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Newtson Bros. Outdoors, Salem, VA (2026)

10/19/2020

A summer study in river fishing - paddling miles of new water - re-learning miles of old water - chasing the fish of 10,000 casts - making great memories with great friends.

05/17/2020

Fly fishing on the South Platte in Colorado.

05/12/2020

Time to make like a toad, and jump on it!

01/13/2020

DIY Kayak Rack (with materials and cut list)

There aren't many free plans for racks so I took one I found on myoutdoorplans.com and made it work for me, with some modifications to fit my yak.

I didn't want the whole huge rack in the plans, I have one kayak and wanted to save some space and some money, so basically I chopped off the top.

Materials List: (bought from Lowes)
#5 - 4x4 (8ft)
#4 - 2x6 (8ft)
#1 - box 2.5 in. wood screws (150 count)
#4 - castors (100 lb capacity optional)

Tools List:
Miter saw (or skilsaw)
Power drill
Tape measure
Carpentry square
36" Bar Clamp
1/8" drill bit (pre drill)
3/8" drill bit (for optional castors)
Pocket hole jig (optional)

Cut List:
#8 - 40" 2x6 horizontal racks/legs
#2 - 48" 4×4 vertical posts
#2 - 27" 4x4 rack supports
#2 - 38" 4x4 foot supports
#2 - 16" 4x4 diagonal cross braces
#1 - 20.5" 4x4* cross piece

*This cut is custom to fit my kayak, to estimate this, measure max outside distance of where you want the horizontal kayak supports and subtract 13", I also factored in an extra 0.25" clearance on each side. So my max was 34" - cushion 0.5" - 13" = 20.5".

Angle Cuts
See diagram pictures, I cut #4 of the racks with a 15° angle and then simply took a 45° cut off the ends to the centerline of all of them. One note, the 30° cut shown on the rack supports actually needs to be 105° to be flush, I used 30° and made it work. Diagonal cross braces are just 45° on both ends.

Assembly
1. Attach all 4x6 racks and feet to posts, bar clamp in place, pre drill, 4 screws each support.
2. Attach cross piece and supports, I used a pocket hole jig to put 4 screws on each side of the cross piece into the horizontal posts but this can be done free hand or with a long lag bolt from the outside through everything. Supports got 2 screws on each end 1.75" from the edge, remember the pre drill.
3. Attach rack supports, bar clamp was extremely useful in holding these flush, I put the clamp on the rack and pinched the support in place, pre drill, 2 screws into the post 1.75" from the tip, 4 screws into the support through the racks, 2 on each side.
4. Attach footing 4x4's. Slide the two remaining 4x4 pieces between the feet 2x6's, pre drill, 8 screws each, 4 on each side.
5. Castors. I wanted my rack to roll around the garage so I used a 3/8" drill bit and 4 screw in castors to make it happen.

I plan to put some padding on the racks themselves but the weight is well distributed and the rack is very sturdy, I suppose I could have opted to use 2x4s sandwiched together instead of 4x4's but in terms of time spent cutting and screwing them together I don't think it makes it easier or much cheaper. You can paint it, sand it pretty, whatever you want to do, I think I am going to attach a sheet of spare plywood to the bottom to make a bin for gear as well.