Hey,
We are really considering getting two 17.5ft glass Kayaks but the only place to store them is in our one-bed apartment. Of course the walls in our apartment are not solid. I guess they are like “paper” so you can’t really put in a pully system. We were considering building a kind of frame that would run up the side of the walls and have a long piece of wood run along the ceiling. We would then use this piece of wood as a pully system and lock them in place.
Are we crazy? Will it be really cluttered?
At the moment we have two folding kayaks built (both just under 16ft) and they lay across the couch (our sitting room isn’t long enough to do that for a 17ft kayak).
We also have six bikes!! but its fine it works pretty well but two more kayaks on the ceiling?? eek I am not sure.
Do other people other have ideas or stories about kayak storage!
You can . . .
. . . put in a pulley system you just need to find the stud or ceiling joist.
Ceiling Joist or stud
Cool, thanks I will look into that
On the car?
For a few years one fiberglass sea kayak lived on my car when I was in a high rise condo and had no other alternative. This was year round but had indoor parking below ground that was just high enough that I could drive into with the boat on top. If I changed the boat position it didn’t work and I would hit the pipes that hung from the ceiling in certain places.
If you do that, you have to be really careful and check your rack regularly and make sure you check the straps regularly. I would usually throw two straps on forward and one on the rear and use bow and stern lines. Straps exposed to full sun and winter salt all the time decay quicker than ones used once or twice a week.
Depending on where you live, you may want to throw a lasso lock on the boats.
Suz
Not sure about the car top
but thanks for the suggestion. I just won’t be able to rest easy. We have a very open car parking and anyone could come in and take them.
Storage unit?
I’m sure it would be faster to get a cheap storage unit and put them in there close by. You could offload a lot of stuff there too if you are getting cluttered. Surely not a cheap solution, but many here in Cali I know do it. I luckily got an apartment with a garage.
Nice!
That’s a pretty nice set up.
-Capri
That is AWESOME!
Haha… if I was single I think I’d have a 1 bedroom that looked like that, lol. Looks like you don’t “entertain” that much.
thats cool…
Thats pretty cool!! If we could afford a three piece it would be cooler. Thanks for all the suggestions BTW… They are all good ideas.
With my husband’s personality
entertaining is out of the question.
tsunamichuck’s setup is very hip
and typhoonjune is a saint to let him take up the living room.
If you have to work to get the boats up and down to unit, hoists, et cetera, you will not use them, original poster.
But cheaper boats, get Lasso locks, keep them on vehicle,. no one will steal them if they are well-used boats, and enjoy not having to load and unload them except when you are at the water’s edge. A winner.
6 bikes, 3 kayaks, 1 bedroom
I would say you are a person with the right priorities, and someone I’d like to know.
Was almost expected to see
kayaks stored on the bed and a sleeping bag on the floor…
jim 
stolen boats
People don’t generally steal boats. That said, take the easy precautions such as a lasso lock as they don’t cost much.
I personally don’t know anyone that has had a boat stolen. I know of people second hand that have and they seem to be crimes of convenience such as taken from shore rather than off a car.
That said, I would choose to park in well lit areas, limit my trips to the mall (who wants to go there anyway!) and overnight I was in a garage so that was one less worry.
It did make it harder to have my car serviced but the place where I took it they would just leave it on for oil changes and stuff but for engine work, we would take it off and put it around the side of the garage.
Really, if there is no other place, your car is the best option. Eventually you may meet other paddlers that will allow you to keep your boat at there house. You could offer to build a rack to hold their boats and yours and then your problem would be solved.
Suz
I’m in a similar boat has you…
(no pun intended)
I live in a townhome w/o a garage. The only place big enough for my 17 footer is the main enterance. My GF wasn’t having any part of having it stored there. So I checked first with all the local marinas to see if someone would have wood racks for kayak/canoe storage. No luck. Then I checked self storage units. I didn’t want a full unit b/c the kayak was all I was storing. One place offered me a place in the corner of their lot where I could lock it to a chain link fence for $25/mo. So I purchased a Lasso Kong lock and a cover to protect if from the elements (UV/rain/critters). It’s locked in this storage facility during the week and usually resides on top of my car on weekends. Check with storage places…tell them you don’t want a unit and see if any of the managers will be creative with you. All businesses are hurting right now…my storage place is getting an extra $25 a month just to have a kayak sit in the corner of their lot. It’s probably your best bet.