I’ve got a screw loose

[YakCapn]

I know. I’ve heard that one before, but this time it might be true. I have something that is making a terrible sounding rattling (not wind noise) inside the kayak when transporting it on top of the SUV. Not sure if its a vibration or a screw came lose and is rattling around??? I don't hear anything rattling around when I take the kayak on and off the car which is the weird part. The rattling doesn't start until I hit 15 mph or so. Anyone ever have this issue??? I have checked the straps multiple times. For a while I was convinced it was the ends of my fish finder cords, but that has been eliminated as a possibility now. Sometimes it doesn't do it at all and sometimes it starts and does it for quite a while and then stops, and other times its non-stop for the full ride to or from launching (an hour or more sometimes!). This just started over the last month. Its driving me batso and I think I really am about to have a screw come loose in my head. Its hard to imagine its the way I have it attached to the roof as I am very consistent with its placement and the way I have it secured. I know this is next to impossible to diagnose on here without actually seeing/hearing it, but I'm desperate for ideas....any ideas. And if anyone has ever had this kind of an issue. Its definitely not wind noise. I have an Old Town Predator 13.

[J.A. Veil]

The most annoying noise I hear on the few times I cartop my kayak is the ends of the straps slapping against the hull. The boat is solidly attached to the racks with a cam-lock clamp, but there are several feet of extra strap past the clamp. Unless I carefully tie up the two strap ends, I hear a racket. I don't know if that is your noise or not.

[YakCapn]

Thanks John...yeah I tie those down...please keep them coming...any idea is a good idea and something for me to double check. I even checked that it wasn't my anchor trolley rings slapping against the kayak. I purchased a couple of telescoping devices off amazon (a mirror and a magnet) to try and get a better look. They'll get here Tuesday.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I will spare no expense to figure this out...well at least $25 anyway. This will not deter me...I'm still going yakking even with the noise!! I just hope I don't lose my mind before I figure it out.

[reel-em-in]

How to you attach the kayak to the roof? One thing you can try is twisting the straps that you tie the kayak down with. I know it sounds strange but instead of having the straps go straight over the kayak, put a "half turn" in the strap. So that if you follow the strap from one side of the car to the other at some point the "bottom" of the strap becomes the "top". Someone gave me that suggestion when my straps were vibrating and it helped a lot.

[YakCapn]

Thanks, I'll give the strap twist a try today. Sure seems like something loose in the hull....but I'm trying everything and not ruling anything out.

I have two straps that run width wise over the yak and then bow and stern tie downs to front and back of car. I have Yakima cross bars.

[JohnE]

If the bow and stern straps are not twisted up a lot and loose ends tied, that could definitely be your problem right there. If you over tighten the cross straps, it will hum and whistle, but I don't think it would make it rattle.

[YakCapn]

I have a sound file I took from inside my car with sunroof open and not going more than 15-20 mph, but now I can't find a way to upload it.

[Raptor]

I know. I’ve heard that one before, but this time it might be true. I have something that is making a terrible sounding rattling (not wind noise) inside the kayak when transporting it on top of the SUV. Not sure if its a vibration or a screw came lose and is rattling around??? I don't hear anything rattling around when I take the kayak on and off the car which is the weird part. The rattling doesn't start until I hit 15 mph or so. Anyone ever have this issue??? I have checked the straps multiple times. For a while I was convinced it was the ends of my fish finder cords, but that has been eliminated as a possibility now. Sometimes it doesn't do it at all and sometimes it starts and does it for quite a while and then stops, and other times its non-stop for the full ride to or from launching (an hour or more sometimes!). This just started over the last month. Its driving me batso and I think I really am about to have a screw come loose in my head. Its hard to imagine its the way I have it attached to the roof as I am very consistent with its placement and the way I have it secured. I know this is next to impossible to diagnose on here without actually seeing/hearing it, but I'm desperate for ideas....any ideas. And if anyone has ever had this kind of an issue. Its definitely not wind noise. I have an Old Town Predator 13.

Captn,

Do you have lifting "T" handles on a rope loop on either the stern or the bow? Sometimes they flap around once the breeze gets up around 20 and hit against the kayak hull making a noise. Had this happen to me once and took a bit to figure it out. Had to bungee the "T" handle.

T.

[YakCapn]

I think I may have realized what it is, but no confirmation yet. I think it might be my plastic bilge pump which has gotten somehow wedged somewhere in the hull. I previously tried to look as far back as I could, but I never saw anything. I looked everywhere around the house today and no bilge pump. I was on the Potomac til after dark tonight. When I was lifting the boat to put it on the car, I thought I heard something roll around in the hull. Strangely, the thing didn't make a peep all the way home. I did find a way to post the sound file I made earlier today. I left the kayak on the car for tonight. Tomorrow after work, I'm going to try again to look in the hull as far back as I can. I get the tools I referenced earlier on Tuesday.

Hopefully this link works:

https://vimeo.com/126742233

[Rockchaser]

Sounds like the straps vibrating in the wind. Twisting them once or twice might help. Good luck, that would drive me crazy in about 2 minutes.

[mytmouse]

I'd put my money on a strap flapping somewhere. Either your tie down straps or straps on the yak itself. If it were indeed something in your yak that was loose or moving around your speed wouldn't have any bearing on the noise because it would just sit there unless you were hitting rhythmic bumps. Straps on the other hand flutter more the faster you drive because of more air passing over them.

1) Put a twist or 2 in your tie down straps and see if that does the trick like others have said. It sounds funny, but it works and it won't hurt the effectiveness of your straps.

2) Check the tail ends of any straps that you might have on your yak. I have a hatch that has a strap holding it down. If I don't tuck the tail ends under itself I'll hear the same noise all the way down the road. What kind of yak do you have?

[Mark]

If I forget to twist the straps on the top and sides I get a humming sound (not clicking or rapping sound) when I go over 30 mph. It gets louder the faster I go. Very annoying.

But using ratchet straps certainly makes the job of securing a kayak to the roof of your vehicle easy. I used to tie down with ropes and that took longer and probably was not as secure.

[YakCapn]

I looked as thoroughly as I could down the hull, but its not easy to see everywhere and I don't see any foreign objects, not a bilge pump or otherwise. However, I have a new theory based on all the recommendations about straps. Sure enough inside the front hatch of the Old Town Predator
front hatch.jpg
there are four hanging straps which used to hold the bag for the fish finder 12V battery. It would hang there. I don't have a good picture of it because the bag eventually fell off by the end of last year and I just removed it. I now use a plastic box velcroed to the floor of the main center hatch to hold the battery. Well at the very top of these straps there are plastic buckles and I'm betting these are the cause of the noise. Although it seems strange that inside the hull they would flap around that much as they are not directly exposed to wind. Also, the noise was not consistent and sometimes it would not make any noise at all. I have now removed all the straps. I won't be able to test this for a number of days as I have no time to fish this weekend, but in time I'll report back if this is the final cause. Here is a picture of the straps with the buckles circled:
Straps.jpg

I really, really hope this is what it is. Thanks everyone for all your input.