the entire airport. :) Just pay attention on weight limitations by airline :)
Few more thoughts about placing the equipment to the roof: We often see that many boards are placed directly on the solid steel roof racks. Older boards (that were literally indestructible), you could easily place as such on the roof, tied directly to the roof racks. Newer boards (which are made of lighter and more delicate materials) can be quickly damaged if you tie them tightly to the roof racks. Therefore, we recommend that, in addition to having a board in the bag, you also buy foam linings, which you install on the roof racks. This is a really small cost and the board will be eternally grateful to you, because even the smallest repair immediately costs you few times more as the protective foam does.
There are many of you who ask us what kind of strap belts you need. Most of you use basic ones that you can buy in almost any store, and some are in a dilemma as to whether you need the extra heavy-duty ones that usually use in transport of heavier and big materials. We do not recommend such straps too much, as you can quickly tighten the board too much on the roof and damage it. We therefore recommend the use of moderate force when tying the equipment, but at the same time check that it is well and firmly fastened. In any case, make sure that the metal buckle of the strap belt does not rest directly on the board, as it can damage it by rubbing. Some strap belts are additionally padded under the metal buckle and are the most friendly and reliable for your equipment. Some also have keylock to prevent from untying it without the key. This is also usable :)