# Wind noise over 80kmh ruins my maiden voyage!



## Gibbo (Feb 26, 2007)

I have just purchased a Hobie Outback and it really gets a hum up above about 80kmh (on the car, not the water :lol: ). I have the kayak upside down and flat on the roof racks. I tried turning it around (rear to the front) and plugged the hole where the pedal drive sits which made only a slight improvement. But still couldn't enjoy Abba and the Bee Gees on the way home! Am planning to take it on a long drive over Easter and I fear my kids will stay awake the whole 8 hours. :evil: Any suggestions?


----------



## Dan A (Aug 29, 2005)

Gibbo said:


> I have just purchased a Hobie Outback and it really gets a hum up above about 80kmh (on the car, not the water :lol: ). I have the kayak upside down and flat on the roof racks. I tried turning it around (rear to the front) and plugged the hole where the pedal drive sits which made only a slight improvement. But still couldn't enjoy Abba and the Bee Gees on the way home! Am planning to take it on a long drive over Easter and I fear my kids will stay awake the whole 8 hours. :evil: Any suggestions?


:twisted: Dont take the kids :twisted:


----------



## varp (Sep 12, 2005)

Get someone to drive and stick your head out and see if you can identify the source of the offending bum notes. Trouble is it's probably the Bee Gee's.



You need something slippy up there Gibbo. Something long, sleek, lean and fibreglassy....

8)


----------



## fisher (Aug 30, 2005)

Gday Gibbo. Do you reckon it might be the tie down straps making the noise? Putting a twist in the strap helps. good luck


----------



## Bart70 (Jan 28, 2007)

Hi Gibbo!

Glad to hear that you got down and picked her up!......Shame we could not catch up for a paddle but I am sure there will be a chance for that down the track!....Nice yak you now have!

I actually bought my Outback home from the coast Sunday....mine howled and growled all the way!...(both my kids + my wife slept like angles tho!)

I reckon it is not so much the scupper holes but the tie down strap that passes over the 'hump' in the middle of the hull then sit 'mid air' until it crosses the chines. I reckon it is the air vibrating the strap then resonating thru the hull that makes the horrible noise.

I used to get the same but to a much lesser degree when transporting my touring yaks....the straps sat flat on it but were 'exposed' below the rack to the point they were tied off. I could completely eliminate it by tieing back the excess strap around the 'exposed' bit of strap.

Bit hard to do the same with the Outback but perhaps some food for thought in trying to eliminate it?......I use it as a speed control - get used ot the howl it makes at 105km/hr and you dont need to watch the speedo!

All the best with the new yak...hope to catch up in person in the future.

Bart.


----------



## troppo (Feb 1, 2006)

Gibbo, the humming is the pedal drive in your Hobie. When you have carefully tied down the yak, you MUST get out of it and get into the car. DO NOT simply sit in yak and peddle to your destination. Peddling like that at 80 kms/hr does cause humming.

I don't know what you are tying your yak down with. Sometimes webbing hums as it vibrates. Try using screws to secure it down to the roof. I have had to stop and adjust the front and rear straps tying my yak as they hummed so much I thought for sure something was about to fall off. Usually it was because they were not tight enough or something.

Do you use webbing straps or ropes?


----------



## Dodge (Oct 12, 2005)

fisher said:


> Gday Gibbo. Do you reckon it might be the tie down straps making the noise? Putting a twist in the strap helps. good luck


Gibbo I agree with fisher; when going any distance at speed I twist the straps a couple of times before tensioning


----------



## DiveYak (Feb 5, 2007)

Ditto to all above. I thought 'what the' on one trip but stopped to tighten the tie-downs and although the noise didn't go it was drastically reduced. My 2 girls sleep through no matter.


----------



## Gibbo (Feb 26, 2007)

After wading thru the critique of my taste in music it seems the prevailing view is the tie-downs may be the source. I used straps and they were pretty tight because while the kayak sang on the roof, it didn't dance :lol:


----------



## bazzoo (Oct 17, 2006)

if twisting the straps does not work , put your kayak on right side up , its much easier to slide on that way anyway and it gives the kayak good water habits as it begins to realise after a while that it should stay that way on the water


----------



## Gibbo (Feb 26, 2007)

Kraley,

I put the kayak straight on the bars - they are flat Thule racks with a thin rubber insert, but some of the kayak actually sits on the metal. Do you recommend padding?

I use straps about 3cm wide with a lock down thingamejig at the end, but my anal habits are such that they had no twists every time I adjusted the kayak. They were tight - the kayak did not move.


----------



## DiveYak (Feb 5, 2007)

Also try to tie down as close as you can to the yak itself. I find if the straps are say tied to the full width of the racks then the wind has that much more strap to get at. Harmonics, wave length etc. Good luck.


----------



## DGax65 (Jun 7, 2006)

One thing to remember is that if you tighten the straps too much and it is a hot day, you may end up deforming the hull as it is pressed down on the rack. Mounting upside down helps, but the straps can also deform the keel if too tight. Having some sort of padding on the rack will help protect against hull deformation and might also solve vibration noise. Good luck. Hope you find and fix the problem. Things like that just drive me nuts.


----------



## Clarkos (Oct 11, 2006)

my yak gets a bit of a whistle up sometimes. They can be buggers to find, because the tiniest thing can cause it. If you can't find the offending bit, maybe a wind deflector might be a go. A bit of flat tin, strapped under the front bar, then bent over the front, and stapped down again. Would also help to keep the bugs off.


----------



## Astro (Nov 27, 2006)

i also have a outback but get no noise from it at all. i use ropes since i have had previous bad experience with straps wearing out, cutting into objects and having the ratchets seize or let go 

learn how to do a truckies knot and a clove hitch and you will be fine 

ps if i had something that drowned out the beegees and abba i wouldn't change a thing :lol:

cheers


----------



## Gibbo (Feb 26, 2007)

Hey, I got some great suggestions so thanks to all for the feedback.


----------

