Hanging a canoe for storage

[avshelden]

Unfortunately the weather is turning here in Vermont and looks like I'm going to want to put my car back in the garage soon where my canoe has been living all summer while we were working on it.

I'm trying to figure out how to best hang the canoe in the garage and could benefit from the expertise out there. Ideally I'd like to rig a a rope and pully system to be able to hoist it directly up off the car rack when I drive into the garage and then right back down. The clearance from the overhead door is very tight and to make it work I think I'd have to flip the canoe right side up to tuck the tips up between two rafters (rafters run perpendicular to the car/canoe).

Pretty much every canoe I've seen stored is stored upside down (resting on the gunwales). Would I'd be risking misshaping the canoe by hanging it right side up? Anyone have any thoughts/expericence on whether hoisting the canoe up by the thawrts or a couple of strap "slings" would a be least risk of misshaping it?

Andrew

 

[Dave Wermuth]

Hi Andrew

I have hung canoes in a variety of ways. Here are a few.
Brackets on the wall, 2 x 4's triangulated with ply or whatever. I''ve put two canoes side by side.
Rope over the rafter- Pull one end up at a time. No pulleys. tie it off to one of those boat belay type things. Or to an eye lag. Right side up by the carry yokes or by the paiter rings. Upside down using sticks and bridles. Or upside down with the ends stuck through the rope loops. I like a bowline knot for tieing to thwarts or painters. The loop method can leave rope marks in the paint in the spring. The marks went away for me. And lastly put a nail in the rafter, tie a rope or strap to the nail. Go under the canoe and to the other side and up to another nail, cradle style. I thought the pulleys would be good but as it turns out the rafter provides friction the pulleys don't and the non-pulley method takes up less room and is easier.

I have an 18'er that hangs right side up by the carry thwarts when not being used. 8 years no problem.

 

[pklonowski]

Storage

A block & tackle is a much better option than pulleys. I rigged mine with a long pole (ran paralel to the boat) with screw eyes in the ends. From the B&T, the rope ran through the screw eyes, then split off to form cradles. The ends of the ropes were tied off to carabiners, which hooked into screw eyes in 2x2 cross bars, that ran under the boat. It worked okay, and only failed once, when I let go of the rope before the B&T was locked. Good thing the boat was only fiberglass...

 

[mark wismer]

(2) lengths of braided parachute cord w/ loops for nails in the rafters...keep them 'bout where the bang plates meet the keel. Also have tied loops around the thwarts to hang on the studs in the garage, tips in between the studs, when no overhead clearance was available...

Surrvived this and worse for years.

 

[avshelden]

Block and Tackle suggestion

Paul -

Have any pictures? I can't envision what you're describing very well. I did a quick search and found this product that looks promising, especially considering the photo , but the $50 price after shipping seems a little steep (http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_669132_669132). Simple B&T sets seem to go for ~$10 but would require a little extra effort or setup to pull evenly on two ropes (although I have some thoughts on that) but don't have the locking mechanism this does to prevent accidents.

Andrew

 

[pklonowski]

block & tackle

I don't see anything on that web site that I'd use. Here's a pic of my B&T, attached. There are two v-wheels in each end of the mechanism, so the overall mechanical advantage is huge. Only one rope is needed for this end of the rig. I don't use this any more, as the boats now are all on the trailer or racks (wooden ones are covered...). The harness parts are all dispersed; will try to draw up something that I can attach. Stay tuned?

 

[mark wismer]

There has been mention before of a unit sold at home improvement stores, a simple pulley system made to pull up evenly from each end. Look back, i even think there were pictures.

 

[avshelden]

B&t

Hmmm - that prior link apparently only worked last night.

Same product, different site (I hope this one works):

http://www.mountaingear.com/pages/p...tem+-+Double+Hook/Store/MG/item/100104/N/1191

Also trying to attach the image from the first site. I'm guessing this is what Mark was referring to.

 

[Andy Hutyera]

A boat winch is a great way to haul a canoe up for storage. I rigged one up using a pulley attached to the rafters to haul my form up out of the way for storage. It works great and is not all that expensive. You just mount the winch where you can easily reach and operate it and run the line up to the overhead pulley. Once the canoe is up, you can loop a couple of lines to eye bolts above the bow and stern. Since a form is a pretty hefty item, handling a canoe this way would be a piece of cake. Cabelas sells winches at a reasonable price.

 

[Dan Lindberg]

Becareful with that rig linked at mountain hardware.
They come in various load capacities, I got one by mistake (my 1 of 2 bad ebay buys) and the one I got is made very light, I'd only use it for something light and of little value, like a bike, never a W/C canoe.

If you don't mind spending a few $$, the Harkin product is probably the best out there.

Dan

 

[avshelden]

Becareful with that rig linked at mountain hardware.
They come in various load capacities... ...

I noticed that too. Northern Tool said the $50 one they showed with the canoe was good for 80lbs. There was a $100 version for up to 150lbs. Wasn't sure what the weight of mine would end up at. I was figuring it would be close to the 80 lb limit.

If you don't mind spending a few $$, the Harkin product is probably the best out there.

Not familiar with that. I searched on Harkin and see they supply sailing blocks/pulleys. Is there something specific you know of as a set up?

 

[ebeeby]

I use garage door bracket angle hardware to make a frame and then cover the pieces with PVC sewer pipe. This eliminates all the hard/sharp edges. What you cannot see in the photo is that the far end is either resting on a shelf or held by a loop of soft rope hanging from the ceiling.
It takes 2 of us to walk the canoe into the rack.

 

[Dan Lindberg]

The Harkin System
http://www.citystop.com/Harken_Hoist.htm

Reviews of the Harkin system
http://www.paddling.net/Reviews/showReviews.html?prod=1022



And a very heavy duty system that I found while searching.
http://www.rewci.com/heligastsy.html


Dan

 

[smallboatshop]

Hunters use block and tackle to field dress deer and moose. Usually available at sporting goods stores for about 10.00 with 2000lb capacity. I beleive Northern Tool has them too.