Where do you store your kit?

[SeaKayakNE]

With moving into a new house we are working on how to use the space most efficiently.  Obviously kayaking gear is top on the list.  We have a carpeted closet in the guest room (Prudences Room) where we are currently storing kit, (drysuits, pfd, etc).  Once the kit gets wet that won't really be ideal.  We also have a finished basement and a storage area where are boats currently are.  The boiler is also located here and Ive heard its less then ideal to store latex gaskets in a room where there is combustion.  We also have two shed in the yard but my concern here would be mice. Finally there's a finished basement where we have some workout equipment. Anyone have thoughts?

Edited January 6, 2019 by jonathanoltz

[rfolster]

Wet gear is a challenge to deal with. Where will you wash/rinse your stuff?

[SeaKayakNE]

During the warmer months we will wash outside and hang dry.  This time of year we will wash in the laundry room in the basement

[Inverseyourself]

I rinse off my personal gear, paddles and drysuit in the shower in winter, then carry everything into the boiler room, hang it up on a rack with big bins underneath to catch the excess water and leave everything there over night. Next morning everything is dry enough to get stowed away. I doubt that those few square inches of latex are a major fire hazard but am open to input that states otherwise (I’ve done this x 6 years...not a spark. BTW, I 303 once every 6-8 weeks).

If there’s enough room for your kayaks in the basement, that’s where I store mine (double rack). Even better if you store them in the workout room. Nothing is more motivating than a live kayak next to you ?️‍

”Prudence’s Room”...so jealous ?

 

Edited January 6, 2019 by Inverseyourself

[mhabich]

My kayak's in the workout room too...but that's because it's also the winter gelcoat repair center.  It does help to have it there.

A basement dehumidifier helps gear dry faster.

Electric motors with brushes that make sparks create ozone, which is bad for latex.  Not many motors like that around now, though.

[prudenceb]

Oh my!  The room is official ?!

Short of leaving all my gear up at Jonathan and Kelsey's and letting them deal with it for me....I pretty much take the Andy approach sans drip tubs in basement.  I bring everything into house (except for the boat, which will get cleaned periodically at pool session), wash it in bathtub and drape it on drying rack there. Drysuit hangs up in separate bathroom in walk in shower.  Next day or thereabouts everything goes to basement where it hangs on line until completely dry...or whenever I get around to it (next paddle?)... at which point gear (pfd, soray skirt, tow belt) goes into tub for transport in car whenever needed, and dry suit gets hung up.  It's all a pain.  If I were building a house I'd have a first floor room built for all of this.  But that's not gonna happen.

Edited January 7, 2019 by prudenceb

[Jim Snyder]

Without pictures this thread is worthless!

You guys make me feel like a slacker/slob:

Room for three kayaks on the basement ceiling:

Gear hangs to dry on the exercise equipment then gets thrown into tubs. Drysuit hangs on the shelving unit where spare equipment gets stored:

And while we're posting pictures here's my cute pup Finn:

[Paul Sylvester]

Not one to hang so I built a boat shed. Walk in and place a boat on left or right wall racks. Fits 6-7 kayaks. 22' long 10' wide 5 ' wide door for ease. Have two wall racks in garage I can use in season. 

   Gear hangs in garage or basement in colder weather. I have dedicated shelves for kayak gear in the garage.

Rinse some in warmer weather. Surprisingly I have never had a neo/ gear smell from not drying well. If you repeatedly drip salty boats on your car roof it is a good idea to hose it off after paddling..imo

[Dan Foster]

Gear gets hosed off and left to dry on the lawn in the summer, or washed in the shower and strung over a railing to dry in the winter. Drysuit gets folded over a huge plastic hanger (sold for SCUBA wetsuits) and stashed in the coat closet, with mini soda cans in the wrist gaskets to stretch them out over the winter. Almost everything else lives in the garage. Boats live outside, inverted on sawhorses all summer long, then stacked like cordwood under the deck for winter.

I was told to keep rubber and gaskets away from gasoline fumes, although I can't find a definitive citation on the Interwebs. I had a pair of rubber muck boots go brittle and crack in the garage. +1 for rinsing the car roof of salt. For anyone like me who keeps kayak cradles on the car year-round, take them off every once in a while and oil the nuts and bolts, or you'll be cutting them off with a hacksaw a few years down the line.

[jason]

I seem to collect other peoples boats to store, currently 10 boats at the house that aren't owned by Julie or I.  

 

I have the 55 gallon wash buckets outside (pre-rinse, rinse) hang dry outside if possible, and in if not possible I put my dry suit in front of the dehumidifier in the basement. 

 

[Brian Nystrom]

For washing and drying during the winter, I installed a towel bar on the ceiling of the shower in the bathroom. I can easily hang a couple of dry suits, PFDs and misc gear for rinsing. The gear can hang overnight to dry, then be moved to the gear closet in the basement. Installing the towel bar is a simple job, just make sure you use expanding anchors to handle the weight. 

[SeaKayakNE]

Working on boat storage still but this is what we have as of now:

 

 

[Joseph Berkovitz]

I leave the boats outside, inverted on a rack. Try to keep the ice and snow off them. There's not much alternative here.

Inside, all the gear lives in the guest shower... unless there are guests!

[Dave M.]

Kayaks are stored in garage- one on walll J hooks the other suspended from ceiling. Most gear is on shelves and in bins in the basement. 

[Dave M.]

One other suggestion: if you have the space, have Paul build a shed like the one he has.

[SeaKayakNE]

On 1/9/2019 at 5:58 AM, Paul Sylvester said:

Not one to hang so I built a boat shed. Walk in and place a boat on left or right wall racks. Fits 6-7 kayaks. 22' long 10' wide 5 ' wide door for ease. Have two wall racks in garage I can use in season. 

   Gear hangs in garage or basement in colder weather. I have dedicated shelves for kayak gear in the garage.

Rinse some in warmer weather. Surprisingly I have never had a neo/ gear smell from not drying well. If you repeatedly drip salty boats on your car roof it is a good idea to hose it off after paddling..imo

Paul, could you post some photos of your shed?

[kattenbo]

Boats live in garage (two overhead, two on wall rack on one side).  Gear gets washed outside and put on a rolling clothes rack in warm enough weather (rack fits in a small paddling gear shed).  Winter, gear gets rinsed in shower (guest bath on 1st floor at home, or swimming pool shower if at pool session), taken home in bins, then hung on a freestanding pole coat rack in the guest shower until dry, then binned up and into the dressing room (repurposed upstairs small bedroom) until needed.

I like the pole rack because it's easy to move into the attached garage when not in use or if guests show up unexpectedly.

 

Keith

[Paul Sylvester]

On ‎1‎/‎20‎/‎2019 at 11:20 AM, jonathanoltz said:

Paul, could you post some photos of your shed?

 

[Paul Sylvester]

Not much to see but this is  my shed. 10' wide x 22' long. Dark and full inside w/ barely enough room to walk the kayaks in. Inside pics did not come out well but picture yaks to the left/ yaks to the right.. Have built in lighting if needed, just run a cord. On concrete tubes and built in 2007. Should have killed more of the close tress. Branches die in the natural transformation and drop on the roof.  Overflow to the right of shed.