Do it Yourself PVC Kayak Projects

A kayak has limited organized storage, especially for bigger items, such as fishing poles and spare paddles, which don't fit into hatches -- sit-on-top kayaks don't even have hatches. Little emergency items, such as flares, get lost when stored in a hatch with everything else you might carry on a trip. To tackle the organization challenges, some kayakers use PVC pipes to organize the storage. Three projects are spare paddle holders, flare holders and for sit-on-top kayaks, fishing rod holders.

Things You'll Need

  • 7 PVC pipes, 1 1/2 inch-by-1 foot
  • 2 90-degree PVC elbows, 1 1/2 inch
  • PVC cement
  • Drill
  • 1/4-inch drill bit
  • 1 PVC end cap, 1 1/2 inch
  • Bungee cord
  • Milk crate
  • Zip ties
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Instructions

  1. Spare Paddle Holder

    • 1

      Glue a 90-degree PVC elbow to one end of a 1-foot length of 1-1/2-inch PVC pipe. Create a second pipe exactly the same way.

    • 2

      Drill 1/4-inch holes through the PVC elbows in a position to match the layout of your kayak's front deck bungee cords -- the cords that came installed on the kayak. Use the cords in front of the front hatch. Most kayaks have one bungee cord, but some brands have two.

    • 3

      Untie the bungee cord from your kayak and pass it through the holes to secure the PVC pipes to the deck. Make the pipes parallel to each other with one on each side of the centerline. The open end of each 1-foot pipe points towards the cockpit. Retie the bungee cord to your kayak.

    • 4

      Store the shaft of your 2-piece kayak paddle in the PVC pipes and the paddle's blades under the kayak's bungee cord in front of the cockpit.

    Flare Holder

    • 5

      Glue a PVC end cap to a 1-foot piece of PVC pipe using PVC cement.

    • 6

      Drill four 1/4-inch holes in the end opposite of the end cap. Drill each hole 90 degrees away from the other.

    • 7

      Thread bungee cord through the holes creating an "X" and secure each end of the bungee cord with a knot.

    • 8

      Put your emergency flares inside the tube and store the tube wedged between the seat's side and the kayak's hull.

    Fishing Rod Holders

    • 9

      Untie the bungee cords in the storage well on the back of your sit-on-top kayak.

    • 10

      Place a milk crate into the storage well. Run the bungee cords through holes in the milk crate to secure the crate into the storage well. Retie the bungee cords into the same places they were before you untied them.

    • 11

      Use zip ties to secure the top and bottom of 1-foot PVC pieces into each corner of the milk crate. The pipes sit vertically in the crate.

    • 12

      Insert the handle of your fishing rod into the PVC pipe to carry them.