Hi Viz flag/tag for roof rack mounted sea kayak

[seawolf856]

I have recently changed cars and fitted a KariTek roof rack and my boat overhangs at the back so highway regulations dictate I need a Hi Viz warning indicator of some kind to make following vehicles aware of the danger. I know I'm probably going to sound just plain lazy here, but I wondered if there are 'clip-on' Hi Viz flags/tags available as a ready made solution or does everyone just tie on an old Hi Viz vest they nicked from work?
Can you let me know what your most elegant and effective solutions are please, I've got loads of old Hi-Viz clothing I could make something out of but to be honest I can't be bothered.

[Chris Bolton]

I bought a dayglow yellow 20 litre drybag from Home Bargains for £3.99, filled it with air and rolled the top down, then clipped it through the toggle rope. As it's cylindrical it's visible from any angle. But do roll the top, don't just leave it open and let the wind fill it, or the bottom blows out.

[charleston14]

High vis vest threaded into stern toggle loop, then tie a knot with the vest so it stays put.

[andynormancx]

High vis vest, but with a cheap karabiner holding it on to the toggle as I got bored with looping it round the toggle every time 😉

Though I'm about to change my toggles to the single cord design, so I'll have to start clipping into the deck lines instead.

I always have several high vis vests in the car, they are cheap and good to be wearing if you end up broken down by the side of the road. I keep a couple folded up in the front door pockets, which also makes the doors that much more visible from the rear when they are open at night.

[ian johnston]

Hi seawolf,

I don't even use a complete hi-vis vest, but cut out one of the retroreflective tape strips (leaving a bit of the hi-vis material either side) which gives a couple of feet of strip, and larks-foot that through the stern toggle so the two loose ends hang free. Simple, takes less than three seconds to attach/detach, doesn't require any clip or krab and is really effective

Kind regards

Ian

[Jim]

I had some hi vis yellow ripstop left from a project and made a couple of flags by sewing a hem down one short side of each and threading some cord through so I could tie them to my deck lines. Assuming your sewing machine is ready to go it's a 5 minute job.

[Northern Blue]

I bought a roll of this reflective tape a while back and have it attached to several of our kayaks.

I leave it attached while I’m paddling as I’m too lazy to remove it. It’s been on since May and so far, it hasn’t faded with the sun or salt, and the reflective strip is still intact. The ends of my first effort frayed a bit, so I trimmed them and ran a line of superglue across the tape, which stopped any more fraying.

[Northern Blue]

[PeterG]

Most things tend to fray or wear and fall off. I sew some hi viz to lengths of old seat belt webbing, sew a loop in one end and loop them on. They hang down nicely even in the wind if you are parked to help people not to walk into the boats and stream out straight behind when driving.

[Bird Man]

Yo,
I just checked,
And according to the highway code,
It only needs tags if it overhangs by more than a metre:

Not exceeding 1 metre No requirements specified No requirements specified

[seawolf856]

Hey, Bird Man, thanks for checking but I'm borderline 1m overhanging and I'm sure the police won't bother to check out my overhang with a laser measure before pulling me over.
Thanks to all for your contributions but as I feared, there doesn't seem to be a 'ready made, clip on' version of a transport flag/tag so it is going to be a homemade one - which I hoped I wouldn't have to make, or as my original post suggested, a Hi Viz vest which makes my vehicle look like a builders van!

[pathbrae]

I use an old yellow cycling "buff" with retroflective stripesand a carabiner, seems to be OK so far! (The retroflective stripes made it too uncomfortable to wear)

[PeterG]

Yo,
I just checked,
And according to the highway code,
It only needs tags if it overhangs by more than a metre:

Not exceeding 1 metre No requirements specified No requirements specified

but you can always be prosecuted for an unsafe load, some years ago in our club we had a bus take off a boat stern (and roof bars etc) of a car chevron parked in the street, it had a red flag and the bus paid. We also had someone walk into the stern of a boat parked in the same place, though months apart, (no red flag) and they called ambulance and police for what was an insignificant injury, the owner was fined for an unsafe load even though the overhang did not exceed the limit for no flag.

[Jim]

as I feared, there doesn't seem to be a 'ready made, clip on' version of a transport flag/tag

Just a thought, I have some hi vis modern 'cycle clips' which are actually just strips of hi vis fabric with a reflective stripe on and velcro to wrap them around the bottom of your trouser leg. Would something like that suffice? I don't they would hang doen very much, but maybe you can still get Sam Brown belts or some similar hi vis sash of something?

[Highlandcow]

I use a red and white triangle (use google or eBay) that is in accordance with the Highway Code.

It’s made from evil vinyl and has metal eyelets. One eyelet is permanently threaded to the stern line which is attached to the rear of my vehicle, and then I use a long boot lace through the other eyelet and clip that to the car.


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[Highlandcow]

[MikeB]

A length of old, red, climbing rope. With judicious application of red and silver reflective tape. Secured to the toggle line with a carbine clip, making it easy to remove.

[seawolf856]

Now this is looking promising. A ready made item which conforms to highway regulations on hazard marking and has eyelets, so clipping to deck lines or toggles with mini carabiners looks a breeze. Thanks highlandcow, I like the look of this.

[Chris Bolton]

conforms to highway regulations on hazard marking

The only regulation regarding the marking of a rearward projection between 1m and 2m is that it must be "clearly visible". How visible is that from the side?

[Highlandcow]

With a single kayak the pennant hangs obliquely and is visible from behind and the side.

When hung between two kayaks it hangs straight and isn’t visible from the side.

However, both kayaks have SOLAS white retro-reflective tape on their decks.


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