Lurking until I get my kayak

Hi all,

I'm a relatively new spearo (been diving and spearing for just over a year now) but am pretty crazy about it. I'm realizing I really need to get a kayak to hit some new spots and be able to dive with new people. I'm trying to figure out where I could store one since I live in grad student housing on the Stanford campus... thinking of rigging something to hang it above my bed. Until then I'll be lurking around here

Best,
Luke

Welcome to NCKA.  Yeah it is a little hard to store a kayak in you situation.  If I was a little closer I would let you store one at my house but I know you dive south more than you do north.  I know a kayak will help you expand your reach but until you pull the trigger you can always rent or borrow one when you feel like exploring  farther. 

Good luck out there and don't forget to post up on your adventures.  People love to live through others when their schedules don't allow them enough water time.

I'm trying to figure out where I could store one since I live in grad student housing on the Stanford campus... thinking of rigging something to hang it above my bed.

if the boat's rocking don't come knocking    You cannot be serious luke. 

Why not just leave it strapped to the top of your car?    Welcome 

Welcome, Luke. 

Get rid of the bed, suspending a kayak from the ceiling and use that as your bed. Problem solved!

If last resort for a little while you could probably store it at my place in Menlo. However, the garage is a little tight and would have to be on the side yard.

Welcome

So my roommate recently got a 15 foot kayak and is storing it at a relative's place in Santa Cruz. There isn't room for me to store another kayak there, but he is hounding me and the other guys in our dive group to get kayaks so we can start taking them out with him.

Looks like I'll have to look more seriously about options for storing one... I'm still considering hanging it from the ceiling in my apartment with some eye bolts. Also considered just leaving it on my car, but worried about it getting stolen since I have to leave my car in university parking lots all the time. Other than those, I don't really see a good long-term storage option at the moment...

I'm also wondering, can anyone recommend places with reasonable kayak rental prices on the central/north coast? Say, Big Sur to Ft. Bragg at the extremes... Most places I've seen online are like $15 or $20 an hour, and that's an expensive dive day.

You can store a kayak at either Santa Cruz harbor or hmb kayaks.

http://www.hmbkayak.com/services/kayak-storage/

http://www.santacruzharbor.org/documents/SantaCruzHarborRates.pdf

Chain it to a bike rack on campus.....the place had all kinds of bikes, scooters, skateboards littered around every building 

Keep it locked with a bike cable lock to the rack on the top of your car...mine are on there 99% of the time.

 

Sincerely,

Jim

Welcome to NCKA Luke 

I think you can rent one overnight from Kayak Connection in Santa Cruz. If you wanted to pick it up then drive to Monterey/Carmel/Big Sur and return it on your way home. The owner is a member here. Maybe call the shop and ask about it. Because that might be convenient.

Art Deco in the living room, could be a conversation piece..

Chain it to a bike rack on campus.....the place had all kinds of bikes, scooters, skateboards littered around every building 

I actually did this over the weekend once when I borrowed a yak... locked it in the walkway outside my apartment, and the building manager told me to move it. That guy really doesn't like us, considering we had 4 roommates regularly cleaning surfing or spearing gear in the courtyard.

Keep it locked with a bike cable lock to the rack on the top of your car...mine are on there 99% of the time.

Sincerely,
Jim

This might be the best option. I'm still worried it could get stolen, but maybe I'll just try to buy a cheap enough used one that I wouldn't worry too much. And thanks for letting me borrow a yak from you earlier this year too, Jim!

I think you can rent one overnight from Kayak Connection in Santa Cruz. If you wanted to pick it up then drive to Monterey/Carmel/Big Sur and return it on your way home. The owner is a member here. Maybe call the shop and ask about it. Because that might be convenient.

I'll check this out. Could be the easiest solution for now.

Thanks for the advice everybody!