Im building a 16 by 8 dock for my pond and have been pondering the options of the boat....currently the HMS Oswald, a 12 foot aluminum vintage JB, is pulled up on the bank after each use. I can continue this effective approach but have been thinking it would be a lot nicer to have a way to "lift" it and not have to tug, pull, strain the craft onto shore. But I an not interested in a lift that costs 4x the value of the boat. So question is, what have you seen, built, done, or just designed in your head that I can steal and use?

Your best bet IMHO would be to search out a small used boat lift. If you find one in poor condition(cheap)you can fix the problems and paint it up like new. You would be in business for minimal cash outlay.

Personally I would build one from scratch, but I am a fabrication freak.

Dwight...I gotta use that Miller Welder soon or the wife will have me building more "art" for her friends gardens.

One more request for a rebar "bottle tree" and I may go nuts.

the "tweener" boat hoist designs that I have seen (and contemplated ever since I started considering purchasing a paddle/pedal boat) are a simple inclined ramp made of treated lumber. The ramp is part of the boat dock. The lower portion of the ramp in just under the surface of the water at a point beneath the front draft level of the watercraft, and the balance of the ramp continues up and out of the water. The ramp would be supported by floats or barrels so as to fluctuate with the static water level.

Maybe this type of design would work for you. It looks like it would be pretty easy to build one.
Boat Ramp

One idea I had was similar to that. the "High" end would be at a fixed height and on a pivot. The low end would sink and have a contraption that would be able to raise it out of the water bringing the boat to level and dry. Now I have to design the contraption...

If it's a Jon boat, it shouldn't be that heavy, probably around the same weight of a PWC. What about finding a used PWC hoist or making one along the same design? A neighbor has two that attach to the side of their pier and they just crank the PWC up out of the water.

Ess, thats another idea I have noodled over. Its the "crank up thingamajig Im trying to figure out. I've thought of a boat winch like is on a boat trailer and tried to think of a way to do it with a trailer jack like on tongue of a trailer.

If I remember, I'll take some pictures of the crank-up PWC hoist at the neighbors. Maybe that'll help. It's like a miniature version of a full sized boat hoist that mounts to the side of the pier. I'm pretty sure that it was built for the stand-up style PWC because I can't imagine a pier being strong enough to support a multi-person PWC without having any bracing going down to the lake bottom - it's a huge lever arm.

wonderful ty

What is PWC?

IDK!

Personal Water Craft (Jet Ski). NYK! (Now you know)

Down here I "affectionately" refer to PWCs as saltwater cockroaches, but to each his own

Don't forget about their Freshwater relatives. While I can see their place as less expensive boats, I see more people doing things wrong/illegal with then than boats.

I also have a 12' (Alumaweld) jon boat and I've been thinking about a boat lift also. The boat only has to be a few inches above the water with a slight tilt front to back to allow rainwater to drain with the plug out (or you could build a roof above it ).

My jon boat weighs around 100 lbs., has one handle at the front and two handles at the back making the task much easier. I thought about putting in two extra posts next to a my future dock and simply mount a horizontal board connecting each post to a post on the dock. On each horizontal board I was going to mount a crank (like the ones on boat trailers) and hook to the handles. You need a stationary dock close to the water and you will want to make sure you can reach the boat plug from the dock. Your crank mounting board should be high enough to duck under once your in the boat and want to boat out.

This is my most recent idea that hasn't even made it to paper yet so don't laugh. Once I draw it out or think about it longer I may realize problems with the plan. Just dreamin really, I don't even have a dock on my little pond but I do hate storing the boat on shore. My pond is drained and drying out now in preparation for some work, I have more ideas than I have money for .

I had same idea. My thought was two steel" L's" done same as you described. Brilliant

Great, hurry up and build yours so I know if it works . Don't forget to post some pictures!

I was at the lake yesterday specifically to take pics of the PWC hoists that attached to the pier. The neighbors changed out the hoists to the PWC design that rests on the lake bottom in shallow water and lifts the boat out of the water in a scissors motion.

Habitatpro,

I've seen a single 6 x 6" post set into the ground about 16' from the bank and extending 3-4' out of the ground. The post had a standard boat winch from a boat trailer attached to it. Pull up to the shore, hook up the strap, and yank her out of the water and pull the plug. It would take a little elbow grease to shove it back in the water,, but I suppose you could fab a small "rail" system with rollers (as opposed to bunks)that lies on the ground. This would make it easier to winch up and a breeze to launch. I use rollers on my trailers with the larger boats because we rarely have a boat ramp. Makes life easy.

I am pondering a number of options. Woodworker with a welder and spare time on his hands is a dangerous thing

How's that boat lift coming?

Is this it?...
It seems like they make an extension arm for this to hold wider light boats?



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You could build that lift for close to $100.. $200-$250 if you buy all new galvanized channel steel.. I'm gonna build one of these when I get a dock.. My only concerns is friction between the lift channel and outrigger arms, kinking and binding. I doubt you wanna fill that channel with grease since it's hanging over your pond.. Probably have to use some kind of roller style bearings or just small wheels.

Yep, that's what they had. Now they have the style that sits on the lake bottom near shore.

esshup...were they pretty happy with it?

i think when I build a dock I kind of want
to not have a covered dock just because it
would take away from the natural beauty the
way my lake is situated. plus i guess for
a light boat this is non-electric so it
has to be really quiet?

I believe so. They had it for 3 or 4 years. I think they switched to a different type of lift for the jet ski because they have another boat tied to the pier where the lift was.