I have two Old Town Loon 138’s and I’m wanting to store them hanging on their sides on a wall in my garage. Does anyone have any good suggestions for doing so? I’m looking for a way I can put the kayaks up and take them down by myself. I’ve thought of a sling type thing, but I’m thinking I’m going to have to build a shelf for each of them. Any ideas, or better yet pictures of existing workable wall storage would be much appreciated.
Thanks
2-yak slings work great
Get a pair of J-hooks from the hardware store and screw them into the wall studs, then hang the slings from them. Some folks hang em from the ceiling joists, which is fine, but I like having them against the wall as it keeps them away from the side of the car better. When you take one boat down, grab the yak with one hand (or get your shoulder inside the cockpit to balance for a solo carry) and unhook one of the clips (fastex buckles) then walk it out of the other loop. Leave that one loop buckled. When you hang the boat back up, reverse the process. Walk the end of the yak back through the closed loop, then with the hull balanced on your knee reach over and connect the other buckle. You need to devise a way to keep the closed loop open enough to slide the end of the boat through. I tie a string around the loop and pull it open a ways, then tie the other end of the string to anything handy (like the lawn mower) to keep that loop open. You can also mount a piece of rubber padding or a sponge against the wall where the yak contacts it to keep from scraping the boat. This is the cheapest and easiest solution I know of for storing kayaks in a garage, and it has worked well for me. I now have a triple sling - I started with a double. Then when I added a third boat, I just moved the J-hooks higher up the wall and now all three fit. Good luck!
strap material?
What are you using for your strap material? This looks like great advice by the way.
Kayak storage
I own two kayaks, a 16’ and 17’ kayak. I drilled two holes in the studs about 64" between the centers of the studs (assuming the studs are 16" apart) about 5’ from the floor and screwed in the rubber coated bike hooks into the holes. From these I hung two lenghts of rope (I used 6 mil climbing line) off each hook. I tied a loop on the end of each line. I adjusted the length of each line (it is helpful to have assistance for this part) to hang the kayaks on their side on top of each other. If you are looking at the wall the cockpits would be facing you as they are hung. Adjust the line length to fit around the kayak so that the loop returns to the bicycle hook. You can use any type line that is stong enough to support the weight. I happened to have extra line and that is what I used. It took me about an hour to set this up. Cheap and easy.
I used lawn chair strapping
And similar setup to those above. Had my wife sew 2" metal ring in one end, then wrapped the other end around 1x2x4" wood and screwed wood to side of exposed stud for adjustment, put a heavy screw with 1" exposed on other side of stud for ring to hang on. I use a single rope and pullies to raise the top boat 9’up the wall.
Kayak Storage System
I use a sling device manufactured by All Wet Surf Products called the Yak Rak. It will hold up to 3 kayaks and 3 sets of paddles and its fully adjustable. The two slings hang on hooks mounted to overhead beams. The set up allows for easy access to each kayak, which hang against the wall, parallel to the floor, with cockpits facing out.
This is the one I use
Check it out
http://www.travelcountry.com/shop/SessionId/e9d82bc4e0bc459a0cfd465248e90cbe/Action/Category_Prod/CatId/46/ProdId/2550
I’m building one of these.
Two, two by fours bolted to the wall and it’ll hold three boats on their side. Cost less than $20. http://www.clcboats.com/shoptips/shoptips_rackstorage.php/cart_id=ac4a672190d88927ec83fc69be599993/
Martin Creek
under Buyers’ Guide, Accessories, Boat Storage.
Very kind to your boat and wallet. Simple and sturdy. Marcus and Christy are paddlers and good folks to trade with.
Wall Racks
Here are some I made using 2x4’s and 2" webbing. Very solid. It shows them upright, but I found that I can just turn them and they’ll sit sideways.
http://community.webshots.com/user/redmond5099
Look under Kayak Storage.
this is my rack system from
parts I got from Lowe’s, all told it cost $30.00
http://wmcka.org/rack_index.php
wall mounts
Take a look at what I made for my plastic Pungo’s. Maybe it’ll work for you. Simple water pipe from Home Depot.
http://f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/pastrad/album?.dir=/kayak
Paul
PS: send me your email and I’ll email you more info. pastrad@yahoo.com
Hangers
No one loves to tinker and save bucks more than me…but…for under twenty five dollars you can purchase an excellent ready made set of hanging straps from any Wilderness Systems dealer who sells Voyageur products.
It is just way too simple! You open the package and the hangers are ready to use. All that you need to improvise is a hanging source. I use eye bolts screwed into the ceiling joists for my Tarpon 160 and 12" Home Depot angle brackets (with an eye bolt added on the end)lag bolted to the wall studs for my Pungo. You can also use two sets in tandem to stack both of your yaks on the wall. The hangers make for a great and safe storage solution while not wasting valuable garage space.
mikepaddle
Water Pipe rack
I also use the water pipes for a Loon 138 and a Loon 111. Mine are outside so i used galvanized. Very cheap. Real easy too. No cutting, welding, or anything. Just screw them together. Add pipe insulation if you want padding.
Metal Storage Rack
Kwikle,
Thats a pretty cool setup. Are those steel or aluminum brackets? Did you find the parts in the Shelving section or hardware?
they are aluminium
and it is industrial shelving at Lowes.
Storage Racks
Wow, these are some great ideas. Thanks everyone for your time and all the great pictures.
This should make racking my two yaks no problem.