I have 2 plastic touring kayaks that I would like to store outside. I can get a rack that is weather resistant and will hold them on their sides. But the problem I have is lack of shade. No room for indoor storage and paid storage is very expensive around here. They are temporarily residing on my sisters covered porch. I’d like to store them outside year round but I live in NH. Any suggestions, what does everyone else do?
Shed fron coverit.com
20 by 10 is nice if your boat fits. Check my ond others posts in this
http://www.paddling.net/message/showThread.html?fid=advice&tid=141415
re shed from coverit.com
Unfortunately I had a bad experience with them. Wrong instructions with the shed they sent, then stalled me, sent another set of wrong instructions, then refused to accept return of the shed.
Yeah, I worked
– Last Updated: Jan-07-04 8:45 PM EST –
Customer service until I found someone who would take my case but for me it was a good value in the end.
Last note if you go that way get a round top no wider than 10 feet. snow load ya know.
shed
Thanks for the advice. Maybe I can find the same thing or something similar from another vendor.
2" x X’s And Tarps
I have 3 long boats in the basement, 2 short boats under the porch. Now, what am I gonna do with the other long boats? Good problem from my perspective. 
Anyhooooo… I made a wood rack for backyard storage. I took a 12’ 4"x4" and cut them into 6’ lenghts. Used 2 pieces of 2x4, about 4’ lengths, and bolted them to the back of and connecting the back of the 4x4’s. Now, you have something that looks like “|=|” though the two horizontal 4x4’s are further apart vertically. The bottom 4x4 is 2’ from the bottom ends of the 4x4’s and top is around 1.5’ from top ends. If you want cleaner and stronger joints, notch the 4x4’s. Then dig two 1’ deep holes match the distance between the ends of the 4x4’s. Mix and pour concrete upto six inches from the top of the hole. Put the “|=|” into the hole, temporary brace to ensure verticle, pour in more concrete to the top of the hole. Let concrete solidify over a day. Now, get more 4 pieces of 2x4’s – I would say a minimum of 3’ – and bolt these onto the outside faces of the “|=|” to give two sets of parallel arms coming straight out when you’re facing the it. These are the set of arms that will two kayaks on the top and bottom. However, two kayaks on each set of arms, mean 80-120bls, on each. You need to support the arms by attaching 45 degree braces, using wood, from the sides of “|=|” to the underside of the arms. I would say the braces need to get close to half way point of the arms to ensure the arms can support two kayaks. The wooden braces can be substitued with metal braces that may be found in hardware stores. They are stronger and probably will suffice to reach a third way of the arms. There you have a rack for up to four kayaks.
If you want uv protection, take two pieces of 1x4 (no need for clear expensive pieces) in 8’ lengths and butt joint them together by taking another 4-6 feet pieces the overlap evenly the ends of the two pieces and nailed/screwed them into place to create a long single piece (or get a single 16’ long piece). Take this piece of wood and bolt them horizontally across the top ends of the “|=|” to create something that looks like this: “--------|=|---------” . Again, that long cross bar is on the top. Install small eyelets at intervals some you can tie two tarps that will cover over the boats all the rack to protect from UV. The cheap plastic tarps will need to be replace every couple of years.
My rack has been used for the last years. Since I live in the heart of the city. I wind steel cables around the boats and onto the rack and lock for theft deterence. My rack is also against a fence. So I able to bungee the bottom of the tarps to points on the fence. Combined with the tie ins on the long horizontal piece, The tarps have held last several storms already.
Can’t tell you exactly the cost. Lets say cheaper and less time to install than a shed (which my small backyard would not allow anyway).
sing
Poly tarp
I kept a plastic canoe outsde on a rack covered with a tarp for about ten years.
You might have to replace the tarp every couple of years, but they are cheap.
Cheers,
JackL
Rack and Tarp for 2 plastic yaks
I live in MA and screwed 2 racks made of 1/2 inch threaded pipe to the back of my garage. For the winter, I wrapped the whole thing in a poly tarp.
I leave mine outside
Mine are sitting outside upside down on two old picnic table benches. I laid some bunk carpet on the old benches and set them about 7’ apart to make a nice rack that will hold two boats. I keep them up next to the house where they are shaded for most of the day. I put cockpit covers on them to keep the varmits out, and put 303 on them for UV protection.
I was going to hang them up in my garage or put them under the house, but it is an awful lot of trouble to get them out if we have an unseasonably warm day when it is 80 degrees in January (like last weekend) and I want to go paddling.
I hang…
…my fleet on the fence with retired climb webbing. Spray with 303; and use the 2x4 and tarp technique refered to above.
thank you
Thanks for all the great suggestions especially sing. I knew I could find what I needed to know on this site.
Cover Them to Make Them Last
303 will go only so far.
The sun’s a bad dude. He’ll eat your kayaks like he eats a young girl’s skin and makes her old.