Nova Scotia-Tie downs on ferry k1200lt

[wstalker]

I am boarding the CAT ferry out of Portland ME with an 07 LT and was wondering if anyone has any tips on tying down the machine. Doing a quick trip this time around...just 2 and a half days. Leaving from my home on August 1....New Hampshire Coast. Going to travel the east coast out of Yarmouth. Can't wait!!!....Thanks for any suggestions.

[KMC1]

You know, I just went there and was really worried about tying the bike down too. In reality you really don't end up with much choice of what to do. There are very few places to attach your tie-downs to the deck and you're going to end up crammed in there with a bunch of bikes most likely. I ended up with one heavy ratchet strap over the seat. Make sure you use the sidestand and not the center stand and be sure to put the ratchet on the side stand side of the bike so it pulls it down in the direction of natural lean firmly. Bring a towel or similar to protect the seat.
Also, I put a small tie-down extension (the little straps about a foot long that look like a figure 8) around my brake lever and handle bar to keep the front brake on - you could use zip ties, tape, whatever. I didn't want to use tape and have the sticky residue left behind. When you park the bike, make sure you put the bike in gear and force the bike forward against the tranny so it can't roll forward anymore.
I got her snugged up good and 6 hours later she hadn't moved at all. :cool:
Take some dramamine for the ferry ride though - I should have! :v: :p

[browad]

Good info. I'm thinking about using the CAT for my Nova Scotia trip as well.

[Tracus]

That's probably th best advice I've seen or heard about securing one's bike on deck. When in doubt, check with the deck hands. I have a feeling yours isn't the first LT they've taken across the Bay.

Are they running the Max Mol or Fast Cat from Portland? This is a twin hulled ferry with a crossing speed of about 50 knots. For a ship that size, you're flying. If the Bay's calm it should be a decent crossing. Be advised there's no deck to walk around on. At fifty knots it's like trying to stand on the roof of your car at 55 mph. If the water's rough, forget breakfast and take the Dramamine; the other name for the Max Mol is, "The Vomit Comet."

We took the Fast Cat from North Sidney, NS to Port au Basque, NFLD in 2000 and it was great. Those who crossed the next day when the seas were rough began wishing for seat belts.

Have a great trip. And when you think you've had enough of Nova Scotia (If that's possible) start looking at Newfoundland.

[Ghost55]

I recommend riding up thru Maine and crossing on land. Pretty ride, just do it in broad daylight, and still watch for moose.

[jayjacobson]

....Take some dramamine for the ferry ride though - I should have! :v: :p
LOL! Yeah ONCE I took the ferry from Long Beach to Catalina Island....and :v: Think ONCE was one time to many!

[CharlieVT]

Ferry crossings...you never know:

On the Corsica Ferry the crew had bikes park along a rail attached to the bulkhead of the autodeck (below decks) and they came along and just tied the bike to the rail with a line (rope). Okay, I thought... they must know what they are doing. Sidestand was toward the rail and bulkhead so the sidestand kept the bike off the bulkhead and the line would keep the bike from tipping over to the right in case of heavy seas. Not really secure IMO. Certianly wouln't have passed inspection by any Navy Rigger. Pretty big ship, slow gentle rolls at seat, and no problems.

We rode the CAT Ferry from Bar Harbor to Yarmouth. The ship's crew wasn't much help. They just pointed us where to park with all the other bikes. After asking the bikers came up with some tie-down straps. I had brought a couple of my own.

Here' the technique:

Raise the seat. Run one strap around the lift handle and secure it to a tie-down point on the deck on the left side of the bike. This strap can be left a little slack.
Run a second strap from the lift handle over the frame rails under the seat to a tie-down point on the right side of the bike. Cinch this one down tight. This strap will pull some of the bike's wieght off the sidestand and compress the bike's suspension. That's it.

If you don't have a lift handle, I'm not sure, but something similar. One strap on the kickstand side to keep the bike from falling over to the right, and another pulling the bike away from the kickstand and compressing the suspension. Running a strap over the seat probably isn't that big a deal, especially if you throw a towel or something over the seat to prevent chafing of the seat by the strap.

Our passage from Bar Harbor to Yarmouth wasn't all that smooth. I did have to find my sea legs to make my way about the ship during the passage. Even for a catamaran she rolled quite a bit and I was happy I wasn't worring about the bike. During the passage there were lots of folks at the stern rail looking very green, and when we did customs in N.S. the customs agents asked us if the sail over was bad. Apparently lots of folks ahead of us had complained of a rough passage. It hadn't seemed bad to me, but as a retired Navy guy, I've been down to the sea in ships before.

My main point is that the deck crew can be kind of casual about securing your bike and I wouldn't leave it all up to them. They might take care of you, but I recommend coming prepared. The passage is much more relaxing if you aren't worried about the bike the whole way over.

Have a great trip!

[rdwalker]

I always carry a few of my own straps. They come in handy, at the very least, as extensions to the truck-duty straps they may give you. Also - even though this may not be the case on the NS ferry - on some St. Lawrence ferries I have been given just a piece of oily rope for tie-down. Yuk!

Here are my hints: use one of your tie-downs to lock the side-stand to front wheel. This way, it will not fold if the bike moves forward when the ship sways.

Also, carry a bunch of disposable painter's gloves. The tie-downs or ropes provided by the crew are often soaked in diesel. You do not want your hands to be stinking and messed up for the rest of the day - and you do not want to put your riding gloves onto that greasy crap. Latex gloves are excellent for shipping straps and for minor maintenance, like checking tire pressure.
Yes, you will be tagged as a snotty BMW-rider, but so what? I had once a bunch of cruiser riders make all kinds of comments while strapping down my bike on a ferry; then, though, I had a good laugh watching them desperately trying to clean themselves.


Still, no biggie. Enjoy the trip!

[motorman587]

This what I did on the Alaska Ferry a year ago. Carried my own, as the boat did not have any. Put two on each staddle bag. Once it came to tie down, left it in first. Tied it to the front forks ie as recommended on this site. Tie down the rear. Motorcycle was on the side stand. It was not a "hard" tie down, like in a trailer but more of a "just in case" we hit some rough seas. Which we did not. Was able to check on it a couple of times during the trip. No incidents.............

[wstalker]

I recommend riding up thru Maine and crossing on land. Pretty ride, just do it in broad daylight, and still watch for moose.

Unfortunately time does not allow,living in New Hampshire we are about 15 miles south of the Maine border. Ride there all the time. Just doing a quick jaunt across the water and don't see a lot of places on the LT for tie downs, so looking for experienced water crossers ideas. Thanks.