The P.V.C Kayak Cleaning Stand
It occurred to me after getting my yak all nasty with stinking mud at Irvine Lake that I should try to clean up my yak before transporting it to my house so my truck doesn't reek. This would mean I would have to keep the yak off the ground while I washed it down and wiped it off. A stand like this would also come in handy when I'm working on my yak at home doing installations and I can use it when I'm washing the yak down. I've seen these before at the kayak rental places and thought it would be a good idea to make one out of pvc so my lazy butt doesnt have to have the kayak sitting on the ground when I clean it. I got the original idea by checking out some of the other yak fishermen's designs and added my own ideas. Here's what you need to build this rack, I got all the materials from home depot, total cost was a whopping $24.74, not counting the spray down bottle or the straps.
Materials:
4 sticks of 10 foot 1 1/2 inch pvc pipe, $3.44 each, 13.76 total
8 90 degree 1 1/2 inch pvc elbows, .89 each, 7.12 total
2 wing nuts, bag of three was .78
2 5/16" x 4 1/2" bolts, .27 ea, .54 total
4 5/16" fenderwasher, .15 ea, .60 total
2 5/16" lockwashers, .08 each, .16 total
I made mine to fit into the bed of my truck, the tacoma has a 70" x 39" space between the wheel wells. I figured to be safe I'd make my stand a maximum of about 68" x 38". Mainly I allowed for lame tolerances because I didn't want to have to rebuild the thing again in case my measurements weren't correct. I wanted my stand to fit flat in the bed of my truck. I did it this way because I didn't want to have to break down the stand every time I transported it.
If you look closely you will notice that basically my stand is made with two rectangles that fit into each other, it folds up flat. That way it takes up the least amount of space. Here's the steps to making one that fits into the bed of my truck.
Directions:
1. Make the outside rectangle first. I cut two 64" pieces and two 34" pieces. This is because the elbows add about 2" on each corner. I used a jig saw to cut the pvc because a standard pvc cutter won't cut anything bigger than 1" or so. Keep in mind anytime you are drilling or cutting pvc you DO NOT WANT TO SMELL ANY OF THE RESIDUE SO HOLD YOUR BREATH. PVC is nasty stuff, it causes leukemia and other kinds of cancers when it gases.
2. Put this first rectangle of pvc together with the four elbows. I did not glue any parts because there is no stress on the joints of the frame when it is together, once you glue pvc its glued pretty much forever, and it's easy to make mistakes. Trust me on this one because I work at a public aquarium and I use pvc all the time, you have to glue it when there is water running thru but for my purposes on the yak I rarely glue the pvc!
3. Start cutting the pieces for the second rectangle which fits into the first rectangle. I cut two pieces at
29 3/4", and two pieces at 60".
4. Put the second rectangle together with the last of the four elbows and it should fit exactly into the first rectangle. You have just made the basic frame for the stand.
5. Mark the dead center of each of the pvc frames on each of the two sides (the shorter sides of the rectangle). This is going to be where the hindge is going to be. Use a 5/16" drill bit to drill a hole all the way thru the pipe, this is tricky because if you screw up the holes and they aren't straight thru it will mess up the alignment of your stand and the two rectangles wont fit together nicely. I used a drill press to make sure the holes were drilled thru inline. You will be drilling four pieces of the pvc. Once you get the holes drilled, insert the bolts and washers and lockwasher thru it. Then add the wingnut, I used wing nuts in case I ever have to quickly disassemble the stand.
6. Now your stand should be able to open and close freely and then also fold into a flat rectangle for easy storage in your truck bed, the finished frame looks like this.
7. Add the straps which holds your kayak like a hammock. I used the same straps that I use to hold my kayak in my garage, you can get a set of four for 5$ at Ganahl lumber, man I use those straps for everything. They are used to hold my kayak in the garage, hold the kayak to the kayak cart I built, and hold the kayak inside my truck. Cheap straps are the kayakers best friend! The best thing about this strap is you can adjust it to the width of your kayak just by pulling on the tag end!
8. Now I bought a cheap bug/water sprayer on sale at Ganahl lumber for like 6$, it holds a gallon of water and is perfect for washing down the kayak at the beach or wherever to get the sand or dirt off. I keep my kayak stand in my truck at all times because it fits in the bed and doesn't take up any room! Then when I'm done kayaking I just set up the stand, spray down the kayak and dry it with a towel. I can clean it better when I get home, this is just to keep the smell out of my truck and keep sand from scratching my paint.
9. Okay here's a close up of the finished stand with my yak on top.
NOTES:
You can disassemble the cart by removing the wing nuts and bolts and then kicking the base of the elbows. It will allow for total breakdown of your stand should you need it.
Remember that if you decide to make your stand fit into your truck bed like I did mine you need to subtract at least 2" from each side, 4" total to allow clearance of the pvc elbows.
Hold your breath while you cut the pvc or drill it unless you want to fester up with cancer later on.
Try it out! If it works well send me one million dollars or buy me a diet pepsi with lemon the next time I fish with you! If you don't like it too bad, I didn't beg you to make the thing you dummy.
Disclaimer:
If you follow these dirctions and the kayak stand falls apart and your kayak falls on the ground it is considered an ACT OF GOD and therefore like the insurance company says, I cannot help you out, lol!