A friend wants to buy a kayak but has no garage and doesn’t want to use it as a coffee table in her living room. She wants to know the pros and cons of storing it under her front porch. Would a cockpit cover keep the bugs and other critters out? Could she just put it on the ground or would she need something under it? (I’m not sure what the surface is … I’m asuming it’s dirt.)
Hi LRed: glass, c/Kev, plastic?
Probably fiberglass
She’s just “shopping.” But my guess is she’ll wind up with 'glass because of the weight issue.
mine always indoors
I’ve always kept all mine indoors. Does she have a basement, or a high ceiling, or a wall where it could be hung? I find it soothing to look at a boat indoors, with thoughts of the places you’ve been and plan to go next. I’ve also always thought it was better for the boat to be indoors - in theory there is less chance for damage from sun, temp. extremes, and gnawing critters. I know that’s not the answer you’re seeking…sorry.
Hi Red
My fiberglass sailboat sits outside 100% of the time (for 20 years). A little buffing will bring back any fading the sun causes. Therefore I assume that storing it under a porch or deck would not be a problem. Put a good cockpit cover on it to keep out the critters and spread some moth balls around it for good measure and the 4 legged beasties should stay away. Just think of the space under the deck as a short unheated garage.
Dave
Under a porch is a perfect place
to keep a boat in my opinion.
I kept two kayaks under a unroofed deck, for about six or seven years.
I kept them covered with a big tarp that was wrapped around them to keep the dirt that came down through the spaces between the deck boards from coating them, and to keep unwanted critters from using them to raise their unwanted critter offspring.
I also kept them off the ground. I used a couple of 2x4’s between the posts with some old carpet wrapped around them for support.
A porch makes good protection from any branches, etc that might be falling from nearby trees, and keeps them out of the sun.
Cheers,
JackL
If she’s got room
she could suspend straps from the 2x4’s above. I have about three feet under my house and put in j hooks, then used straps to keep yak off the ground, on its side. Cockpit cover,yes.
my .02 
Porch
if it’s an enclosed porch, i.e. no chance of rainwater getting down below the floor, a cockpit cover is fine, if there is a chance for water to accumulate and you have a cheap nylon cockpit cover like I do, nylon wills stetch when wet and you’ll have a puddle of water in it after the rain, with a possibility over time for the cover to fail. So I stick a piece of plywood over it long enough to cover the cockpit and put the cockpit cover underneath it.
I store my f’glass kayak under my rear deck on rollers and foam, tarps, cover, plywood. And for winter storage I have two pulleys and a winch to lift it up to the underside of my deck and walls to hide it. otherwise, I usually leave it on the 2x4s, 2"casters supported by pool noodles.
Jay
oops
just remember to take it out before you start staining the porch…
Security?
To those of you who use under-porch storage or something similar, do you put a bike chain or any other security on it to prevent theft?
Chain with two locks
to make a loop at each end of the boat. I covered the chain with foam pipe insulation to protect the boat. When I bought the chain, the store clerk had little trouble cutting it with heavy bolt cutters so it would only slow a thief down. Chain or cable, both can be cut by a determined thief. Use a cover to keep critters out. Birds were always building nests in mine until I got a cockpit cover.
pass a chain around the side of the seat
then around a pole of floor plank
Wally World:
A 20 foot dog run cable (about $7.00). They are plastic coated.
Cut the snap swivel off and use a pad lock with the loops in the end.
I keep several in my vehicle for overnight stays a motels.
I use a 30 footer to thread around the cross bars and then between two bikes, two kayaks and one canoe.
And if we are camping at some place that I might feel a little apprehensive about, I use it to lock the stuff to a tree, etc.
If a crook is going after your stuff, this might at least discourage him.
Cheers,
JackL