Arrived at the airport, picked up the keys for the rental car and ready to go. Wait – the surfboard has to come along too! Now the question arises: What is the best way to transport my surfboard? We’ve already tried a few things and observed the strangest attempts by surfers – so here are a few tips.
On the roof
We use Roofracks to transport surfboards on the roof – the first time you hold them in your hand they are just a few cords with pads, but as soon as you know how to use them you won’t want to do without them. Here is a short guide to using the roof racks:
1. Open all the car doors and position the upholstery on the roof.
2. Pass the tensioning straps to which the upholstery is attached under the roof and pull them tight.
3. Place your surfboard on the pads on the roof. The nose of your board should be pointing forwards and the fins facing upwards. If you are transporting several boards, arrange them according to size – the largest surfboard is at the bottom. Place towels between the boards so that no wax gets on the bottom of another board.
4. Now use the straps next to the pads to secure your board – stretch them over the nose and tail.
5. Before you set off, check once again that all belts are securely fastened.
If you are only riding a short distance with the board on the roof, it is not absolutely necessary to use extra protection. If you are traveling for a longer period of time, you should definitely protect your board with a sock or board bag.
In the car
Before you decide to transport your surfboard in the car, you should note the following: It is not permitted to transport surfboards in the car everywhere. As soon as you know where your next surf trip is going, find out which transportation options are permitted locally. If you are allowed to transport your surfboard in the car, you can secure it in the car:
1. You also need tensioning straps for transportation in the car. Place these on the roof of the car, just like when transporting on the roof and then pass them through the open car doors underneath. If you are traveling in a van, you need to check where you can attach the tensioning straps to the inside of the bus.
2. tighten the tensioning straps, but leave a little space so that you can still slide your surfboard under them.
3. slide your surfboard under the tensioning straps from behind, with the nose pointing forwards and the fins facing downwards.
4. Once your surfboard is perfectly positioned, you can tighten the straps. Make sure that the nose of the board is not too close to the front windshield and the tail is not too close to the rear windshield. If you do have to brake hard, it’s not nice if your board cracks one of the windows.
5. Before you set off, check once again that all the straps are tight. If everything is in place, nothing stands in the way of your next surf session.
