I recently moved to a condo complex on the Intercoastal Waterway. I have two sit on top kayaks to play and surf on here, but currently have to store them standing on end in a closet on the 3rd floor. Getting them to the water is difficult and there are many others in the complex with the same problem, so I am trying to convince the other residents to agree to an outdoor storage rack next to the waterway. I am imagining something wooden because of the salt water. It would need to be able to hold at least 10-12 kayaks to accomodate the whole complex. Does anyone know of a place something like this can be purchsed, or a place I can find some plans?
Talic Wooden Racks
http://www.talic.com/products/6-boats.php
Although I’m not sure how you would secure the boats to prevent theft, etc…
Will that rack stant up to salt and
sun? Didn’t see what type of wood its built out of. For the ocean, it needs to be either weather treated or naturally resistant wood.
build your own
– Last Updated: Sep-22-07 12:41 AM EST –
That Talic sure looks nice... but for that price (roughly $700) does it come with a person to load/unload the boats for you? LOL
I'd recommend building a simple A-frame design... you can make it as long as needed...
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(I hope that came out as I intended)
OK... ASCII art doesn't work too well... ignore the periods (used for spacers) and you'll get the idea
you can build it as high or low as needed... I would think you should be able to get 3-4 per side.. then you can either build one LONG one (long enough for two boat lengths) to accommodate 6-8 each side, or build two smaller ones. if you build the smaller ones (one boat length), then when empty, you should be able to move the rack with just 2-3 people.
should be a simple saturday project for someone of average abilities.
Weather treated is only good for 5 years
Need to reapply a water seal every year to get more. Teak or something else would work instead, but pricey wood and kills your wood-working knives/blades.
Rolling rack
I built a rack that’s very similar just a few weeks ago, but I put it on wheels so I can push it over out of the way when needed, or even bring it outside. I also added space to store some shipping boxes and gear, and hang spray skirts, PFDs and paddle jackets.
I still need to add pad out the cross members (just temporary noodles on there now), but these photo should give you an idea. It has six boats on it right now, which makes it a bit heavy to roll, but still works great.
http://www.virginiaseakayakcenter.com/images/photos/garage_rack_1.jpg
http://www.virginiaseakayakcenter.com/images/photos/garage_rack_2.jpg
Outdoor Kayak Racks
are very common on Long Island, NY and along the southern CT shore at boat clubs and town beaches. Demand is so high in some places there are hundreds of spaces for kayaks. All of the ones I have seen are made of wood - usually 2x4s with some type of padding so the boats can slide in from one end. My sister has a boat stored at one during the summer. I’ll see if I can find out who built their racks and if they have any design plans. If I can find something I’ll contact you via email.
~wetzool
PVC option
– Last Updated: Sep-22-07 9:58 PM EST –
You could also build an A frame type set up of your own out of PVC pipe....2" diameter Schedule 40 would be about right. The more weight it has to hold, the larger the pipe (although anything much bigger than 2.5 or 3 inches would be overkill) and the wider the base spread for stability. The good thing is you wouldn't need any special tools...just a hacksaw and a pint each of primer and glue. You might even be able to get the local home center to cut it for you for ease of transport. Some time back someone posted a link to a site that had some pics to a do-it-yourself version. At the time I saved that link but it appears to be inactive/dead now.