Dinghy rack design

[JumbleDuck]

My garden is becoming over-run with dinghies, so rather than reduce their number (the sensible thing to do) I would like to build a rack for two of them. Space and layout constraints mean they will have to be loaded in sideway, so I am thinking of something like this: a couple of galvanized steel frames sitting on sleepers clad at the back, and top and with arms forming "shelves" onto which the boats slide.

I'm quite happy to do the design and find a local steelwork company to make it, but to save time I wonder if anyone had done or bought anything similar for which they could share plans or supplier? Am online search turns up similar things for racing sculls.fours/eights and for canoes/kayaks but i haven't found anything dinghy size. I'll be looking to accommodate about 10' LOA x 4' beam.

 

[Daydream believer]

Stand them on their transoms???

 

[Rum Run]

Smoking shelter?
Bike rack shell without the bike rack?
If you have a local fabricator and a source of cladding it could be cheaper to make to your design than to buy-in. Both of my suggestions tend to have clear plastic cladding, which might be an unnecessary cost in your application

 

[JumbleDuck]

Stand them on their transoms???

I should maybe have said that they are GRP dinghies and I think storing them upside down is probably the best way to keep the Scottish elements out of them.

Smoking shelter?
Bike rack shell without the bike rack?
If you have a local fabricator and a source of cladding it could be cheaper to make to your design than to buy-in. Both of my suggestions tend to have clear plastic cladding, which might be an unnecessary cost in your application

I've had a look at things like that (also curved-roof single-side car ports) and the problem is that the uprights in them tend, understandably, to be at the ends and I really need them 1/4 in from each end. However, I'll have another look - thanks for the suggestions.

 

[Fantasie 19]

It a shame their isn't a source of second hand bus shelters.. your design with the curved roof reminds me of the one's round here.. for the shelving - would it be cheaper to do something with scaffolding???

 

[dunedin]

I should maybe have said that they are GRP dinghies and I think storing them upside down is probably the best way to keep the Scottish elements out of them.

So surely you don’t need a roof over them then? Bottom one on a couple of tyres or blocks, second one above on two wooden trestles? Job done

 

[ProDave]

Apart from the roof (like the bus shelter angle) the actual "rack" you could easily bolt together yourself using Unistrut.

 

[JumbleDuck]

So surely you don’t need a roof over them then? Bottom one on a couple of tyres or blocks, second one above on two wooden trestles? Job done

It's certainly a possibility, but I'm thinking of hanging spars under the roof.

 

[JumbleDuck]

Apart from the roof (like the bus shelter angle) the actual "rack" you could easily bolt together yourself using Unistrut.

Thanks - that looks very interesting.

 

[chrishscorp]

Why dont you just get some galvanised scaffold tube and some fittings, pop down your local yard with some cash and they will sort you out.
Tube is 50 pence a foot and the fittings are about £1 each you can get yellow caps for the ends of the tubes and little covers for the threads on the fittings prevent and any scrapes etc get some pallets and use the slats to make shelves that will sit on the tubing.

 

[pandos]

scaffold or unistrut...

unistrut is amazing and very cheap... but second hand scaffold is cheap as chips and even if you want a solid roof corrugated iron or plastic is really cheap,,

if you made them back to back the shelves could be canter and once filled add a leg outside to hold every thing in place, no reason why you could not stack three high...