Re: [Paddlewise] kayak storage

Hi everyone,  I finally got my own little plastic kajak :))


it is a 14" Perception Cobra. Now I have to come up with an idea how to store



the boat in a relative space-saving manner in our 2 car garage.  I was
thinking


of a system to suspend it from the sealing on the side of the garage,  so the



boat would hang sidewards.





        I used to keep my canoes slung from the ceiling of my garage, using a
rope and pulley system.  There was enough room above where the doors slid in
their tracks.  That worked OK.


        For my kayak and decked C1 I simply used slings suspended from the
side wall.  These were loops made from lengths of lawn chair webbing repair
tapes and held onto nails into the studs.  I installed eyelets for that, so
the webbing wouldn't tear.  I could either take one end down, lift up the boat
end and reconnect the tape then go to the other end and slip the boat end into
the loop, or just sllip the ends in.  The latter worked better.  The boats
hung sideways and there was plenty of clearance.  This should work for a
shorter lighter boat (these were plastic & FG).  Don't know what kind of
stresses this might produce for looong SKs, though...


 


The next problem is the transport.  What is a better system?  A one-kayak


trailer or a Yakima/Thule roofrack? Which one of these two is better? 





        Definitely the racks.  Far cheaper for one thing, and there could be
hassles with licensing/registration you don't need.  Plus the fun of trying to
maneuver the trailer backwards, or for that matter finding a parking spot at a
lunch stop on the way...  The only people I know around here who use such
trailers are instructors who supply their own boats to groups.  And even they
will rackmount their own boats...





    Has anyone experience with the side bars as help for loading? Do I need
one or two? I am a


5"5' female and will be alone when loading/unloading the kayak





        One's plenty.  Lift one end on the side bar, then lift the other end
onto the rack and slide the first one in...   You're lifting only half the
weight of the kayak at a time.





HTH


Joe P.








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