After looking on Amazon for a storage rack (our garage is too small to hold our 12′ Kayaks) and finding the prices starting at $159 and going up to $500, I began to think creatively. I tend to be fairly frugal, so one of my favorite phrases came to mind. “Necessity is the mother of invention.”As I looked around the garage and our yard, I noticed the old picnic table that we had hidden behind my new art studio. It was sitting there holding a few wayward items. I began to look at it in a new light. I thought, “Aha!” with just a few modifications, this could work.
The prerequisite was that the legs, when turned horizontal, would be deep enough to hold the kayak securely. The measurements were almost perfect.
So before we brought the kayaks home, I turned the picnic table on its side and cut the bench seats off, carefully leaving the struts. I used the old bench to cut extra support legs for the bottom. I used portions of the bench to even out the top rack, which had a structural 2×4 on the top side.
I had a short section of a leftover 2 x 6 from some odd job in the garage, so I used it to add extra supports for the top rack. You can see the unpainted wood in the photo. I then purchased 3 swimming noodles to act as cushions for the shelves.
I was nervous as we brought the kayaks home—but to my immense relief and joy, they fit perfectly! We cover them with a tarp to protect from sun damage and Voila! A Kayak storage rack for about ten bucks!
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