Kayak / Bike Rack Storage Center

This Instructable will show you how I decided where and how to build my kayak / bike rack.

Material List

All wood was scrap wood from work.

- 4x4's, 2x4's, 1x4's

Tool List

Circular Saw

Safety Glasses

Speed Square

Pencil

Tape Measure

Vises

Nail Gun

Drill

Kreg Jig

Level

I have a really big yard and I have a lot of plans for the set up and utilization of every spot. I wanted it to be easy to bring my kayak in-and-out of my yard so I put it near the gate on the west side of my yard. I hate my grass in my yard so I plan to cover up the grass and put rocks. I decided to start this process during this project.

Here are the stones I am going to use for the pathway and for the rack to sit on.

I have had these for over 2 years and finally got around to using them.

I had to level the ground on the gate side so I could put the stones down without the gate hitting them while opening an closing.

This step I put down black paper to help with killing the grass and to help prevent it from growing again.

These photos show the areas I decided to do at this stage.

This step I added all of the stones were I wanted the walkway.

Now onto framing up the rack!

The first step I did for the rack was the base.

Board lengths/cuts

- 4x4x12'11" - rear board

- 4x4x4' - 3 middle base boards

I had to chip out some core in the rear board to nail the middle base board. I used a hammer and wood chisel.

Once I had the board flush, I nailed all 3 boards.

Outside boards were inset 12" and the center board was centered on the rear board.

Next I added the 2x4 shelf. Since these were scrap pieces from work, I had to finagle how it was done.

Back to front measurements of added board to make the proper length. I used pocket hole screws to attach the pieces.

1 - 37-3/8"

2 - 39-9/16"

3 - 39-7/16"

4 - 38-15/16"

5 - 39-1/16"

6 - 39"

7 - 38-13/16"

I didn't like the way the shelf sagged after all 7 boards were connected so I added a 2x4 under the area of the connections. This strengthened the shelf enough to make me pleased.

This step I added the 4 legs and top rails to hold the kayak.

Legs x 4

- 4x4x29-1/2"

Cross supports x 2

- 2x4x3'8"

Top Rails x 2

- 2x4x10'9"

This step I added the bike rack.

I spaced the base out by 12 inches.

I used 1 - 2x4 @ 10-1/2" and the other at 2'8-7/8".

I used pocket hole joinery to secure this base to the main base.

I added some drop-off to support the corner of the bike rack base.

This step I built the vertical rack feature.

I wanted it as close to the eaves under the roof as possible so I made them 6'8" in height. The top piece supporting the legs was cut at 2'3-1/2" All was pocket hole assembled.

The rack wasn't standing vertical due to not having enough bracing so I added a brace in between the main rack and the bike rack.

- 6-3/4" Spacer

I used my level before I screwed the spacer in.

Next I hung the bike.

I used a spacer to drop the hooked piece allowing enough space between the eave and the hooked end.

- Spacer @ 2x4x10-1/2"

- Hook @ 2x4x15-1/2"

I didn't like how the kayak fit on the top rack so I added 3 support boards.

- 1x4x32" x 3

Outside boards were spaced 22" from the ends.

Center board was centered in between the 2 other boards.

I put the kayak on top along with the bike on the end. You can see here that it works well and I have plenty of storage underneath the rack. The main photo show all of my fishing gear on the shelf.

I might add rod holders to the rear of the rack and possible enclose the shelf area to prevent rain damaging anything.