The concept of dock mounted kayak storage racks came from one of our relatives, who spent a peaceful afternoon at our lakefront home. After kayaking on beautiful Canandaigua Lake, she found herself wrestling with the kayak to get it out of the water and said, “Kayaking is fun and relaxing, but what a nuisance it is to get the kayak in and out of the water!”
That got us thinking. We began to observe how we stored and launched our kayaks, and observed the methods of others as well. We discovered some common issues that frustrated us all.
- Kayaks take up so much dock space. When stored on top of the dock, kayaks occupy most of the dock width. To reach the end of the dock, our family and friends found it difficult to navigate around the kayak. This is especially true if you have more than one kayak.
- Lifting the kayak is hard and bulky. Watching family members and neighbors lift kayaks from the water to the dock shed some light on the fact that many people cannot do this alone.
- Water collects inside the kayak. We have “sit in” kayaks and after a rain, it was always such a hassle to turn the kayak over to drain, turn it back over, and then launch the kayak.
We started looking for kayak storage solutions that would address these issues, but there were none to be found. Then, we had an idea. A dock mounted kayak storage rack that would make it easy to store, access, lift, and launch kayaks from the dock or the water. It was also more convenient as our kayak was right there at the water. No need to lug it around.
In the summer of 2009, our first prototype unit was installed on our dock, and guess what, it worked! The Docksider Kayak Rack was born.
After reviewing the types of docks that needed to be considered in the design and talking with various retailers, we converted the design to feature aircraft/architectural aluminum. We also developed a conversion kit to change the Docksider Kayak Rack into a Kayak Wall Mount Rack for off-dock storage. Perhaps most importantly, we aligned ourselves with accredited manufacturing suppliers (who supply parts and assemblies to several Fortune 500 companies) to supply you with the highest quality products and materials.
As lakefront property owners, we’ve seen and experienced the struggles of storing and lifting kayaks and paddleboards. That’s why we’re so excited to bring you this line of dock mounted kayak and SUP storage solutions.
And yes – our dock racks handle both kayaks and paddleboards.
Take a look at our waterside and dockside kayak and paddleboard racks. If you’re not sure which type you need, we can help guide you. See how easy it is to lift and store your watercraft on our YouTube channel, and keep up with us on Facebook.
As always, please reach out to us with any questions you may have.
Sincerely,
Ed and Cindy
info@DockCraft.com