Interislander

[montsta56]

Doin a lap of the south Islandearly in March an was wanting to know if there any tricks as far as taking the bikes on the ferry, Do the deck hands know what there doin ect as far as securing the bike go ?? any tips??? dont want the missile gettin hurt

[Sniper]

You need to take your own tie-downs

[Colapop]

There are a couple of threads about that on here somewhere (someone with good search skills help out here plz)

[montsta56]

ohh true!! wat a pain in the arse!!! you'd think they'd have all of that

[phoenixgtr]

When I went on it over xmas they had plenty of tie downs for you to use on there. You gotta tie your own bike down but thats fine, I wouldn't want anyone else to do it anyway.

[muzz]

The deck hands dont tie your bike down you do.
If you dont know how to tie a slip knot get yourself some tiedowns with a rachet. The most effective way to tie down is to compress your fork springs to give a preload and a rope around the arse to stop it from sliding.
I'd give you a hand as thats where i work unloading and loading the ships but i'm in picton already.

[montsta56]

so do they have ty downs on board at all or just ropes????thannx for the help

[Colapop]

Best to get your own if you value your bike - or you could trust a stranger with it....

[muzz]

Depends on what boat your on, the kaitaki has tiedowns but they are big. The other boats have ropes. It's not a problem really but some people have trouble tying knots. They will give you guidance near the end of loading if you are having trouble.

[far queue]

Last time I went across, they only had ropes. Take your own tie downs. You can get Aerofast ones at The Warehouse, around about $40 for 4 I'd say. I'd be taking 4 to do a good job of it, 2 at the back and 2 at front. You wont be happy if you get a rough crossing and the bike arses over. There's plenty of tie down points in the deck to use.

Where are you going? The March Hare rally is on at Hunter (inland from Waimate) on 3,4,5 March and the Hororata Rally is on at ... Hororata, on 17,18,19 March.

[Smokin]

I came back on the Arahura last week, I took two tiedowns with me for the front and used their ropes and hooks for the rear, The first time i went on the ferry i only tied the front down and upon returning to the bike the deck hands had tied the back down as well

[Macktheknife]

Best way I have found is the ratchet tie-downs, repco, warehouse, supercheap auto, any place similar will have them for not much. make sure you preload the front forks, get another biker to lean on it! Dont worry about taking your gear off the bike its just a hassle. Use only the side stand, makes a triangular point of contact, more stability.
My personal opinion, do it yourself, dont trust anyone else with your baby. Enjoy.

[limbimtimwim]

Do the deck hands know what there doin ect as far as securing the bike go ??

Most recent time on the Bluebridge, one of the deckhands gave me a hand with the ropes. Actually, he did it all basically. Which was helpful, cheers man. I did know I should have got my own tie downs, but I forgot to get them, and there was a ferry leaving in a few minutes, so I just rolled on.

Last time (2 years ago, same vessel) I did it myself, which was fine with the old bike since it had obvious parts to tie ropes onto.

I did learn one thing from the guy on the boat, when you tie the ropes onto your fork legs (I assume you'll try that anyway), you may find like I did that the rope then rubs (And threatens to damage) your fairing because it heads towards the deck at a steep angle. So instead hook the rope to a point far away from the bike, which prevented it from touching the fairing. Kinda a 'duh' thing when he pointed it out, but usefull none the less.

Also don't try and tie the ropes to your levers, you might pull off your controls, but you wouldn't do that would you? ;-)

[Rhino]

Best way I have found is the ratchet tie-downs, repco, warehouse, supercheap auto, any place similar will have them for not much. make sure you preload the front forks, get another biker to lean on it! Dont worry about taking your gear off the bike its just a hassle. Use only the side stand, makes a triangular point of contact, more stability.
My personal opinion, do it yourself, dont trust anyone else with your baby. Enjoy.

I would agree with Mack. Have taken the Goldwing across and back many times. Get some ratchets (I use 4 for the 'Wing.) Put your bike on the side stand (less chance of "shuffling" in big swells than the centre stand.)

My procedure is to pull both left front and rear ties down first. Then do the right front and rear. Finally retension the left side ratchets. This will compress the suspension and ensure that the bike is very solidly held against the deck. Never had a problem yet. This works ok on 400kg+ of bike, so should be fine with a "slimmer" machine.

[zaq]

I've had my bike on the Lynx and the Arahura (I think... the one that does not keep having problems). I took my own ratchet tie-downs. Three of them... two for the front (one on each side of the handle bar), and one over the rear seat. There are loops on the deck, but be careful, because it's all metal, and slippery.

If you're using ratchet-ties, DON'T do them up too tight (could be problematic... I know!).

And don't let anyone else touch your bike. Do it to your satisfaction, maybe even try it out in your garage first.

I liked the Arahura, because it cut nicely and smoothly through the water (calm day too). The Lynx was quicker, but skims over the water, and is quite jumpy. I just worried about the bike all the way! Also, the Arahura had more space for the bike... on the Lynx, the front wheel jutted out a bit, and you know how ridiculous some people can be when in their cars or even walking

I've attached a Lynx pic (not my bike in the picture, so I hope the owner doesn't mind), which gives an idea of the straps.

HAVE FUN!