attachment point for hoist?

[seaman-recruit]

I just purchased a 10' Zodiac Zoom pvc with plywood floor boards. I want to keep it inflated and hoisted in my garage (without motor) while not in use. The boat is 104# total weight. I plan on adding eye bolts on each side of the transom for the hoisting and possibly pulling little kids in a tube. I'm wondering about the forward hoist attachment point(s) - are the tow d-rings a good idea for this? I want to avoid using the plywood as the dinghy has an inflatable keel and I don't want hardware poking into it.

 

[jondavies]

Re: attachment point for hoist?

I just purchased a 10' Zodiac Zoom pvc with plywood floor boards. I want to keep it inflated and hoisted in my garage (without motor) while not in use. The boat is 104# total weight. I plan on adding eye bolts on each side of the transom for the hoisting and possibly pulling little kids in a tube. I'm wondering about the forward hoist attachment point(s) - are the tow d-rings a good idea for this? I want to avoid using the plywood as the dinghy has an inflatable keel and I don't want hardware poking into it.

Go with a continuous sling that goes right under the keel. This will distribute the weight much more evenly and avoid stressing the D rings.

BTW rather than eye bolts on the transom you might think about going with U-bolts and backing them with a piece of stainless or some fender washers.

 

[Peter_C]

Re: attachment point for hoist?

Check Harbor Freight for cheap slings. Your boat won't need much. The problem is in order not to taco the boat, the center point needs to be well above the boat, unless you use a rod/tube of some kind to spread the load sideways.

HF has more than this, but under a different name. I have seen other stuff in the store.

http://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result?q=sling

You could also use a ratcheting strap to eye bolts or holes drilled into a spreader bar. Heck a 2x4 would work as a spreader bar.

I bought 3/8" stainless U bolts from Amazon.com for the stern. Even more so if you want to pull tubes or such.

You are going to need to build a hoist system of some kind. I would just look at the clothesline stuff since it is cheap and will operate smoothly. You are going to need quite a few pulleys. Plus one of these. http://www.harborfreight.com/gambrel-and-pulley-hoist-99758.html You could also just buy some rope and pulleys. http://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result?q=pulley

 

[seaman-recruit]

Re: attachment point for hoist?

Thanks Jon and Pete - good call on the u-bolts instead of the i-bolts and also the sling recommendation. I'm also a big Harbor Freight fan but found this on the web and it looks like it will do the job for hoisting and the price is reasonable.

http://www.amazon.com/ProSource-125-Pound-Garage-Utility-Storage/dp/B003I7CB4A/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_t

 

[Drowned Rat]

Re: attachment point for hoist?

Funny, I thought I was the only one to try this idea. I hoist my fully rigged (minus the engine) 14' SIB up to the ceiling in the garage. After looking at all the pullys I was going to need to pull it up, I figured it was going to be cheaper and much easier to buy a winch. So I bought a cheap, less that $60, winch from walmart and that's what I use to pull the thing up. Works perfectly. I also have my 18hp motor winched up, in another part of the garage, so all I have to do is lower the boat onto the trailer and then lower the engine onto the boat and off I go.

As mentioned, use a sling that goes under the entire hull, bow and stern.

 

[seaman-recruit]

Re: attachment point for hoist?

Using previous suggestions I ended up buying two of the Harbor Freight gambrel hoists. I don't use the gambrels - just the pulley apparatus. I basically just screwed eye bolts into the rafters above the bow/stern as the attachment point for the top pulleys. At the transom I used a couple of caribiners tied to the end of a short length of rope and clipped on to the 2 eye bolts that go through the transom. At the bow I made a spreader bar from a 2x4 and used a couple of those bike tire hooks at the end of it to attach the sling. The center of the spreader bar has an eye bolt to connect to the lower pulley. Probably about 40 bucks in total hardware but a bit of a PITA to raise / lower in incremental steps if you don't have a second person helping.

 

[Peter_C]

Re: attachment point for hoist?

If you bring both your pulley ropes out to one point and connect them together you can then use one rope from there to raise and lower it (Make sure the ropes can go as low as needed before the knot hits). I only hoist my kayak which weighs probably just a little less than your boat, but can do so single handedly. I also put a cleat on the wall to tie the rope too.

 

[seaman-recruit]

Re: attachment point for hoist?

Thanks for the suggestion. I gave that some thought but ran into obstruction issues since I'm using some of the space between joist/rafter for storage and couldn't get a good path to converge the ropes.

 

[Drowned Rat]

Re: attachment point for hoist?

Here's how I rigged mine, I just ran the rope under the bow and stern. It's a big loop that runs back to the winch hook >>>

Here are the two winches I use. I also hoist my canoe to the ceiling.