The only 3 knots you need for canoe camping

[pblanc]

Although there are ten knots to learn instead of just three, I consider this videos list to be far more useful. I have used all of these knots.

 

[scoutergriz]

Rachet straps have wrecked plenty of boats by over tightening them.
I like rope and a trucker hitch.

I've been hearing that for years and have failed to ever find a real world example of it, just like anything- if you overdo it bad things happen. I've personally used ratchet straps on hundreds of canoes for decades, sometimes on as many as 9 canoes at once, and the worst damage has been from a buckle scratching the car's paint

 

[Boatman53]

I think the warning is more for the ultra lightweight layups/boats. When I bought my Hornbeck I was sternly warned not to over tighten. At the time I bought the boat I was staying at my daughters in Saranac Lake and she actually saw some ultralight canoes damaged by over tightening when she was working for Saint Regis Canoe Outfitters.
Jim

 

[Mihun09]

I think the warning is more for the ultra lightweight layups/boats. When I bought my Hornbeck I was sternly warned not to over tighten. At the time I bought the boat I was staying at my daughters in Saranac Lake and she actually saw some ultralight canoes damaged by over tightening when she was working for Saint Regis Canoe Outfitters.
Jim

Definitely sounds like user error in that instance. I'm sure someone could overtighten a truckers hitch system as well as I use that for the bow lashing ropes and it is fairly easy to really pull those overly tight.
I also have blocks that gunwales rest against so if I were to overtighten the boat cannot flex outward at all. I have used it on my kevlar Swift Mattawa, two strippers we have built and a pair of 100 year old wood canvas canoes from Maine that in one case had the gunwales held on with duct tape.

Boat on the left is a BN Morris and the other is a Penobscot, both purchased from our good friend Robin and picked up at our good friend Memaquays in GTown in 2014. It was a 2000km 3 day road trip to get the canoes.
Karin

 

[Benson Gray]

I'm sure someone could overtighten a truckers hitch system as well

Yes, my brother worked in the shipping department at the Old Town Canoe company when he was a teenager. The foreman had sternly warned him to be sure that the lines were as tight as possible when he was securing a canoe. He tied his truckers hitch and then jumped up in the air to put all of his strength and weight into making sure that his line was not loose. The loud crack that followed confirmed that his line was on the planking in between the ribs of a wooden canoe. They had to go find another canoe for the customer to take home that day.

Benson

 

[Boatman53]

So the bottom line is you can break a boat in many ways. The ratchet in my mind gives the least feedback as to how tight it really is.
Jim

 

[scoutergriz]

I think the warning is more for the ultra lightweight layups/boats. When I bought my Hornbeck I was sternly warned not to over tighten. At the time I bought the boat I was staying at my daughters in Saranac Lake and she actually saw some ultralight canoes damaged by over tightening when she was working for Saint Regis Canoe Outfitters.
Jim

my sub 40lb Kippawa has been anchored with ratchet straps since it was new a couple of decades ago with no issues, it's all about the force, not the method. And yes, I've seen someone pull the gunnels off with a trucker's hitch, depending on how you tie it you're talking a 2 or 4 to 1 ratio, so a 200lb person can exert 800lbs of force...
I just keep a finger under the strap, when it hurts- I stop...