My garage is a fishing clutter nightmare. After a long day on the water, I’m hot, hungry and tired, and there’s probably a ball game on TV that I want to sleep through. I am apparently genetically predisposed to simply hose the salt off my gear and dump it just far enough inside the garage so the pile doesn’t trigger the optic safety device on my electric door.

Verticle kayak shelves minimize needed floor space, leaving plenty of room for cats.

Even two yard sales last year failed to create more than a brief glimpse of the garage floor. Another approaching hurricane season—and the mate’s threat to call the fine folks at FEMA to report an impending indoor disaster—provided just enough motivation to perform a thorough, albeit temporary, garage exorcism in order to make room for at least one vehicle should The Weather Channel stamp a big X on our house again this year. After three hurricanes whacking the house dead center the last two years, my usually reliable arguments failed to put off the inevitable.

Four kayaks protruding from beneath the tackle appeared to be the greatest obstacles to household harmony.

I found a simple, cheap solution. And it was quick. I spent more time measuring kayak dimensions, buying material and scraping the glue off my fingers than I did in actual construction.

Using PVC pipe, I laid out a lightweight vertical rack that minimizes needed floor space. The weather-impervious PVC allowed me to move the whole fleet out of the garage and into the pool enclosure behind the house, which also lets me hose them off and dry them on the rack, rather than driving down home prices and offending my image-conscious homeowners’ association with boats sunning themselves all over the front lawn.

Materials required were simple and inexpensive. The neighborhood Ace Hardware supplied all my needs in a single trip. My boats measure 10 1⁄2 to 13 feet long and weigh in at a relatively light 18 to 54 pounds, so 1-inch-diameter Schedule 40 pipe sufficed. Dimensions of about six feet in length, with supporting beams 32 inches wide, were adequate to support my petite navy. If your kayaks or canoes are heavier—most are—larger diameter, stiffer pipe will be necessary to cut down on flexing, and a wider rack might provide a more stable platform.

A total of about 100 feet of pipe covered my 4-story needs, along with 32, 3-way tee connectors, four caps to top off the structure, and four more to serve as feet to prevent the boats from dragging bottom on the concrete floor. Pipe insulation foam cushions the kayaks on the crossbeams as they slide on and off their perches. Throw in some PVC cleaner and glue and you’re ready to get in the construction business. The only tools you’ll need are a tape measure and saw or PVC cutter.

The obvious first step is to count your boats and figure out how many stories tall your kayak condo needs to be. Then get out the tape measure. Kayak length isn’t critical, but it’s pretty tough to wedge a boat with a 32-inch beam inside a 28-inch-wide rack. Leave plenty of vertical space to maneuver your kayak on and off its cradle, especially if you perform this task by yourself. If your boats are of various sizes and weights, design the rack to keep the heavier boats on the lower cradles for maximum stability. I would suggest drawing a sim-ple diagram, including dimensions needed to house each kayak, to help you formulate your shopping list. Beats that disparaging smirk the hardware clerk gives you when you return for one 17-cent PVC end cap.

Requiring minimal tools, skill, time and cash, PVC pipe rack is strong yet lightweight.

Pre-cut the PVC to the required length for legs, crossbeams and other members. Cut the foam insulation a couple inches shorter than the crossbeams, and push the crossbeams through the insulation, leaving about an inch of pipe protruding from each end.

Prior to gluing, perform a dry assembly on a level surface to make certain everything fits. When you’re sure everything is level, break out the glue and piece it together one story at a time. You’ll be surprised how fast it goes up.

One advantage of the PVC rack is that it easily allows you to make room for any new additions to your kayak family. Just cut off the top or bottom legs, glue on four straight connectors, and add another story.

Total cost—about 50 bucks.

Domestic tranquility—priceless.

FS