December 2000

Building a Custom Gear Drying Rack
by Dana Dickson

Drying paddling gear, boots, hats, gloves so that they dry quickly and do not mildew is a challenge. A custom drying rack for paddling gear can be assembled in less than two hours. The tools required are minimal: a tape measure, marking pen, fine tooth saw, and a piece of sandpaper. The materials are 3/4 inch PVC pipe, adhesive, and fittings from a hardware or building supply store.

The first step in constructing the drying rack is to determine how long the longest support piece needs to be to hold your gear above the base of the rack. My longest pieces are 24 inches to hold a pair of Chota mukluks. Once the length of these pieces has been determined you can begin cutting the pipe. If you want the base to assemble easily, the pieces of pipe that make up the base must be of uniform lengths. A miter box and a stop block clamped to a workbench will make this part of the task easier. The alternative is to measure and cut carefully, and trimming the pieces to even lengths.

The cutting list is in the following table:

Pieces Length Purpose
4 2 1/2 inches join elbow and tee fittings
2 14 inches stretchers at the end of base
6 8 inches between tee fittings
4 12 inches short vertical supports
4 25 inches long vertical supports

The burrs from cutting the pipe are removed with sand paper before assembly. The entire rack should be dry assembled before you glue the pieces together. After the pipe pieces are cut to length, the parts are assembled in the following order:
1. Put the caps on one end and a tee fitting at the other end of the vertical supports.
2. Join the tee fittings together using the 8 inch pieces of pipe. The vertical pieces are kept in alignment by assembling the pieces on the floor or on another flat work surface.
3. Put elbow fittings on the ends of the 14 inch pipe stretchers. Align the elbow fittings to one another by assembling the pieces on a flat work surface.
4. Put the 2 1/2 inch pipe pieces in the elbows.
5. Join the two vertical support assemblies to the end stretchers.
If you want to mount the drying rack on a wall the support pieces can be glued at an angle.

Materials List
2 10 foot sections 3/4 inch PVC pipe
8 Tee fittings
4 90 degree elbows
8 caps
1 small bottle PVC cement