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From: Victor Okunev <unrealokun_at_yahoo.ca>
subject: [Paddlewise] kayak storage challenge
Date: Tue, 7 Sep 2004 15:11:50 -0400 (EDT)
I have a 90lb double kayak and need to build some sort of shelf and pulley
construction to store it about 2.5 meters above my garage floor. It is
essential that it should allow me lifting and lowering the kayak without the
second person's assistance. I wonder if anyone has solved similar problem.

Cheers,

Victor.
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From: Chris Madden <maddencg_at_earthlink.net>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] kayak storage challenge
Date: Tue, 7 Sep 2004 12:55:38 -0700
I have a similar situation. What I did in an old house is have 2 pulleys
attached to the ceiling. I would sling either end of the kayak and then pull
each end up incrementally until it was at the required height. The ropes were
redirected to another pulley on the side of the garage where I tied them off
to a cleat.

If you want to put it on a shelf, you might have a hinged shelf and after the
kayak is raised, raise the shelf and  prop it in place and then lower the
kayak unto it. This would require that the kayak be raised fairly close to the
wall where the shelf is mounted.

Christopher G. Madden
maddencg_at_earthlink.net
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From: <Niilus_at_aol.com>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] kayak storage challenge
Date: Tue, 7 Sep 2004 16:11:20 EDT
In a message dated 9/7/2004 12:29:09 PM Pacific Standard Time, 
unrealokun_at_yahoo.ca writes:
I have a 90lb double kayak and need to build some sort of shelf and pulley
construction to store it about 2.5 meters above my garage floor. It is
essential that it should allow me lifting and lowering the kayak without the
second person's assistance. I wonder if anyone has solved similar problem.
I use an Eagle's Nest Boat Hoist to lift a Klepper Aerius II to the garage 
ceiling by myself .  It's limited to be used with only kayaks and canoes up to 
100 lbs/45 kg.

I don't have an URL for it.  I think I got it at a kayak shop.  It's 
manufactured by Venture Wilson, Skaneateles, NY (888-332-4040).

Tony
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From: James <jimtibensky_at_fastmail.fm>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] kayak storage challenge
Date: Tue, 07 Sep 2004 14:25:04 -0700
I store my 90 pound Current Designs Libra by hanging it from the rafters
of my garage.  I can just haul it off the car or drop it on by myself,
and weigh 135.

I use a Z-drag rather than block and tackle, because I'm cheap.  I have
a large eye bolt screwed into the rafters so the boat is supported about
four feet in from the bow and four from the stern.  A rope with a large
loop to go around the hull is threaded through each eye and through
another eye bolted in a rafter so that the eye is about 6 inches from
the garage wall. This eye directs the rope straight down to where I haul
on it. Then the rope goes through another eye about two and half feet
off the floor in a wall joist.  The rope then goes back up through a
carabiner in a loop tied in the rope in such a way that the boat will be
on my roof rack when this carabiner hits the eye as the rope is
lengthened.  This is the "Z" attachment.  The rope finally goes, when
the boat is hauled up, through a jam cleat mounted to the wall stud to
hold the boat up when stored.

Total cost was not much: two lengths of climbing rope, each about twenty
feet long, six eye bolts, two jam cleats, four carabiners (two of which
fasten the loops around the boats) and some free garden hose pieces that
cushion the loops.

This is hard to describe verbally, but quite simple in practice.  I've
been using this system for almost ten years without any problems.  I
have three other boats hung from the rafters (and two whitewater boats
on the walls), but none are heavy enough to require Z-drags.  The double
is seven meters long, so it hangs diagonally in the two-car [six kayak]
garage.

Hope this helps.

Jim Tibensky
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From: John Fereira <jaf30_at_cornell.edu>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] kayak storage challenge
Date: Wed, 08 Sep 2004 08:24:36 -0400
At 04:11 PM 9/7/2004 -0400, Niilus_at_aol.com wrote:
>In a message dated 9/7/2004 12:29:09 PM Pacific Standard Time,
>unrealokun_at_yahoo.ca writes:
>I have a 90lb double kayak and need to build some sort of shelf and pulley
>construction to store it about 2.5 meters above my garage floor. It is
>essential that it should allow me lifting and lowering the kayak without the
>second person's assistance. I wonder if anyone has solved similar problem.
>I use an Eagle's Nest Boat Hoist to lift a Klepper Aerius II to the garage
>ceiling by myself .  It's limited to be used with only kayaks and canoes 
>up to
>100 lbs/45 kg.

I don't know how much money you want to spend on this but I was looking in 
the HarborFreight catalog yesterday and they had a a small electric hoist 
that will lift 440 pounds for $80.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=40765

The tricky part will be creating a support mechanism that will support the 
hull evenly.  
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From: Dave Kruger <kdruger_at_pacifier.com>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] kayak storage challenge
Date: Tue, 7 Sep 2004 13:15:30 -0700
I did that, but avoided the shelf by anchoring the haul lines to a wall 
cleat.  I used seatbelt webbing to make straps which support the kayak.

Locate the __centers__ of two ceiling joists (stud finder; then finish nail 
probe to find the outer edges), separated so the support points under your 
kayak will be a few feet in from the ends of the kayak.  Place a pair of  3/8 
inch  x 3 inch eyes, separated by about 3 inches, in each joist where you 
want a haul line to hit the kayak (you'll need a haul line for each end of 
the kayak).  Tie braided nylon line to one eye, and run the line through a 
double block at the kayak and a double block at the ceiling, giving you some 
mechanical advantage off the bottom block, which moves as the kayak is 
raised.

Run each haul line off the top block (fixed to one of the eyes in the joist) 
over to a common point on the wall, and through a single pulley there, and 
then down to a cleat at eye level.  Lag screw the cleat to a wall stud.  1/4 
lag screws are enough there, because the load is at right angles to the 
fastener.  This takes a lot of line, but is easy to use, because of the 
mechanical advantage.

Don't use 1/4 inch hardware on the ceiling anchors -- it's too light.  Don't 
ask how I know this.

Email me off-list and I'll send you a couple photos, if you like.

--
Dave Kruger
Astoria, OR

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Victor Okunev" <unrealokun_at_yahoo.ca>

>I have a 90lb double kayak and need to build some sort of shelf and pulley
> construction to store it about 2.5 meters above my garage floor. 
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From: Keith Wrage <keith.wrage_at_charter.net>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] kayak storage challenge
Date: Tue, 07 Sep 2004 15:32:37 -0500
Ditto on the pulley system - except I tied the 'lifting' lines off to a 
fixed point on the ceiling then clipped a loop of rope around the hull into 
a pulley....then the lifting lines go up through another pulley attached at 
the same fixed point in the ceiling (really...this is a simple two pulley 
system to gain mechanical advantage...just a bugger to 
describe!!  :o)  ).  No problem to lift the boat up to the ceiling (~ 11 
ft).  The two pulleys make it much easier.  I pull on both lifting lines 
(fore and aft) to lift the boat evenly up to the ceiling.  My loops under 
the hull are located directly under the bulkheads (plastic boat).

K
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From: <cholst_at_bitstream.net>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] kayak storage challenge
Date: Tue, 7 Sep 2004 16:32:33 -0500 (CDT)
When we had our new garage built, I specified that (1) the door had to be
high enough for me to drive in with the kayaks on top of my Accord wagon
and (2) there had to be room to store the kayaks above the open garage
door. The builder obliged by using scissor trusses in place of standard
trusses. Now we could store them 3.5 m to 4 m above the concrete floor.
The problem was how how to raise and lower them without dropping them.

What I did was to bolt a boat trailer winch to a garage wall stud for each
boat and then run two lines for each kayak from the winch through mini
blocks and turning blocks (to redirect the lines) up the wall, across the
trusses, and down to the kayaks. The smallest available winch has a 275-kg
working load and a power ratio of about 60:1. With this setup I can easily
raise or lower a 30-kg kayak with one hand.

I bought the blocks and line from a marine store. Though it isn't cheap, I
trust the strength of sailing hardware and halyard line much more than
what can be found in a hardware store. The 3/16-inch (5-mm) line I use is
rated for about a 500-kg static load -- more than enough to support half
the weight of each kayak. Even the small mini blocks (or is that micro
blocks?) I use have a safe working load four times what I am using them
for.

Be sure to run both lines to the same winch; that way you can raise and
lower the forepart and afterpart of the kayak at the same rate and the
same time.

Chuck Holst
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From: Robert Haima <rhaima_at_arthur.avalon.net>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] kayak storage challenge
Date: Tue, 7 Sep 2004 22:53:01 -0500 (CDT)
There are about 7 kayaks hanging from my garage rafters, using this 
product:
http://www.roperatchet.com/
(attach standard disclaimers, just a satisfied customer.)
They are starting to become a common hardware-store item around here.
One pulley near each end of the boat. Screw-eyes into the garage rafters.
A rope (or webbing) sling for each pulley. Hoisting and lowering involves
a number of back-and-forth trips between the pulleys, and for lowering,
a stepstool to reach the rope release lever.
Bob Haima
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From: Tony Reynes <tony_at_tesar-reynes.com>
subject: RE: [Paddlewise] kayak storage challenge
Date: Wed, 8 Sep 2004 07:07:13 -0500
> Robert Haima:
> There are about 7 kayaks hanging from my garage rafters, using  
> roperachet: http://www.roperatchet.com/

They are a great product. I use them for bow tie-downs from my two yaks to
the front grill on the Honda Pilot. For longer trips, I switch to stationary
braided stainless steel cables and do the adjustments from the stern
tie-downs. The later gives me much better driving visibility.

Best Regards,

Tony Reynes
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