Kayak storage system

Roy and I completed my kayak storage system.  It allows me to lift the kayak to the rafters which gives me room to move around in the garage and park my car.  I used lifting straps from Harbor Freight (http://www.harborfreight.com/1-ton-webbing-sling-44847.html), rope, 2 pulleys, 2 eye bolts and 4 snap clips. 

I have a pulley directly above the kayak on each side.  I'm wondering if it would be easier to pull up if I added another pulley directly above the cleat?



Dude

It looks like you first pull one end of the kayak up a ways, then the other, then back to the first end, etc.  How many pulls does it take to get the kayak up to the joists?  If you pull one end up too much higher than the other, the kayak may slide out of the slings.

I solved this problem with my 13' Trident by running the slings through the scupper holes, which allows me to pull the kayak from the floor up to the pulleys in three steps (bow up high, stern all the way to the pulley, bow all the way to the pulley) without worrying about the kayak sliding out of the slings.  I solved this problem with my 13' Revolution, which doesn't have scupper holes in appropriate locations, by attaching ropes to the slings which clip to the handles.  These ropes keep the slings in place, and also allow me to get the Revolution up to the pulleys in three steps.  A picture of that arrangement is shown below.  The kayak is hanging upside down in this picture because it's in storage for the winter.  When I'm using the kayak on a regular basis I hang it right side up, because it's easier to handle that way.

 

What is the strength of the rope and hardware used in your system?  In a previous version of the system shown above, I was raising my Trident, and one of the pulleys broke.  That end of the kayak came crashing down, giving my head a glancing blow en route.  When the other end of the kayak hit the ceiling, the leverage straightened out the ring I had screwed into the rafter, and that end of the kayak also came crashing down.  After that incident I upgraded the strength of all of the elements of the system, and I use climbing rope rather than hardware store rope in the system.  When an object as heavy as a fishing kayak is suspended above my head, I want to be sure it stays suspended. I also lift the kayak with one hand while pulling down on the rope with the other hand, to reduce the stress on the system.

To provide some mechanical advantage, each rope is tied to a ring screwed into the rafters.  Then it goes down and through the carabiner which holds the sling around the kayak, back up and over a pulley, and then back down to a cleat.

We used 3/8" eye bolts and strong pulleys and snap clips that I'm sure won't bend or break.  We have a rope clipped between each set of straps to prevent them from slipping and separating.  We elevate the kayak by one lifting the kayak as the other pulls on the rope.  It is going to take some tweeking to make it a one person operation.  Thanks for the input.

If you add one more pulley up top, you can make it a one-rope operation like all of the kayak and bike hoists you see. Basically attach one end of the rope to the ceiling and use carbiners to hold the strap end and run the line through them instead of the pulleys by the hooks in the commercial models.

To make it easier to pull the line, you can make a handle that the line runs through. Easiest way is to drill a hole a little bigger than the line in a dowel or piece of hardwood that is easy to grab. When you want to run the handle up, align the hole with the line. When you want to pull, twist the handle 90° with some line tension so that the line jams on the handle and pull on the handle. Rinse, repeat. If you want to get fancy, you can do something with cams.

That's a pretty sweet setup, what was the total cost on your DIY storage system?  Curious because I just found Amazon had the same pulley system pictured above for $25.  I'm on a tight budget and would like to put together something similar

http://www.amazon.com/Kayak-Hoist-Capacity-RAD-Sportz/dp/B001EUL2DO/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1392010019&sr=8-15&keywords=kayak+accessories

I did the same thing as dude.the worst part is you have to walk it up like pmmpete said.running through the scupper holes is a great idea.when I can get the snow away from my shed door I will try that

running through the scupper holes is a great idea.when I can get the snow away from my shed door I will try that

I use one inch tubular nylon webbing for the scupper hole slings.  Each sling has a loop at each end tied with an overhand knot.  I clip one end of each sling to a carabiner on the lifting ropes.  Then I run the other end of the sling down through one scupper hole, up through the other scupper hole, and then clip the loop into the carabiner.  This idea works well on my 13' Trident because the scupper holes are located in suitable locations.  It doesn't work on my 13" Revolution.

While feeding cows this morning I was thinking on it and I was thinking how many small ratchet straps I had to sacrifice

I don't think I ever shared the garage ceiling storage system that I assembled a year ago.  Mostly stolen from the following site, uses 3x lifting advantage to allow me to hoist my Oasis, level through the entire lift:

http://www.krabach.info/kayak_hoist/hoist.html

If you can tell from my crappy cell phone photos below, there are separate lines for each end, but both pulled at the same time.  The lift system cradles the kayak (wide purple straps in the photos) and the two ends are linked to ensure they stay consistently spaced.  To make this a controlled, one person operation, I use the Prusik Knot describe in the above write-up. 

Once the kayak is hoisted up, I have two extra straps (old yellow straps in the photos) hooked to the ceiling joists as backup (belt & suspenders approach).







Sam

Here's what we have. The wood frame was sized to fit my truck rack. I bought a 2500lb winch, barely seen off to the right, from Harbor for 50bucks which along with 4 pullies and some rope make loading and unloading pushbutton simple. It drops down onto the truck rack which we rebind to and then at the end of the day it lifts off just as easy. It can be lowered all the way down for cleaning or adding any mods to the kayaks. There a 4 short separate additional ropes at the 4 corners to take the load off the winch after lifted.

Hmmm, not a real good pic. If I can get a better one I'll repost.

Good ideas!

For a highly creative but hideously complicated set of equipment for storing a Hobie Adventure Island and loading on the roof of a vehicle, see http://www.hobiecat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=73&t=48233&p=218407&hilit=car+top+loader#p218407\ .  Be sure to watch the videos at the end of this posting which show how the creator of the system removes his boat from his garage and winches it on top of his vehicle.

That's a pretty sweet setup, what was the total cost on your DIY storage system?  Curious because I just found Amazon had the same pulley system pictured above for $25.  I'm on a tight budget and would like to put together something similar

http://www.amazon.com/Kayak-Hoist-Capacity-RAD-Sportz/dp/B001EUL2DO/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1392010019&sr=8-15&keywords=kayak+accessories

It was about 40 bucks all together and took 30 minutes to install. Of course Dude saw the heavy duty lift (125 pound capacity) on amazon and decided to get that instead and thinking about a hand crank winch so she can raise and lower it by herself for when she dumps me...LOL  It is nice that has the safe locking mechanism that prevents accidental release.

http://www.amazon.com/Reese-Towpower-74337-Pound-Capacity/dp/B000WZ4KBS/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1392087040&sr=8-12&keywords=winch

I also made an executive decision to move it to another location in the garage because it made me nervous having it dangle over her charger...

Lot's of great ideas in this thread...

Of course Dude saw the heavy duty lift (125 pound capacity) on amazon and decided to get that instead and thinking about a hand crank winch so she can raise and lower it by herself for when she dumps me...LOL 


Too funny. Thanks

I made my hoist with 3 single pulleys and 1 double.  As such the rope travels twice the distance with half the effort.