Cartop Dinghy Loader

[Garry]

I hadn't thought about the extra movement that could be introduced by the hinges. I have two pivot points in my original design but they are much cruder and the flexibility is reduced by the plywood sandwich that prevented unnecessary movements.

I am very happy with the way my original design works. It is plenty strong and very stable. It probably does not have to be as long but I think I'll leave it as it is.

Let us know how you ideas work.

[JeffM]

I immobilized one of the joints by simply screwing a couple of plates across it.  It's a bit crooked now, but much more stable.  One problem that might be unique to me is the proportions of my triangle: the lifting rack is 8' long, but it hooks to roof rack crossbeams that are only 3 1/2' apart (the minivan has a short rack).  It works ok--much better than the methods I'd already tried--but the boat is pretty tippy on such a narrow triangle.  If I didn't have the center of gravity centered right, the boat could easily go one way or the other while lifting.  For insurance, I've been tying the upper gunwhale to the rack while lifting.