As most of us move on in our years we choose to get married, buy a house and even have children. With that being said, the trusty pontoon float tube you have used for the past 10 years is not as effective as you thought with a wife and a child or two in tow. So you look to upgrade your water craft. Many factors come into play such as price, maintenance, upkeep and the list could go on and on. At the beginning of this summer I came upon the same dilemma when I decided to purchase a canoe to take my family on some small lake trips around the Western Rockies. So far we have had many adventures and will be having many more as the tail end of the summer is upon us.
The issue is where do we place the canoe between adventures? I could place the canoe in the back of the house on 2 saw horses or just lay it upside down under the porch. Great ideas and I am sure they will work just fine but I am looking to keep my canoe in a safe climate controlled area while I am not using it. You could rent a storage unit but that is just ridiculous or have your single friend put it in their garage where they or any one of their friends could barrow it without your permission. Once again great ideas but ideally the place you want to put your new water craft is your garage. Biggest issue is space and just leaving it on the floor is not going to cut it. So now I am going to help you and myself out with this simple DIY project to optimize your garage space and put your canoe away for safe keeping.
Basic Materials & Equipment Breakdown:
(2) Pulleys
(2) Cleats
(2) Lag Bolts
(2) Carabiners rated to hold the weight of your canoe
(4) 2 inch wood screws
Climbing rope rated to hold the weight of your canoe (I would suggest 50ft which gives you more than enough to use)
Once you have all the materials here is the process: