Where do you put a Canoe

A beautiful 16'-6" Kevlar canoe

Hanging a canoe in your garage is a challenge.  I went at this with one thing in mind.  This should be a one person job.  It took several variations over a couple of years to arrive at a good solution.  In the end, it was the hardware that made the difference.  Installing a hand winch makes this whole process possible.  The winch in the picture is from Princess Auto.  It is ratcheted and allows you to stop at any time during the hoisting process.  The winch in the picture is rated for 1200 lbs.

Pulleys at each end

That is a little over kill considering my canoe only weighs 40 lbs.  Each winch was about $30.  (Princess Auto has an 800 lbs version for $26)

A winch is needed at each end of the canoe

French Cleat System

There are many awkward items in your garage that just need to be hung on a wall.  I took the first steps that most people do when trying to hang a shovel or a rake.  You look around your garage and pound a couple of nails into the first available stud and viola you hang your shovel.  This quickly proves problematic when the seasons change or your spouse has other ideas about what goes on those 2 nails.  You need a flexible system to allow you to move things around.  Let's face it, these things are always evolving.

The system I discovered involves a hanging system called a French Cleat. I first saw this on the web site www.thewoodwhisperer.com.  Marc J. Spagnuolo has a wonderful collection of videos for the wood worker. Here is the video that inspired me to build a French Cleat System.

3 Basic Types of Shelving

Adding shelving to your garage goes a long way to help you stay organized.  There are 3 basic types of shelves to use when organizing your garage.

Wall Shelving

Over Garage Door Shelving

Free Standing Shelving

I can't take credit for the free standing shelf design.  The plans can be found for free at www.woodgears.ca.  Free standing shelves have one big disadvantage.  They take up floor space.  This is my last choice when laying out a garage for a client.