How do most of you store your kayaks?
I store mine in my garage, I have a
A Tempest 165,& a 12’Perception.
I heard from different manufactures to store them on there side or hull facing down.
Also I am looking for a storage system that I can put both on.
My walls won’t support cradles, the ones I saw are around $399.00. Too expensive for me.
Thanks,
Robert G
Harken Lift Systems
Had a similar challenge and resolved it with a Harken lift system…
http://www.hoister.com/productcategory.aspx?taxid=645
For about $30
and a visit to a hardware store, you can get some line, pulleys, webbing and cleats (belay to studs in the wall) and make your own hoist. If you’re not up on mechanical advantage, etc., look at the manufactured ones on their web sites for your template.
Walls
I have a brick wall in a rented garage that I was not allowed to attach to. Instead, I put up a couple of vertical 2x3 studs to hang Talic cradles.
The studs rest on the concrete floor, and have simple plates at the top attached to the joists. There’s one horizontal brace - it went up pretty quick.
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l234/carldelo/Kayak%20storage/Racksystem.jpg
You could make cradles instead of buying Talic, but I was too impatient. Also, I soon needed to put up some hoisters to hold additional boats, what a surprise.
Straps for storage
– Last Updated: Sep-07-13 5:02 PM EST –
I used a similar method for storing my ten-footer. I rested two 8' studs on he floor, and screwed them into the wall studs and ceiling joists. I bought a $10 set of straps with hardware at Dick's. I thought about the hoists, but this is a much simpler system if you've got the space.
We have one of the strap systems
that holds 3 boats and are raised and lowered with two winches like those on the front of a boat trailer. (one for each end).
We have 10 boats at this time and hubby made a hanging shelf in the second stall of my garage to hold two more (on their sides), one sits on the floor in front of my car, and the rest are placed on the floor, on old carpet, on their sides, leaning on a wall. I also have connected, to the two shelf space which are side by side, a long closet rod on which to hang all of our PFD’s. Hangers made for tank tops work well as the straps fit right into the grooves. Paddles are kept (taken apart and the ends rinsed after each use) in plastic barrels (we have about 15 sets) with the midsections down and each set held together with a ‘ball’ bungie. This helps to protect the centers and blades from damage. FYI. Most take apart paddles are a “fit set”. Found out the hard way.
We’re in Michigan and have had no adverse problems placing or hanging any of our boats on their sides or bottoms, whether warm or cold weather. Depending on amount of heat in your local, this could change.
I hope you find a system that works for you.
Minicell blocks
The kind that you can buy in many kayak stores or REI’s kayak section. They come cut to allow the boat to be stored hull-down (and for some boats, hull up if so desired). I have also leaned the boats against the wall with the boats on their sides on these things, but in that case I also place some cheaper foam against the wall to avoid direct contact.
The blocks simply sit on the garage floor.
Minicell foam compresses less than other types of foam.
Another vote for the Harken Hoister
I got the largest Harken Hoister (I think the 7806) and made a platform/rack to go with it to support 4 kayaks on their sides. It was kinda pricey, but I think worth it for the extra peace of mind vs me getting a bunch of pulleys and putting one together.
With my setup I can pull 4 kayaks to the ceiling in my garage, leaving room to park a car or work on projects inside the garage.
Thanks for the ball bungee tip
I put my paddles together and give them a shot of spray paint. Assorted colors for like paddles. Then I throw all the halves into a barrel with the painted end down. Finding a match set is sort of like a child’s memory game. I’m definitely going to use that tip