I have accumulated four kayaks over the past several years and needed a place to store them. I wanted them to be out of the way, out of the sun and weather, and easily accessible.
I had some timber left over from an earlier project this summer and they were in the way in my garage. After looking at them closely, I came up with a plan. It needed to be strong enough to hold the kayaks without expensive bracing, it couldn't be attached to the side of my house, and it needed to be movable.
This is what I came up with. It is free standing and can be pulled away from the wall so I cab power wash the siding when needed. My heaviest kayak is 83 pounds and I can hang from each of these arms.
I laid out each mortise, there are six, then drilled out the waste with a 1.25 inch bit. It took a combination of three chisels to square it off.
I used my table saw, set at three quarters of an inch, to make cuts all around. Then used the chisels to knock off the slices and smooth the tenon. Taking a shaving off at a time, once it was squared and smooth, allowed me to make tight fitting joints. I used a hand sledge hammer to pound them home and drove two screws through to secure the tenons in place. A wooden peg would have been better, but I was pressed for time.
And this is the rack complete with all four kayaks in place.
Simple wood working skills can expand the number of self-help or Do It Yourself projects you are capable of completing. The more you can do for yourself the less you have to pay others to do. Saving money that can be used for other more life supporting things is always my goal.
