I have this 14' canoe taking up space in my garage so I decided to hang it from the ceiling. Now I have more room to work on other projects like the VF700s Cafe bike!
I work at an outdoor retail store. When we hang boats or display boats we support them closer to the center. If I was going to hang your boat I would find the rafters that were 80 or 96 inches apart to hang your pulleys from and hook the pulleys to loops of webbing that go around the boat. Use a water knot for the webbing. If you wanted to plan ahead a little you could pass the webbing through an old garden hose. At some point you are going to try to "thread" the loop of webbing with the boat.
The purpose of centering as described below is so the plastic dosen't sag over time and dramatically change the performance of the boat and brake the thwarts or handles. Canoes are fun! You can really change how it handles by putting in longer thwarts, but then you also have to change the seats and alot of other stuf. but the boat will turn extremely well. but I digress.
The BIG mistake with this design is not reading the manufacturers (Old Town) warning that is capitalised on their website under storage, **DO NOT HANG THE CANOE BY THE FRONT OR REAR DECK OR CARRYING HANDLES.** These handles were not designed for that type of use and could cause damage to your canoe.
Was literally about to comment this but I'm 8 years too late. This is so stupid. The handles are probably approaching failure by this point if one hasn't already.
Yes, it caught me out too, up to yesterday, I was hanging my old Town canoe the same way as you. BTW, I did not mean to be negative, Your video is helpful. What I did today was attach a webbing loop around the canoe and loop it thru the handles so it can't slip, then flip the canoe over, and hung it upside down, it still works. I guess the carrying handles are riveted to the hull and if not designed for long term support they could pull thru if you hang the canoe on them long term?
My thoughts exactly. I wouldn’t be comfortable having the full weight of the boat hang from the carrying handles. Straps looped around the canoe’s belly are the way to go, I think.
Properly Storing Your Old Town Day-to-Day Storage CANOES: Should always be stored upside down, even over night. Set on saw horses or blocks, if at all possible, as this will allow the gunwales to carry the weight. KAYAKS: Should be stored on their sides or standing on one end, if at all possible. If stored outside we recommend an Old Town kayak cockpit cover to prevent the possibility of water getting inside. Another option is to store it upside-down, preferably in slings or on cradle type saw horses. This will keep the decks from being distorted. If you live or frequent areas where the wind blows hard and you store your boat in the open, we recommend you tie it down. Long-Term Storage At the end of the season, clean your canoe/kayak and give it an inspection. If you notice a scrape or wear spot through the exterior color layer, we suggest using Krylon Fusion, a paint made for plastic. This will protect the sub layers from the harmful effects of ultraviolet light. Krylon Fusion is only semi-permanent so you may need to touch up your canoe/kayak every other year or so depending on how much wear and tear it gets. Ultraviolet light from the sun may fade the color in time. If possible, store your boat out of the sun. A garage is perfect. If you must store your canoe or kayak outside, do not cover it by laying a tarp directly on it. With the heat of the sun, the tarp creates an oven that can damage, distort, or discolor the hull. A tarp, properly suspended above the boat, will protect the boat from ultraviolet light. Simply leave an air space to allow for air circulation. Canoes should always be stored upside down. Put on garage rafters, saw horses, blocks or in slings suspended from the ceiling. If you choose to hang your canoe from the celing we strongly suggest using a harness system or 2" wide nylon straps. Hang the canoe upside down and place the harness/straps around the entire hull of the canoe allowing the weight of the canoe to rest on the gunwales. If possible use a strap on the bow, one on the stern and one in the center to evenly distribute the weight. **DO NOT HANG THE CANOE BY THE FRONT OR REAR DECK OR CARRYING HANDLES.** These handles were not designed for that type of use and could cause damage to your canoe. Kayaks should be stored standing on one end or on their sides. If stored outside with the possibility of water getting inside, we recommend a cockpit cover. Another option is to store it upside-down. Upside-down storage should be in slings or “cradle” type saw horses to help prevent hull distortion. If you choose to hang your kayak from the celing we strongly suggest using a harness system or 2" wide nylon straps. Hang the kayak upside down and place the harness/straps around the entire hull of the kayak allowing the weight of the kayak to rest on the top deck of the kayak. **DO NOT HANG THE KAYAK BY THE FRONT OR REAR CARRYING HANDLES.** These handles were not designed for that type of use and could cause damage to your kayak. If you must store your boat outside, we recommend you tie it down. Strong winds can catch the underside, flip it, and cause damage.
I was surprised you didn't add a few extra pulleys so it could be raised and lowered with one rope and a little less effort! Nevertheless a great solution to your problem!
I'm not into this kind of things but wouldn't it be better to hang it upside down so it does accumulate less dust and gets less likely captured by animals?
I wish I had attached it to the comment I was referencing now it's jumbled and i don't remember to whom I was talking. Since it had been six year, Yes! Six years! since I last saw this thread.
I got a 100 pound square back canoe , instead of using regular pulleys I used a 7 wheel deferential pulley system designed for hunters to hang up deer for field dressing ( over 200 pound each pulley) so thanks to the wonderfull world of deferential gear voodoo magic I can easily raise my canoe loaded with gear all by myself with no struggling whatsoever , beware through ,you need to replace the included line with a durable , strong yet highly flexible rope of the appropriate size , you will need alot of rope per pulley ( some basic math is required to ensure adequate rope lenght) and if there is no load on the pulley the network of rope has a tendency to get jumbled up into a nightmare to unravel ( im telling you , the that rope will seem to have supernatural abilities directed at pissing you off if your not carefull)
DESIGNED TO CARRY FOR SHORT PERIODS OF TIME. Ignore the manufactures bold, all caps warnings in the owner's manual on video on the internet, and people are going to call you out of it until the end of time. Stupid on the internet is forever.
Think about it this way: when you travel, you grab a 50-lbs suitcase by the handle to lift it on and off the baggage claim. But once you got home, would you leave that suitcase packed and store it by hanging it from its handle until next year? Didn’t think so. 😉
Do not do what this man has done with your kayak or canoe. This man has made a video demonstrating the absolute worst way to store a canoe or kayak imaginable. He is knowingly going directly against the manufacture guidelines for storing a boat such as this. Fair warning has been given and he has not chosen to take down the video therefore his actions are malicious and designed to have other users damage their expensive watercraft.
