Surfboard Rack
After months of having surfboards strewn across my living room / kitchen area, I decided it was time to do something about it. I did some looking around to see if I could find an affordable, freestanding, rack to hold two surfboards -- with the ability to support more in the future. My research for a professional solution left me empty handed. As a result, my surfboard rack project was born.
My problem: My apartment has mirrored walls in the dining area just outside the kitchen. And, no, I'm not a huge fan of them, either, but, hey, they came with the apartment. :) My girlfriend, Kendra, and I both have longboards (8 and 9 foot, respectively) that have spent a lot of time on the floor in this dining area. This is bad for several reasons. First, a bunch of floor space is lost to these boards and they also partially block traffic to and from the kitchen area. Second, these boards must sit face-up so as to keep the wax out of the carpeting. Consequently, a lot of unnecessary pressure is put on the fins of both boards and adds extra wear and tear.
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| Before: Boards on the floor, blocking traffic and wreaking havoc on the fins. |
What I needed was a rack that I could install and use that didn't require destroying the mirrored walls behind it. A little more research led me to a personal site of someone who had solved a vaguely similar problem to mine. His solution is ingenious and I decided to build something comparable. At the same time, I decided to put together a brief page describing what I had done and how I did it.
My solution:
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| After: Boards stored nicely out of harm's way; Wall unscathed; Floor space regained |
What you'll need:
- 2 pairs of board holders (Rocky Racks, a local company, makes and sells the very nice Rocky Racks R3000 at $27/pair)
- 2 2x4's (premium lumber looks best and is easiest to work with)
- 4 hanger bolts
- Carpet samples for wall protection (3 or 4 4x4 inch squares from your nearest carpet store should do)
- Sandpaper (coarse, medium, fine - e.g. 100, 150, 220)
- Wood stain (I used Minwax Wood Finish, Natural 209)
- Protective clear wood finish to keep the water out (I used Minwax Polycrylic Protective Finish)
- 4 1 3/4 inch screws to mount the board holders
- Enough small nails to secure the carpet pieces to the top and back of the 2x4's
- Of course, the standard tools as well: drill, hand saw, tape measure, etc.
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| A closeup of the finished rack. |
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| A view of the back side. Note the protective carpet strips placed along the back for padding (and also on top to protect the ceiling) |
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| A view of the bottom of the support rails. Tighten or loosen the bolts to adjust height and hold the rails in place with pressure between floor and ceiling. |
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| Top support protecting the ceiling. |
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| Bottom support bolts in place. |
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