Hobie Cat Forums

Greetings!

I have a feeling that this may have been discussed before, but I could use some help and/or advice: My wife and I have an Outback, and I am trying to come up with the best idea to store it -- preferaby within the garage. I am envisioning that I may have just enough clearance (between the garage ceiling joists and the garage door when it is "up") to hoist the kayak up via some sort of winch assembly -- such that the kayak would then be just above the garage door when that door is open. Right now, the kayak is resting on a little improvised dolly, and it is really taking up a lot of space in the garage.

Is anyone aware of a good commercially-available cradle / winch / pulley apparatus that works well for the storing of Hobie kayaks in a suspended fashion from ceiling joists/rafters?

Thanks for any help!

Correction: it is an "Oasis" (tandem) -- as opposed to the Outback.

Harken Hoister systems work well.
http://www.hoister.com/

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Jacques Bernier
http://www.hobiecat.com/
http://www.facebook.com/HobieCatCompany

+1 for the Harken Hoister. I love mine for our Oasis.

Make sure the hoist system you pick is rated for at least 150 lbs, the kayak is much heavier then published plus you will need the extra leverage to make it easy to hoist by your self.

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2011 Oasis with Sail and AMA's
2011 Necky Looksha 14

I use 2 very long roofrack straps slung over 2 strong hooks screwed into the joists of my garage. I have used this system to store both Adventure (actually AI) and Outfitter but not an Oasis (though there's no reason why it wouldn't work)

The straps I made from 2 'normal' roofrack straps (old ones) - I cut off their buckles and tied them to some long lengths of webbing strap material that I bought for <$1.00 per metre. The buckles are the type with a spring-loaded cam such that the strap can be pulled through them to tighten and to release them you press open the spring loaded cam to open the jaws and let the strap slip through.

I wheel the kayak into the garage underneath the hooks from which the straps are dangling in a single large loop, then I slide the straps over each end of the boat and tighten the straps one by one to raise the boat into the roof. When the boat is getting near the top (i.e. just over head height) I turn it over in the straps so that it hangs USD. You have to get the straps loaded onto the hooks in the correct orientation to allow a pull downwards to tighten the strap but apart from that its a doddle.

To lower the boat just press on each cam to open the buckle to lower the boat in steps one end at a time.

The beauty of the system is that it is dead cheap and dead simple and since each strap only has to support a proportion of the weight of the boat I reckon it would be more than strong enough to support the Oasis.

Oh, and you can use the straps to load your boat on the car too !

And with the boats stored upside down you can stow stuff inside them through the hatches.

Thanks, all, for the helpful replies.

Are there any concerns regarding deformation of the roto-molded plastic due to the weight of the hull pressing against the straps?

Paul

I used a Thule 571 hoist for mine - well made and works great. After two years of use in a hot Florida garage, I haven't had any issues with the hull. I do store the yak upside down and use wide straps.

Thanks, all, for the helpful replies!

Paul

up-side-down w/ wide straps is the best idea - the deck is much stronger than the bottom.

Here's a different way. I car top my TI with .6m overhang at front and .4m overhang at rear, on a frame which sits on the roof rack. Note the pole at the front for support. This fits under my roller door in the garage and I electric winch the TI and frame about .2m above the car for storage.


The TI sits on the carpet runners and there is a support point which is under the mast step. Stored this right side up over an Australian summer with no problems denting the hull.

Not a commercial solution but works well.

I use the Thule Box Lift with 2x4s attached to the ropes (outback is stored upside down). It works very well and I can get the boat nice and tight to the ceiling.

This is a little different, but maybe it will give you some ideas that would work for you.
I built a wall rack that stores the kayak at car-top height. It has removable skids that allow me to just slide the kayak laterally on and off of my car.







Hope this helps!
Rob

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Rob G.
Arlington, Texas
2011 Hobie Revolution

Hi,

Perhaps this is another source for inspiration
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=16799&hilit=+hoist


Thierry