Raft Posted by: Big_D on Jun-23-11 7:49 AM (EST)
It was my small raft. I have to say that Outcast makes some durable stuff. I went back and recovered the boat then went to a gas station where there was a lot of light so that I could see well to tie it down. So far as I could tell, falling off my truck at highway speed and likely being hit by a dump truck didn't damage the boat any. The stern tie down came loose, that's why it fell off. There's a strap around the stern as a grab/safety handle. I strapped through it. That gave way. So when I tied it back on, I went through a self-bailing port. I put one strap at the front of the bed of the truck up and around the rowing frame and then across, around the rowing frame again, and then down to a cleat on the other side of the truck. The third strap was up from the rear of the truck around the cleat on the rowing frame that holds a trolling motor and then back down to a cleat on the other side of the truck. That was a ratchet strap, so I pulled it tight, tight, tight. I did send up a prayer of thanks that no one was injured. That technique sounds like a good one to try. I'm mostly a river fisherman, so still water techniques are new for me. - Big D