rustyshaklfurd Posted July 23, 2015 Report Share Posted July 23, 2015 Has anyone had any luck with pulley lift systems in their garage? Is there anything to be take into consideration with SOF design? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich D Posted July 23, 2015 Report Share Posted July 23, 2015 I use one for a 65# canoe. It works OK but the one I have is not the highest quality and there is quite a bit of friction in the pulleys. I haven't really looked at it to see what mechanical advantage it provides. For the lighter weight of a SOF it would work very well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rustyshaklfurd Posted July 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2015 Rich, Thanks for the info. I think I will give one of those systems a try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kudzu Posted July 23, 2015 Report Share Posted July 23, 2015 I have five hanging off the cheap bicycle lifts in my garage. I added nylon webbing with a loop so I could it works as a choker around the boat. Only have two issues with them. 1. They come with a cheap rope that is to small. It comes off the pulleys. Just need to replace it with larger dia. 2. It is hard to get the boats balanced so that when you lift them they go up evenly. But that is just a minor annoyance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodman Posted July 23, 2015 Report Share Posted July 23, 2015 Here is one I come up with...http://s147.photobucket.com/user/scrawford_photos/library/kayak%20hoist?sort=3&page=1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rustyshaklfurd Posted July 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2015 Jeff, Good to know the cheaper bicycle type work even with a few caveats. Your advice is very consistent with a lot of the reviews I have read which state to get better rope. I like the idea of adding the nylon webbing. Woodman that is a serious rig. I might have to switch to one of those after build number two. This boat building thing is pretty addicting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DURRETTD Posted July 23, 2015 Report Share Posted July 23, 2015 I don't know what commercial lifts cost, but it isn't terribly expensive to build your own: Lay your kayak/canoe on the garage/carport floor directly below where you intend to hang the boat. Make two loops of rope (or strap) around the boat at the points at which you want it suspended. I spaced mine about eight feet apart for a seventeen-foot kayak. Screw three lag screw eyes into garage ceiling joists: one directly above each loop around the boat and one half-way between the first two. ("Half-way" is just for illustration. I'll comment later about other placement for the "turning pulleys".) Attach one 1 1/2" to 2" pulley to each of the end lag screw eyes and two pulleys to the center one. Or, use a double block. Tie a pulley to each of the loops around the boat. Tie the end of a 40' line to the eye at one end of the boat. (I'm assuming a 9' ceiling.) Run the free end of the line down to and through the pulley you previously tied to the loop directly below the eye, run the line through the pulley tied to the eye next to where you tied the end of the line, run the free end of the line through one of the pulleys tied to the eye near the center then down to a cleat attached to the wall. Repeat the previous process on the other end of the boat. Grab the two lines and pull to hoist the boat. Cleat both lines to hold the boat in place. Parts: 2, 40-foot lengths of 1/2" polypropylene line. Lowes sells 50-foot hanks of suitable rope. The excess can make loops around the boat and provide line to tie the pulleys to the eyes. I used some old rock climbing carabiners to attach the pulleys. 6, 1 1/2 to 2-inch pulleys. I'm saying "pulleys" not "blocks" because "block" implies marine hardware. Lowes sells suitable pulleys. 3, 3/8-inch lag screw eyes. If your garage does not have a ceiling, you can tie the pulleys directly to the trusses. 1, cleat to tie off the lines. The two pulleys on the standing part of the line give a two-to-one mechanical advantage; you'll only be exerting twenty pounds of force to lift a forty-pound boat. If your boat is a Kudzu design you can throw some sand in to get it up to forty pounds. I have three boats suspended under my carport using this system: one against each wall and one 2 1/2 feet out from one wall. For the one hanging away from the wall, the line from the upper pulley to the turning pulley runs diagonally across the ceiling and does not interfere with the lines for the one against the wall. The turning pulley does not have to be at the center. To avoid interfering with a door, one turning pulley is near one end of the boat. Measure to be sure you don't cut your rope too short if your ceiling is not nine feet or if you run lines horizontally across the ceiling. Had a drawing, but can't get it to load. Here's a rough illustration of one end of the lift. line tied to lag screw eye or hook | _________________________ | |pulley pulley | | |tied tied to | | |to same second | | |eye or hook eye or | | | hook | | | | | | | | | cleat | | | | | | | | |pulley| tied to loop around boat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Action Tiger Posted July 23, 2015 Report Share Posted July 23, 2015 A more drawingy drawing for you... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kudzu Posted July 23, 2015 Report Share Posted July 23, 2015 That is basically what the bicycle lifts are with the nice feature of a built in lock to catch the rope. I found them cheaper than I could buy decent pulleys. But I only buy them at discount prices, never retail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Action Tiger Posted July 23, 2015 Report Share Posted July 23, 2015 In all honesty, I've never had the problem of boat storage, because my wife pretty much lets me run wild. Sometimes there are things, like a rolled up lug sail in a bag leaned against the wall behind the door, in the house forever... Plus, we don't have real snow, so the garage does not house any of our deliberately old and crusty cars. The better to leave unattended whilst camping, don't you see. My garage has traditionally had "bunk bed" storage for long boats along one wall, stacked three high. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DURRETTD Posted July 24, 2015 Report Share Posted July 24, 2015 A more drawingy drawing for you... Much better! I'm an IT guy, so I naturally I used a computer for mine. You'd think a computer guy could get a picture to load on this forum, but ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Action Tiger Posted July 24, 2015 Report Share Posted July 24, 2015 Haha. I am also an IT guy, but when I went to college that meant Industrial Technology. i just made that joke with my neighbors son, who writes computer code. I am generally still hopelessly analog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NY Dave Posted July 29, 2015 Report Share Posted July 29, 2015 Six years ago I built a pulley system to get my 32' extension ladder off the garage floor. The only place where I could find 16' of uninterrupted wall space in my garage was over the side door. The system cost me ~$34 and consists of: 5 pulleys (2-1/2") - $14 2 D-clips - $3 4 eye lag screws - $2 3 quick links - $6 1/4" line - 100 feet - $9 an 8' long 2"x4" I had laying around and a cleat to tie the rope too. My garage ceiling is 10' - hence the 100' feet of line. I also have one of those "cheap" bike lifts but I didn't think it would hold the weight of my ladder. I'll probably build another homemade lift when it comes time to hang my Curlew. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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