Storage help.

I’m trying to come up with a way to store my kayak in my garage. Length is 14 ft so it will have to lay down. I think I’ve read not to lay it on the hull??? So, is laying it on the side the preferred method? If so, is there a cheap way to make a couple of holders it can sit in on its side? Maybe PVC or wood? Key word is cheap.

yes and yes
Yes, on the side is better.

Yes, make a cheap rack out of 2x4s. I’m sure someone on here has pics.

Got any wall space?
If your boat is under about 50 pounds, you can get two heavy brackets at HD or Lowe’s – tubular, bent into an L with a front lip, flattened where screws to wall. Attach to wall studs 4 feet apart, with lag screws. Cheap, and it’s like they were made for kayaks. Just don’t abuse them with lateral forces.

Straps
I use some cordura straps … one end screwed to the wall with a large washer and the other end has a loop that I place over a hook screwed to the wall above. The boat sits with the bottem to the wall held by the straps.

Real cheap and works. I have one kayak near floor level and the other above that.

Thanks
Thanks for the replies.



I’d love to see some made out of 2x4s. I have some extra wood from a project just lying around.



I think it’s 53 pounds. The Bracket idea seems easier but I’m not sure I’ve ever see a bracket like that or maybe I’m not picturing it right.



So, any pics of home made racks would be appreciated.

ceiling?
I put four eyebolts in the ceiling and use long tiedown straps as slings. Depending on the car height I’ve been able to load and unload right from the car.

i’m going to build
This is basically what I am going to build: http://talic.com/cat25.php?osCsid=06536c3c390af50c4bedbb73d060bcfa



I’ll need it for 3 boats and although the Talic system is probably perfect for what I need, I just can’t drop the $170 right now. I’m planning on basically building the same thing out of 2x4s.

my crude plans
Here is what I’m thinking: http://screencast.com/t/Xgrs6Zdc

Hmmm
I like that. I only need it for one kayak though.



So, do you just drive screws through the backside of the vertical 2x4 into the angled edge of the other 2x4? Just doesn’t seem that would be a lot of support.

yes
I think the strap is what will give it the support it is going to need. Of course, I haven’t built it yet so that might change but that is what I’m planning on doing.

Are the studs exposed?

– Last Updated: Aug-22-12 1:21 PM EST –

A wall rack is easy to make if the studs are exposed, but only slightly more complex if not.

There happens to be a kayak rack in one of my sets of photos about canoe storage. Check out the orange kayak sitting in its rack on the garage wall in these photos.

http://tinyurl.com/8c3supv

http://tinyurl.com/9dl5x9g

Now, I had no intention of featuring the kayak rack in these photos, so there's lots of clutter partly blocking the view, but if you look closely you can see how simple such a rack can be. This rack consists of three horizontal brackets poking out from the wall. The kayak rack was built by someone else, and it lacks any diagonal bracing or gusseting whatsoever, so the attachment points to the wall studs are VERY weak (you could very easily over-stress the bracket-to-wall connection by pushing the end of a bracket with one hand), but in spite of that, three brackets are much more than strong enough to support this 45-pound kayak. Three brackets with just a bit of gusseting or a small diagonal brace could hold a much heavier boat.

For gusseting, one method would be to place a small piece of plywood, say one foot square (or triangular instead of square) within the joint between each bracket and the wall stud, with all the "excess" material below the cross bar so it does not occupy the space intended for the boat. Basically, the gusset spreads the area of torque over a much larger area than that within the overlap of 2x4s. A diagonal brace would simply support each bracket from below, eliminating torque at the bracket-to-wall connection, and thus eliminating any need for a gusset. So, use a gusset OR a diagonal brace, but not both.

One thing I would add to a rack like this is a little "toe" on the end of the center bracket so keep the boat from rotating into a more horizontal position. You can see that the boat's owner just uses a bungie cord to accomplish this.

You could decrease the pressure applied to each contact point by adding two or three additional brackets. Of course, with any number of supports greater than two, the supports are by necessity positioned on the wall such that they are custom-fitted to a particular boat.

Best to connect with a small bolt.
A screw would work, but a bolt going through both pieces of wood would be a little better. There will be very little stress on that joint so very little strength is needed. But for this thing to work properly, that connection needs to be “bendable” like a hinge, which can be done more easily with a bolt acting as a pin within a drilled hole, than with a screw which is a very tight fit.

sort of like this…

– Last Updated: Aug-22-12 2:04 PM EST –

but, bigger. I can't find a picture of the larger one. It comes with foam padding around the horizontal part. And, the stick-up at the outside is angled. Higher weight capacity, too, I think.

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-202305424/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=crown+bolt+hook&storeId=10051#.UDUebW_LYbg

good idea
Good idea on the plywood. I’ve modified my intended plans to include it: http://screencast.com/t/Hs22pJMa

Home Depot bracket


http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-202305548/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=arm+hangar&storeId=10051



If the link doesn’t work, search for “heavy duty arm hanger” on the Home Depot site.

There you go – thanks
Those are hard to beat WRT bang for the buck.

2nd this
I have this arrangement and the only thing that bothered me about it was that I didn’t do it sooner. Convenient!

That looks good
I had assumed that the angled support was supposed to hinge up or down a little, putting a certain amount of “sag” in the strap until the bracket hinges up to the point that it barely contacts the hull, but your idea of making it a solid connection is probably even better.

Well

– Last Updated: Aug-22-12 8:16 PM EST –

I think my plans might need changing. The place I want to put it has something above it so I may need to consider a mobile stand of some sort.

Don't they make soe kind of foam molds that the kayak would sit in? I know I've seen them before just not sure they make them to hold the kayak on its si.