Kayak organization

[spschroeder]

Hi all,

I have two kayaks I need to elevate in my garage to get them out of my way. Anyone devise a lifting mechanism for such a purpose? Buy a pre-made kayak hoist that you really like?

I have a few ideas already for what I'd like to do, but I'm always open to borrowing better ideas from others

-Steve

 

[Leaflessshadetree]

I bent some rebar to make large S hooks for my canoes. I just hooked them over the joists in my garage (no ceiling). It was low enough that I could just lift the canoes up (upside down) and hook the edges.

My brother in-law mounted pulleys to his ceiling. Ran the ropes over to the wall and mounted a cleat to tie them off.

 

[shanker]

i used a few D brackets on my ceiling, then simple self ratcheting straps that when pulled tight, holds the kayak firmly against the ceiling in my garage....it's important to keep them out of the sun to keep the plastic from breaking down...

(assuming you're talking about sit-on kayak's)

 

[abachman]

I se a bicycle hoist for my canoe. The weight limits should be acceptable for a Kayak as well. These are relatively inexpensive and all I needed to do was use a longer cord than the one that came with the hoist.

 

[brycez28]

I did the pulley and cleat method for my kayaks. It worked, but was somewhat of a pain to do.

 

[pattenp]

I made big J shaped brackets out of PVC pipe and hung them on the wall.

View media item 20189View media item 20190

 

[JasonMcElroy]

I made a hoist for our car top carrier (which is roughly the dims of a kayak I'd imagine) with a couple eye hooks and some nylon line. It uses two cross bars that are placed under the carrier. Then you hoist it up and tie it off on the cleat on the wall.

Made a proof-of-concept with my 3yo son a couple days before. I knew it'd work, but thought it would be a cool thing to do together.

Jason

 

[spschroeder]

Awesome proof-of-concept! Great way to include the kid (and play a little bit yourself).

Did you try using rope through the eye-hooks only, before you put pulleys on? Think the friction to run rope through the eye hooks is too much?

-Steve

 

[JakeKohl]

I got a couple of these for my composite P&H and a windsurfer (the windsurfer hadn't yet made it into my watercraft collection when this picture was taken ;-))...they work great. The locations I needed the pullies wouldn't line up with my joists so I had to span them with a 2x4 (the 2x4 is perpendicular to the joist direction)

http://www.rakuten.com/prod/ceiling-mount-canoe-kayak-storage-hoist/229996224.html





Untitled by Green Room Graphics, on Flickr

 

[JasonMcElroy]

Steve,

My son definitely loved it. Especially lifting his hot wheels Apache pickup to the cardboard ceiling.

Wanted to expose him to the define problem > think of solutions > test ideas > implement > evaluate success cycle. It's never too early and to my thinking applies to everything in life from relationships to engineering feats.

I used pulleys from the start expecting much friction from the weight (rather heavy) and the force vector redirection. You might have noticed the POC had mechanical advantage where the actual does not. I decided in favor of simplicity.

It is a fair bit of effort to hoist it, but it does work.

Jason

 

[Pluribus]

@JakeKohl

Is there any issue with the ends lifting at different rates due to not having the boat perfectly balanced or due to friction in the pulleys? I like the setup, but I'm concerned about it tipping and sliding out.

 

[bcradio]

 

[JakeKohl]

@JakeKohl

Is there any issue with the ends lifting at different rates due to not having the boat perfectly balanced or due to friction in the pulleys? I like the setup, but I'm concerned about it tipping and sliding out.

I haven't had any trouble. It's a little tough to describe - but you have two lines and one cleat that grabs them both. You keep tension on one side while you let a foot or so down on the other and vice a versa...and it takes a little attention to make sure you don't ease the wrong one. Going up is easy - pull on both or sea-saw it up. The straps have never shown any tendency to slide at all. I just had it down last weekend.

Now that I look at it, I could probably run the straps under some of the tie down lines for a little extra security - I might try that next time.

I did make an effort to try and place the straps as close to internal bulkheads as possible (but that doesn't have anything to do with how stable it is up and down).

 

[rv245]

I got these for both of ours. I got them on one wall of the garage. I got them up high but still can just lift them up and down on the racks. During the summer I have our ATVs parked under them and sled during the winter

 

[Pluribus]

I haven't had any trouble. It's a little tough to describe - but you have two lines and one cleat that grabs them both. You keep tension on one side while you let a foot or so down on the other and vice a versa...and it takes a little attention to make sure you don't ease the wrong one. Going up is easy - pull on both or sea-saw it up. The straps have never shown any tendency to slide at all. I just had it down last weekend.

Now that I look at it, I could probably run the straps under some of the tie down lines for a little extra security - I might try that next time.

I did make an effort to try and place the straps as close to internal bulkheads as possible (but that doesn't have anything to do with how stable it is up and down).

Thanks for the response; I may buy that setup, as I'd like to hang mine from a 10' ceiling. I will definitely space mine to match the bulkheads as well. Even though my storage building won't ever get hot inside, I still feel better resting boats on or close to the bulkheads, especially the poly one. (I have one poly and one fiberglass.)

 

[JakeKohl]

Thanks for the response; I may buy that setup, as I'd like to hang mine from a 10' ceiling. I will definitely space mine to match the bulkheads as well. Even though my storage building won't ever get hot inside, I still feel better resting boats on or close to the bulkheads, especially the poly one. (I have one poly and one fiberglass.)

That's a good point, too...These give me just enough head clearance to walk under and I have a 10' ceiling. There is a bit of height lost with the sheave diameter and the hangers/hooks. The 2x4's took away 1.5" too but it works for me and it's right in front of my side entrance.

Oh, and a couple extra landing pads and you can clip your roof rack to the wall with the upper control towers. You can see two of my cross bars there in that photo. I have three bars on my truck / cap and they're all hanging neatly on the wall now.

 

[JTG]

I use the pulleys also. Four bikes and a Thule box. Buy the pulleys at Harbor Freight, there around $10. I bought my first 2 sets from Target for $35 and they are almost identical to the ones I later got from HF.

 

[spschroeder]

Ended up building racks for my two kayaks that utilize a system similar to JasonMcElroy's cardboard prototype. Working great! I just have some final details to finish up, then I'll post some pics.

Each lift has:
- 2x8x10' strung across ceiling rafters
- Hooks holding three pulleys to assist lifting
- Clasps on the bottom to attach to the kayak (no pulley needed...rope just runs over smooth clasp surface)
- Cleat on the wall for the 1/4" Poly rope

I attempted to make it using no mechanical advantage with the pulleys (ie, you pull full weight of the kayak), and it just wasn't as easy as I would have liked it. This route is much better, although you're left with a bunch of rope when the kayaks are up. If you figure the ceiling is 10' tall, you need ~50feet of rope when the kayak is on the ground, yet when it is up in the air, you have a bundle of ~40feet!

Pictures later...

 

[muidaq]

I got this hoist system. The pulleys and rope are good but the buckle on the straps that go around the kayak failed. Replaced those straps with cheap ratchet straps.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001EUL2DO/?tag=atomicindus08-20