Hikemor..if it looks tricky out on a lake or the river has some fast water i'll undo a pack strap and loop it around the portage bar and reattach it.the folks who do the big trips down the rivers in Canada criss cross cord over the packs.those trippers have full spray skirts over the canoes anyway.
i very seldom tie anything in,if its that nasty i stay off the water.


big rounded off rocks like this are more of a danger than just paddling in bad water.just inches under the surface and hard to see from the stern of a 16 foot canoe going solo.
if the canoe rides up on one side of one of those it's enough to tip you right over! i have run up on a few of those and getting the canoe off can be a problem.