Kayak Storage and Other Art Forms

This weekend I tackled a project I've been meaning to do for a while. I've been tired of the way my kayaks are stored since this year's paddling season started. I just can't seem to get the boats away with so much clutter in the garage. When I first moved into this house I set-up an intricate system of pulleys for my three sea kayaks that pulled them up to the ceiling. The only problem was that the rafters run across the garage and not the length of it so the boats run across it. Add to this the fact that the double is just too much boat to be man handled effectively by one person and I needed a new system.

Well, here it is:

I used three 2x4x10s, two 2x4x8s, some scrap wood I had kicking around, some slightly modified hooks and the straps I had from the previous set-up. The whole thing only took about three hours to make. The rack is mounted on the wall so it won't slip, but I didn't want to hang everything off the walls since we only rent the place. I don't want to leave too many holes in the walls.

As you can see the four boats fit quit nicely and I put a one of my paddle holders behind it to start keeping the 15 or so paddles I have in some semblance of order. I plan to add a second paddle holder later this week but may modify it a bit to get more paddles in and make it easier to get at.

Now the other big part of the weekend was a trip to Sunrift Adventures huge rental sale. They actually put all their gear on sale, but the boats and paddles they use for rentals all year long are where the real bargains are. I went with Pascal since he was looking for a boat for himself (in the end he didn't find anything that was right for him.) I did manage to find what I was looking for. I got a new Werner Powerhouse whitewater paddle to replace the old Aquabound paddle I broke a few weeks ago in Charlotte. I can't wait to try it out.

Lastly I must report that Isabelle has been exploring new forms of art. Her watercolours are coming along nicely. Yesterday's effort looks like this.

It was nice of her to include my newest boat and my new paddle in the painting. (She started real art classes today and seems to be really enjoying it.) She told me the painting was of me in a "kayak parade." Those are banners and lights above the boat. You have to appreciate the imagination of a six year old.