I have a double garage with 8 ft ceiling maximum and I wanted to store my Pelican Unison 136T tandem kayak in my garage for the winter season, without taking up too much space. Lying it down on the ground or hanging it on the wall horizontally at a height that is easily accessible would make my garage a bit too narrow for two vehicles. Lifting and suspending it overhead would be a solution that won’t take any space on the ground, but I kind of feel uncomfortable with hanging it overhead above my vehicle for a long time (what if it falls!). In addition, this kayak is 67 lbs and would take quite a bit of effort to lift it and secure it onto the ceiling. Yes, you always use fancy gears and/or pulley designs to save your efforts, but I just wanted an easy and effective enough solution to store it for the season.
So, here comes my compromised idea: what about lifting just one end of the kayak? In this way, it saves a significant amount of space compared to just simply lying it on the ground. And it looks less crowded and kind of neat. I have tested parking one full size car and a SUV in my garage without any issue.
Enough said, here are some pictures that would help you get the idea quikly:
