How do you store you Kayak?

A pretty basic quesiton but I'm just looking for ideas. 

I bought my Yak about a year ago thinking I would build something to store it on the roof of my garage (the garage is all sheet rock in).  A year later the yak is still out side set off the ground with two end tables and wrapped in big blue tarp. It is on the side of the house that get the least amount of sun.   My fear is that if I continue storing it in this manner I'll run into problmes later? 

Any Helpful suggestions would be appreciated. 

H30 Delux Hanging Rack -(hang against the wall)  around $50.00....but I'm sure you can just buy some tie downs and come up with something similar.....

http://www.outdoorplay.com/store/Product3.0.asp?DeptID=185&SKU=ARR_HYKAY

We store ours under one of two lean-to covers attached to the fence.  The brackets are 2x4's and each set up hold two boats.  Here are two shots of one of the covers.  Nothing fancy but the boats are protected from the sun.

Storage is at a premium in my garage so I hang it from the rafters like you are thinking about doing.

I hang my, now, spare kayak from the ceiling in the garage as well.  There are a few off the shelf hoists sold for this purpose.  The Harken Hoister is probably the highest quality one, but expensive.  I bought this one and it works just fine, with a few modifications of course.

http://www.boundarywaterscatalog.com/browse.cfm/4,2675.htm

I keep 4 of mine on my kayak trailer...the one I am SELLING!! ( hint )
The one I am making will hold all 6 of my kayaks and I keep the trailer either in my garage or my workshop.

With all this time off from fishing.  Now is a great time to build your own kayak pully system cheaply. 
When you do design your pully, keep in mind of the length of your kayak, you do not want it to touch the garage door when it is opens. 
As for me I had to store it at a slight angle.  All parts can be bought at your local Hardware store. 
I've been using mine for the past year, and while it is not as easy to use as a manufactured one, it did do its job and best of all, it was cheap! 
Check other kayak websites and do a search; get all the information you before start building.

You will need 2 of these.  The kayak will go in between the red and blue rope.


Pic of Pully with no kayak.  The Red rope is white in this pic.  The Blue is Yellow. 
When I use this system, I have to wear gloves so I won't get splinters. 
Kayak goes inbetween the yello and white rope.


Like I said, you will need 2 of these.  Bring the ropes close together and Pull down using your weight. 
Simple, not too difficult.  Use your imagination to improve from my design.  It is a simple
pully system, more than one way of doing this. 


This last pic had 2 extra yellow ropes hanging straight down. 
They were for redundant backup, incase of something went wrong. 
Once the kayak was lifted, I use those extra yellow ropes to tie around the kayak a second time for redundancy.

The best part about this system was when I had my honda accord. 
I would just pull in and lower the kayak on top of the car.  Once home from a trip,
I would wash down the kayak, then bring it in the garage and elevate it with 2 chairs, then
raise it.

Nice set-up Potto.  And the price is right.  Did you do the eye splices yourself ?  You know marlinspike skills are becoming a lost art. 

Brgds,
Ron

I love the part about pulling in and just lifting it off the car...............I wonder how you get a car into the garage????.....

I also just went to the hardware store to get all the items in my pulley system, cost was under $20. Looks like Potto's design calls for 2 ropes, I didn't want to deal with 2 ropes so I designed mine for a single rope. I thought it would be cool to just drive into the garage and lift the kayak right off of the car but like I tell my wife ... garages are for toys, not cars.   

Did you do the eye splices yourself ?
Brgds,
Ron

I buy the Poly rope that includes the tool and directions to tie a knot.  THe knot is like a pretzel, very easy to do.

I love the part about pulling in and just lifting it off the car...............I wonder how you get a car into the garage????.....

Car plus kayak does fit in the garage.  It doesn't hit the door when it is opened.

I need to make this point.  It is nice to drive in and lower the kayak on the car, but
you should clean the kayak before you store it again.  That is why when I get
home, I take the kayak off the car and wash it.  Then carry it into the garage, elevate it
on two chairs and use the pully system for storage.

I didn't want to deal with 2 ropes so I designed mine for a single rope.

There are over 1000 ways to do this.  The reason why I use 2 ropes, is so the
pullys don't touch the kayak and scratch it.



After raising the kayak, dont forget to tie the rope on some tool that is easy to latch on to.
This is what I use.

I store mine against the wall in my garage about eye level, so I can use the full width under it to park the car.  I just made a couple of slings(rope or webbing) big enuf to go over the ends of the yak, then screwed 2 big eye bolts into the studs about 8 ft high (no ceiling in my garage), attached clothesline pulleys (cheap) to the eye and the sling, ran the rope from the top eye thu the lower pulley, then up and thru the upper pulley, then down to a cleat  screwed under the yak .  One pulley system for each end, tho since  each end only wieghs about 30 lbs, you could get by with a pulley on just one end, or just two slings.  I just hoist one end about half way up, cleat off, then the other end all the way, cleat, then back to hoist the first end all the way and cleat.  Use thick soft rope for comfort's sake and to keep it from going off the pulley..  If you used a pulley on just one end, you'd hoist it halfway, then lift the other end and loop  it with a sling attached to the wall, then go back and hoist the pulley end the rest of the way up.    I built a little shelf above the yak with closet pole/shelf brackets and a piece of plywood to hold my crate and other crap, and the pole holders make a good place to hang my wetsuit and rash guard on hangers to drain.
     By the way, that splicing tool is a "fid".  You can make one out of any pointy tube of stiff plastic or metal a little wider than your rope.  They are like magic for braided line splices.

The "system" I use is very simple.  I just lift up one end and hook the carry handle on a hook off the rafters.  The other carry handle is tied off to a rope which I toss over another rafter and pull up.

-Allen