Here's a handy dandy kayak rack I made out of driftwood. The driftwood happend to be two by six planks of redwood that were floating around the bay. I ripped them and fashioned an A-frame style rack held together with deck screws, our culture's answer to everything, one step up from duct tape. I wanted to lash the frame together in keeping with the construction of the kayaks, but the screws were just easier. The tarp was meant to keep the sun off the kayaks, not the rain. But the setup was only partly successful, mostly because the tarp was too short. I need to work on that. There are also hellacious winds in the area. On summer afternoons, the wind blows about 20mph off the water, then eddies behind the shop and due to some aerodynamic miracle blows sideways at about 30mph which sets the tarp flapping and snapping something awful.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Driftwood Projects, Part 1
Here's a handy dandy kayak rack I made out of driftwood. The driftwood happend to be two by six planks of redwood that were floating around the bay. I ripped them and fashioned an A-frame style rack held together with deck screws, our culture's answer to everything, one step up from duct tape. I wanted to lash the frame together in keeping with the construction of the kayaks, but the screws were just easier. The tarp was meant to keep the sun off the kayaks, not the rain. But the setup was only partly successful, mostly because the tarp was too short. I need to work on that. There are also hellacious winds in the area. On summer afternoons, the wind blows about 20mph off the water, then eddies behind the shop and due to some aerodynamic miracle blows sideways at about 30mph which sets the tarp flapping and snapping something awful.
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3 comments:
Hi Wolfgang,
How's the rack faring? I'm thinking of doing something similar myself to de-clutter my garage!
Question - How high is it?
Also - Any thoughts on a roof? My main concern is winter frosts.
Bill
The rack is doing fine, but if I were to do it again, I would build a rectangular rack with rollers made of pvc pipe. Sliding the kayaks over wood wears on the skin over time. Also,the a-frame while stable is not the most efficient use of the space. No thoughts on the roof other than conventional approaches. Kayaks are frost-proof. I used to store them outside in Wisconsin where temps often dipped below freezing and kayaks would get snowed on. UV from the sun is generally the most harmful thing to expose the kayaks to.
Thanks for the tips, Wolfgang. A rectangular frame would also be lower and less obtrusive.
Interesting too that the frost isn't a great problem - I wondered why the Greenlanders never bothered with roofs on their racks - That must be it.
All the best,
Bill
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