Canoe storage is always a problem so built a triple boat rack against the wall that don’t take up too much space in the garage.

Three boats, Space for one – what to do? Vertical DIY!

I was looking for a suitable canoe rack to store 2 or 3 canoes above each other to make the most of the available space.

But then I decided – make one! With racks and slings to give good support

Storing two canoes and sailing rigs in my garage works out well. The Viola 14 sailing canoe measuring 14 ft x 40 inches as well as a partially finished Iain Ougthred Stickleback canoe measuring 11 ft x 28 inches.

Commercial Boat Racks and even DIY plans don’t suit wider or deeper boats.

For narrow kayaks there are plans available for some 2-part plywood canoe storage that nicely slot together allowing storage of 2 kayaks on top of each other.

Canoes however are wider, deeper and heavier requiring stronger racks. This provides more space so using plywood for support becomes uneconomical.

I also wanted the canoe storage system to be versatile in the sense of being able to store different types of long and relatively slender boats like sailing canoes, paddling canoes, kayaks, paddle boards and/or SUPs. The boat rack had to give good support to all of these.

So I went online and searched fora boat rack. Many different types are out there providing different solutions. Some of the commercially available ones are especially nice but too costly for my taste.

DIY Triple Boat Rack that can handle boats of different widths and heights

Inspired however, I worked out a DIY project having 3 bunks that suited my needs and wishes.

What Materials do You need to build this Canoe Storage Rack?

Softwood timber (for my rack it is sized 69 mm x 33 mm).

12 mm plywood for the knees and bracket end supports.

Galvanized screws for securing the knees and bracket end supports in place (mine are 40mm long x 5mm).

Glue to glue the plywood parts to the timber. I used epoxy, but one could use ordinary wood glue since the screws will apply sufficient pressure for a good bond.

10mm bolts (mine are 70 mm long) with washers and cap nuts to avoid having any sharp bits on the boat rack that could damage your boats.

PVC tubing. The bolts on the end supports on each bracket sit inside short sections of PVC tubing to avoid the 2 plywood end supports on each bracket being pulled together.

Webbing (slings) that spread the load on the canoes over a larger surface area. They reduce the chance of scratching/denting the boat. Also the webbing largely redirects the forces to the vertical posts.

Isolation tubes for the bottom brackets. If having a heavier/wider boat sitting on the bottom brackets directly. If one is very careful with his/her boats, one could also put isolation tubes on top of the webbing for a very soft support that easily forms itself to the boat.

How to use the Canoe Storage Rack?

The wider and heavier Viola 14 sailing canoe (75lbs) sits directly on the bottom brackets.

The Stickleback canoe however is supported by webbing. That webbing is attached to 10mm bolts sitting in the knees/vertical supports on each side of the bracket.

Thus the Stickleback canoe is nicely supported over a larger surface area. Forces on the bracket being nicely redirected to a great extent from the brackets to the vertical posts by the webbing. The ends of the webbing are tied together using a water knot.

Dimensions of the Canoe Storage Rack and its parts:

The total rack stands appr. 1700 mm tall and the total length of the boat rack is 1800 mm.

The bottom of the bottom pair of horizontal brackets sits 69 mm above the floor. They are supported on the front end by 100 mm long off cuts of the 69×33 mm timber (glued and screwed in place).

The individual brackets are 860 mm long on the bottom end of each bracket. That’s measured from where it attaches to the vertical posts. One may have to alter the length of the brackets in the boat is very wide)

The distance between two brackets on my rack is 620 mm. Obviously this distance needs to be adjusted based on the boat you wish to store. Take into account that the front supports for the slings extend appr. 175 mm above the top of the brackets. So the opening through which the boat needs to pass measures appr. 445 mm. Please check carefully whether this is sufficient for your boat!

Each knee is 290 mm wide and 245 mm tall and is nicely shaped to avoid the knees making contact with the hull when the boat is stored. You will need 2 of these knees per bracket to attach it to the vertical post. The back frame requires another 4 of these knees for attaching the 2 horizontal beams to the 2 vertical posts. So there are 16 knees in total in the canoe rack.

On the front side of the 2 top brackets I glued and screwed in place diagonal plywood supports that are also 245mm tall when fitted and 100mm wide. They are at a 90 degree angle to the front end of the plywood supports.

Finishing Touches to the Canoe Storage Rack

Everything is nicely rounded to avoid the boats getting damaged when taking them out/putting them in the boat rack.

My rack is freestanding (so not attached to the wall). But attaching to the wall is a good idea if the loads are getting high, or you have children running around. Simply drill a hole in the top knees of the back frame closely to the vertical posts and use these for bolting/screwing the rack to the wall.

The materials used are cheap and I am very happy with the end result. Now what about building a Viola 14 sailing canoe, a lightweight Eureka canoe and two weekend built Quick Canoe to fill the canoe storage rack?

See our boat plans