Kayak storage question
 

I will be moving into the Villages shortly. I have (2) kayaks that I store on my garage ceiling in my current house. It is a pulley system that rises the kayaks above the garage door track. In the new TV house, the ceiling is not high enough.
It would take up too much room putting then on the garage floor.
I assume having some kind of storage in the yard would not be allowed.

Any ideas how I can store these kayaks?

A garage wall mount system would be an option if you have room. I have also seen Kayaks stored outside on the wall. Some houses have “bump outs” that partially shield them from “street view” in this application.

A storage facility would also be an option, but more expensive.

Store in garage and leave car in driveway. Or in my case, I have a dedicated bedroom for storage stuff. You are right about no units like sheds etc to store outside.

Until I move in, I don't know about wall mounts.
Not sure what you mean by a "bump out". But, I have an Ivy model (2) car garage + one golf cart garage. The cart garage extends (bumps out?) about 7' past the side of the house. It would be mostly shielded from the street.
Am I allowed to put it there?

So you’ve got 3 car garage and can’t find room for yaks? :shocked:

I am bring a 50 year old work bench that I made. The prior owner has closets on all the walls. I don't need them all. I am an ex engineer and I like to plan ahead. I like to have option A,B,C before I get there. My mind is going crazy until I get there. Garage layout, what golf cart to buy. Replace my 120" projection screen (man cave) with a big regular TV in the living room. I wish I could turn off my brain until I get there in (3) weeks.

You might want to consider the view your neighbor will see if you put them outside. True they won’t be visible from the street, but definitely view to your neighbor. You might want to (with arc approval) a 4’ privacy fence similar to one ones you see around pool equipment.

Then again you may want to consider a storage unit off site. Non climate control is very cheap. You will find many who store items in ac units so the climb up to the attic isn’t needed.

You don’t need a golf cart in the beginning (or depending on location at all) you will be too busy the first few weeks (or month or two) to do much but unpacking and organizing and the garage will be full of your moving stuff. If cabinets on the walls then the previous owner took your two best available wall spots. There is also space forward of the garage door for the ceiling and open floor space between the car and golf cart spaces. I looked at homes for sale on the Villages app for garage storage ideas. Worst case you may need to get rid of a car or park it outside or hold the golf cart purchase since you will be Kayaking anyhow.

An overview of an “Ivy”. Bump out to the right by garage.

Good call from Asian3 on the fence to hide.

ARC approval to add fence.

Our garage has an 8 foot ceiling height, I am 6' 2" and I am putting in hanging storage at 1 inch above my head height, as I am getting real tired of going into the attic. My point can the kayaks be placed upside down against the ceiling. Harbor Freight sells a bicycle lift hand operated by rope that may be able to be adapted for your kayaks. Send me a PM if you would like to discuss over the phone. (Also a retired professional engineer).

Might as well take some deep breaths and chill. You’ll be too busy for at least 3 weeks before you can do any extra things other than set house up, get insurance, transfer licenses, set bank account, ect… Throw yaks in the golf cart garage till figure it out. As others said don’t need golf cart right off get go, just another headache to figure out. Let it wait, then see what’s available. Believe me, you’re going to be busy enough on more important things to worry about.

Think of this in a different way: how often do you think you'll be using the kayaks? If it's just a few times a year, or one or two months out of the year, maybe consider - not bringing them at all. And renting instead.

Meanwhile, a bench doesn't cover an entire wall. You can lift the kayaks up on pulleys to hang over the bench (and over the tool board like my dad had in the workshop in our cellar growing up). If your laundry is in the garage, you could probably hang them over your washer and dryer.

Your assumption about outside is correct, probably violates a deed restriction. Yet, I've accidentally discovered several where they are stored against a side wall that isn't very visible from the street.

This vertical rack for two kayaks fits between 2 car bays, with ~just~ enough room to open car doors without banging into the boats.

We too brought along 2 kayaks. Haven't used them because one of is leery of gators in every watering hole around.
GOOD LUCK with your move!

kyak storage
 

yes they make a two strap system that hangs 12 inches from the wall and holds them very well.

Overhead Storage
 

Had 3 installed in my garage when we moved in. Message me for names of installer.

Shared album - Michael Amira - Google Photos

I keep mine on a pulley in garage

If you are in an Ivy, you should have room on the ceiling. I am in a Bonifay courtyard villa and have a kayak on my ceiling. I drive a Subaru Outback and have room to park it under the kayak. Otherwise, I would have done a wall mount. Good luck!

Exactly. Place them at a 90° angle to the cars, between the garage door and the back wall of the garage somewhere.

Instead of a pulley system, you could build a fixed padded bracket of wood or metal at one end, screwed into a ceiling joist, that holds the nose of each kayak, then build another bracket at the other end with a bottom piece on a hinge with a cleat to secure the other end of that bottom piece. Insert the nose of the kayak, lift the tail of the kayak to the ceiling, lift the bottom piece of that bracket with the hinge and secure it with the cleat. This would of course be a two person lift.

A golf cart is optional for travel.
I don't have one, and I get by just fine.
I have an adjacent golf cart garage so two full-size cars can be parked with plenty of room to get into/out of cars.
The golf cart area is good for benches and shelves and could store kayaks on the floor.

Lots of great ideas. I guess the best is to wait until i arrive. I also have a neat Yakima kayak trailer that can fold almost flat and be placed against a wall. Currently, I am very active. Golf 3X a week, Tennis 2x a week, Kayak 1x a month.
I bought the house mostly furnished. So hopefully moving in won't be to stressful.
Plans are to mix unpacking with some of the above activities. "All work and no Play...."
Insurance, licenses, doctors, etc. will be stressful.

The feedback from this site has been amazing! Thank you all>

Wall Mount
 

Use a vertical wall mount on the garage wall adjacent to the foyer. The offset wrt to the garage is perfect.

Strongly consider cutting back to one car and adding two golf carts. That will open up a lot of garage space.

As to golf carts start with a Yamaha quiet drive gas cart. The Villages Golf Cars will set you up with a loaner the day you start the purchase process. No range issues.

If you decide at a later date to switch to a lithium powered electric cart you will be able to easily sell the gas cart.

Nope, can’t store them in your yard UNLESS it’s a CYV with fences and walls so they’re out of sight. You can NOT erect a fence either. Plenty of storage places around.

Only until someone (your neighbor) says something. Drive around the Villages and you’ll notice NO EYESORES of this type. NO boats or RVs. You get 48 hrs to wash it and take it back where it belongs—THE STORAGE YARD!

ARC will not approve a fence..for any reason. Can you imagine what would happen if everyone just started doing what they want? We’d live in Bushnell, NOT TV! The rules are there for a reason and they don’t change the rules for one person. Unless their last name is Morse. “Pool equipment enclosures” are just that.

They don’t approve fences. You might see a couple up north, but if your house didn’t come with one you don’t get to erect one. If they won’t give permission to hide your nudist neighbor, they’re certainly not going to let him hide his canoes out there.

Is there room towards the back of the garage, behind the electric garage door opener to store the kayaks on the ceiling?

I've got some
 

I've got a pair that I've not used. Going cheap... our garage ceiling is low but they should work for kayaks -- not good for bikes

Gators
 

My husband insisted we get rid of our kayaks when we moved here 11 years ago. Any body of water here has Gators. Nope..no kayaking in FL.

Arc approval for our pool equipment fence wasn’t a big deal.. for house 1-4

Store them vetically if they are short enough.
 

If your kayaks are less then 8' long you might be could able to store them vertically in your garage. I have a 4' by 7' utility trailer stored vertically against the back wall of my garage (have to remove the tongue first). I installed an electric cable hoist from Amazon to pull it up.

I may not have been clear..but I've got two pully systems if you're interested.

Thanks, I have (2) pulley systems in my current house.

The sun and the heat would possibly ruin your items if left out door!

Free Standing Kayak Rack
 

You can get a free standing rack for the garage. Put it between the golf cart and car in the garage. Here is a potential source. Just a moment...

I almost bought this but had another solution that solved my kayak storage problem.

You might also inquire with the Villages Kayak Club for ideas: Log into Facebook

BTW, Gators ignore kayaks and prefer to be left alone. Just don't bring Fido (gator bait) on the kayak with you!

Most of our garages are deep enough to provide 6 - 10 feet of clear ceiling space beyond the end of the garage door tracks ... above where the hood of cars might be. That could offer enough space to use your pully system and store the boats crosswise above the hoods of your cars.

I’ll never understand what people park $50,000 cars in the driveway to store $500 worth of stuff in the garage. To each their own.

Turn off brain? Margaritas work well, as do Manhattans, and I am told Martinis do a serviceable job too. Welcome to The Villages!

Try a “bump up”. Cut out the ceiling between studs. Frame a box support for the kayaks above the cut out, seal it with drywall for fire code, and install your pulley system on the new box. This assumes your boats will fit between the ceiling joists. If not, you have an engineering project of a bit more complexity.