The windsurfing van

        "It's good to have a shredmobile" my friend Caldwell said, and now I have one.   My windsurfing van is a Ford E150 done up with lumber and inexpensive "storage solutions" from k-mart.   

Check out the van photo album to see and read how I've set it all up.  After four years it's quite dialed in.   Each photo is accompanied by notes on how it all works...I update these as I make changes and/or learn better techniques.   (Thanks to Spennie the Wind Junkie for hardware tips and the story of his very impressive van.)   If you're interested in greater detail on any aspect of the van, leave a comment...I'll answer and add photos as necessary.

Behind the driver’s seat is the board rack.   The rack takes four boards, and has a sail loft above which holds my four largest sails.  It's made of 2x2's.  Supporting crosspieces have foam pipe insulation on them to protect the bottom of the boards.  There are eye bolts in the uprights for bungee cords to secure the boards, as well as a bottle opener.  If you use bungee cords it's good to anticipate how the thing might snap out at you if the far hook somehow breaks, and position yourself accordingly. An eye surgeon friend has noted that bungee cords do their fair share of putting people's eyes out.

In order to fit more boards into less verticle space, three of the boards are spaced so tightly that they must slide out sideways, as there isn’t enough clearance to allow the foot straps to fit underneath the support for the board above it.   I’ve got a crude cantilever system that supports the two middle board supports entirely from the single inside rear support.    Note that this only applies to the rear rack.   The front rack is a straight “ladder” design.

The van also sports 9 storage drawers, a mastbase extension rack, and secure boom storage in addition to room for 3 additional sails.   

There is lots of detail and photographs, in addition to specific information on how it’s all put together, in the Windsurfing Van photo album.

I was inspired to share my attempts after years of availing myself of those who have generously documented their windsurfing vehicles online.   Check out Hans Anderson's old but still good list of windsurfing vehicle links.  For an example of someone trying to have it all, take a look at Danny Steyn's Ultimate Windsurfing Van.   

Other links to consider:

Check out these steel racks from an English outfitter.

In July I adapted my mast extension rack to accomodate a downhaul winch.

Comments

[Brian]

Michael,
Thanks for the van ideas. My girlfriend and I are about to get a new van and do the same. You mentioned Spennie's van, but I couldn't find that on his website????
brian

[Peconic Puffin (Michael)]

I don't know why he doesn't have his van on his otherwise impressive wind junkie site (which I link to under "more windsurfing resources." I would go to his site, click on "links" and then click on the Contact link to email him directly. Here's the direct link to his "links":
http://windjunkie.net/gear/gear.htm

Another great place to see what people are doing with their vans is on the Boards forum of the British windsurfing magazine Boards.
http://www.boards.co.uk/forum/forum_topics.asp?FID=8
Just remember that all of the photos are "reversed" because they drive on the opposite side of the road with the drivers seat to the right!

[john]

Love the van! My wife and I are thinking about something like this as permanent storage, sitting in the driveway of our weekend place. How well does wet stuff dry - sails, harness, footstraps, etc.? I could see us sailing, packing everything back in and then not returning for a week or two. Leaving the window cracked may be counter productive if it rains while we're away.

[Michael]

Second thing first...adding rain guards to the windows lets me keep the front windows cracked a few inches. They are perpetually open on my van, given the van's mission. That being said, if you simply store wet gear in the van you're going to have problems. My drill is this: When I get home all wet sails get leaned against something so they can drip out. Also I keep a towel in the back that I do a quick wipe of the boards/squeeze the footstraps when I put them back in. The towel gets removed when I get home as well. lastly I keep a big plastic bucket that I throw wet things (wetsuits booties harness etc) into at the end of the sesh...this also comes out when I get home. The van will put up with some dampness, but not a perpetual load of wet sails and boards.