How essential is it that you have support along the whole length?
Important for a couple of reasons.
The kayaks we store are 50--70 pounds, 16--18 feet long, and some of them are rotomolded plastic. In the hot sun (frequently >90F [32C], where the boats rest on supporting bars, the plastic boats take on permanent deformations.
Our current racks are made that way, and load from the sides, and over time the supporting bars bend from the weight of the boats, making it difficult to open/close the side of the rack. These racks are awkward to deal with, and I have designed a different sort of rack (see attached, sorry for the espaņol, the picture is for the welding shop) that I think will be much nicer to deal with. With a maximum lift height of 68" as opposed to the current racks' 96" it should be much easier to access the boats, and even though the racks are not as tall we will be able to store 50% more boats in the same footprint.
For those who don't want to try and translate my amateurish Spanish, here is a brief description. The frame is a combination of square tubing (verticals) and angle iron (horizontals). The "floors" of each slot are chain link fencing welded to the angle iron. The top is curved sheet metal, the sides are chain link welded to the frame. Zip-tied to the chain link on the outside will be breathable tarpaulin. I am looking for something to put onto the chain link floors to protect the hulls of the boats.
It can be really cheap stuff. I'm thinking low-quality linoleum, maybe hall runners, or ??. Durability is not much of a factor -- the heaviest use any of it will see is maybe 100 times per year a boat slides over it; most of them only 10 or 15 times a year. Waterproof is an absolute requirement, the boats go into storage right after the wash rack, and the breathable tarps we will use will allow some water to enter if the wind is blowing from the right direction. The boats themselves are reasonably water resistant.
I am budgeted at about 21 cents per square foot (30 pesos per square meter) for this material. Nothing made of wood will stand up to our weather. Metal is way too costly. That leaves... ??
tanstaafl.
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