Just wondering if there's a good way of strapping my surfboard to the roof of my car. Got a long trip coming up and wife doesn't want it hanging over the headrest the whole trip.

Would prefer to avoid getting bars if poss. Any advice much appreciated.

Guessing the front windows might be ok but not sure about the hatch...

Would be best to try and use a rack, had a friend years back use some pcs. of foam and strapping to secure his board and it looked pretty good, but going down the highway something became loose and that board caught the wind and needless to say that surf trip was shot. The board survived the initial impact with the road and may have been repairable untill it got run over by another vehicle.

Nothing is impossible, Mr Bean had a sofa on the roof of his mini after all.
But you risk scratching the paintwork just tying it to the roof and it wouldnt be very secure either.
Im surprised no one has developed a fold up surf board by now.

I can see no problem in strapping a surfboard on securely - wrap the strap once around the board and anti-scratch padding (so that doesn't blow away on a bump) through the front windows and it won't go anywhere with just a minimal tiedown at the hatch.

But the problem is the windows now won't fully shut against the seals (if the strap is done up tight) so you'll get serious wind noise and some water if it's raining. Plus the safe option would be an endless strap and then you've got a strap running across the car where the top of your head wants to be.

I suggest you try this out beforehand - it sounds simple, but I don't think it is.

Thanks for the replies. Guessing I'll have a go with some mate's straps and get some bas if they don't work.

why don't you get some soft racks, like these (http://au.shopping.com/Fcs-FCS-Single-Rack-Cam-Lock/info)?