Kayak Storage

I just purchased a Necky Manitou 14. I like to think of myself as pretty handy so I would like to make some sort of storage system rather than buy one.



I was thinking of using two small ratchet straps and some eye bolts to hang it from the rafters in my garage. Has anyone else done something like this? What position is the best to store the kayak in something like this, upside down, on its side?





Thanks

That’s what I did
Put the yak on it’s side. Arrange the straps so they support the boat at the bulkheads. I Don’t hang both ends of the strap on the same hook. I would still recommend a cockpit cover even in a closed garage. I prefer something breathable and have used mesh material and a bungee cord to make my own.

Why Not!
I store mine in my garage, on a wheeled cradle I built from 2x4s. To support each kayaks (right side up) I use two lengths of 2" poly webbing. When I clean or wax the boats I just flip them over. Strapworks.com has all the webbing and fittings you could need, their prices are good and their service is super fast.



I certainly don’t see why you couldn’t suspend your boat from the ceiling. Obviously you want to have the straps positioned correctly - maybe about 1/3rd of a boat length in, or directly under a bulkhead.

If you use that method, …

– Last Updated: Mar-03-14 4:41 PM EST –

... it might be more convenient to skip the ratchet straps and go with the cam-lock kind. You don't need much lifting power, and slowly click-click-clicking your boat up to the proper height might be a lot more cumbersome than the easy pulley action of a cam-lock. With the cam-lock you would also avoid the issue of winding a lot of strap material onto a tiny spool (and trying to keep it tangle-free). Instead, all the excess strap used during lifting simply comes out the other end of the buckle. With this method, you could run each strap through one or two hangers (two placed one hull-width apart would be better so that the straps come down vertically toward the boat, so there's less "pinching" of the hull when raised all the way (This might be the same principle that Pirate>40 was talking about, even if the details are a little different). If you do that, you can also work that whole continuous loop around as needed to put the buckle at a convenient location as you lift/lower.

Second the cam straps
And yes, I was trying to tell you to avoid pinching the hull.



Depending how high the rafters are and how long your straps are, I’ll have the stern strap hanging from it’s hooks like a cradle and the forward strap hooked on one end. Set the stern of the boat into the cradle of the strap and slide in as far as you can. Then I pick up the bow and pull the bow strap under and attach it to the ceiling. Then I slide the boat so the straps are at the bulkheads, then alternate cinching up the straps.

When I used the ratchet straps
I’d pull the strap end to raise boat up 1/3 way, then ratchet to hold. Raise other end 2/3 then ratchet, till it was against the rafters, either right side up or upside down.



Also had my wife sew 3"steel rings on one end of 2" straps. Bolt the other end to one side of a wall stud pick up the boat and wrap the strap around hooking the ring onto the protruding bolt so the boat hangs on it’s side against the wall.



Good luck

Randy

Kayak Storage
My friends purchased the hanging system on Amazon, which runs about $120 and has four boards one attaches to a garage ceiling then it has a pulley system for easy let down right onto the roof of the car. My kayaks are in my living room behind my recliner…I only have a carport and dont trust they wont get ripped off. Good luck

Cam Straps
Congrats on your new boat! For the Winter I hang both my canoe and kayak from the rafters with cam straps.