Bicycle Rack

by Dave Jones (NT37-212)

We carry two fold-down bicycles with us on Sir Tugley Blue and storing them has always been a matter of lashing them to the side rails on the salon roof with bungee cords which is not that secure in rough water and the tires tended to mark up the non-skid.

I came up with a simple rack that cost less than $75 and is bulletproof. NOTE: Our front wheels of the bikes do have a quick releases (QR). The forks of the bicycles lock into QR fork brackets (local bike store) mounted on a piece of 1" stainless steel tubing that runs between the two center stanchions at the stern. The tube is secured to the stanchions with hinged jaw slides and tube ends. We have sufficient room to starboard for a 48" dock box.

The rear wheels of the bicycles sit on a bar that is secured to the stair handrail stanchion with a tube end fitting and a hinged jaw slide. The other end of the tube is mounted to the deck with an elbow and a stanchion support joined by s ahort stub of tubing.

The rear bar is just high enough to prevent the rear wheels touching the deck and the wheels are tied down to the bar with a single bungee cord.