Kayak Stand Build

Now that we have moved we have a lot more room to store gear, and I wanted to put some of my kayaks on stands instead of hanging them all due to not having the workshop completed. These stands will keep my kayaks off the floor, and at a height that I can comfortably work on them while standing up. I wanted to make a stand that would be easy to store when not being used, wanted a material that would stand up over time, and weather.

I decided to go with 1 ¼” PVC being fairly rugged and not weighing much. In order for the stands to not take up much room they needed either to break down easily or fold up. I decided to go with a fold up style for the simplicity of not having to keep up with multiple parts, and small pieces.

I ended up building 4 of these stands within about 1.5 hours, and that’s with no workbench, in a non lighted, non heated garage that was about 32deg and dropping down to 28deg, I know this isn’t cold to some, but I work in an office environment 100% of the time and keep the thermostat at about 75deg.

Lets first start with a job briefing

Safety Apparel Required:

Steel toe boots, leather palmed gloves, and safety glasses, long pants, long sleeves with lightweight jacket.

Tools Used:

Hacksaw, Tape Measure, Sharpie, Cordless Drill with drill bits and Phillips screw driver bit, square, razor blade, and cresant wrenches.

Material Used – (per stand):

• 8pcs – 1 ¼” 90deg elbows
• 3pcs – 10’ sections of 1 ¼” PVC
• 4pcs – ¼”X4” Bolts
• 4pcs – ¼”Nuts
• 4pcs – ¼” Washers
• 4pcs – ¼” Lock Washers

I started out with 10 – 10’ sections of 1 ¼” sch40 PVC, 32 – 90deg elbows, 8 – ¼”x4” bolts, 8 – 1/4” nuts, 8 – ¼” washers, 8 – ¼” lock washers, 16 – 1 ½” wood screws. I had some old garden hose laying around that us used for the supports and cut them at various lengths depending on how wide I wanted the stance of the stand. The wider the cradle the lower the stand will sit if you use the same measurements of the PVC that I used.

Each stand will require you to cut you PVC into sections

For the inner box:

• 2pcs – 41” 1 ¼” PVC
• 2pcs – 32” 1 ¼” PVC

For the outer Box:

• 2 pcs – 45” 1 ¼” PVC
• 2 pcs – 36” 1 ¼” PVC

Then for each box you will need:

• 2 – ¼”X4” Bolts
• 2 – ¼”Nuts
• 2 – ¼” Washers
• 2 – ¼” Lock Washers

For one stand it will take a total of 25.6’ of 1 ¼” PVC, 8 – 1 ¼” PVC 90deg elbows

First cut all PVC into specified lengths, and lay all pieces out on the floor before putting them together making one box inside another. Making sure one of the rectangles is just smaller than the other. Now place all pieces together making one box in the other, and securely seat all ends of the PVC in the 90deg elbows. The 32”and 36” pieces will be the legs drill a pilot hole in the center of both legs where the holes match up on each leg. Place the ¼”x4” bolt thru all four holes (2pcs of PVC) you just drilled with the head of the bolt toward the outside of the box. Place the washer, lock washer, and nut on and tighten until collapsing the lock washer do not over tighten as this may cause the PVC to crack, and become weak leaving you with a flawed stand that could injure you, your equipment, or someone else.. A lock nut can be used in place of the lock washer, and nut.

Now for what your kayak will rest on. I decided to use some old garden hose, and cut to about 30”. I placed the hose across the PVC over lapping about 1 ½” and secured the hose to the PVC with 1 1/2” wood screws on the top and bottom using four straps per stand.. I also made a stand substituting the garden hose with 3/8” rope.

With the rope I cut it in sections of about 38” and drilled holes in the PVC where I wanted my supports on top and bottom rails usually about 3” from the edges of the 90deg elbow. I ran the rope thru the holes and tied a secure knot as to the width that I wanted the stands to be. I would recommend you taking measurements of the width of your kayak and determine how wide you want your stands to stand. The wider the support the lower the stand will sit so take that into consideration also, and you can adjust to your liking and kayak accordingly.