Power Winch and small boats

[amirm]

Hello everyone. I have an unusual application and need some suggestions.<br /><br />We have an aluminum boat that we use to go back and forth to our regular boat which is moored in deep water. The beach slopes down and at low tide, we have to carry the boat up hill, good 30 to 50 feet. Making the situation more difficult, the beach is not smooth and has small boulders on it. So dragging is not so easy either. The boat and engine weigh probably 150 pounds plus a few more for the gear (crab traps, coolers, etc.).<br /><br />I like to find a way to pull the boat back from the beach without help from others. One option is wheels for the stern but I am not sure how well they are going to work over the boulders and one still has to support the front, going uphill. And seems like decent flip-up wheels cost $250.<br /><br />So I had a wild idea which was to use a power winch. I can get power easily to the shore from our house. The question is what type of winch to use here. Trailer winches are one choice but I am not sure if they have enough capacity for this much wire/line. Windlass is another choice and being for marine applications, I am hoping they are more resistant to corrosion from saltwater.<br /><br />An A/C winch would be more convenient of course but I can also deal with DC units (yes, the outlet is GFCI protected). <br /><br />I would also like to know if I should use the steel wire for the cable or (nylon?) line. The boat may sang on things so need to have something that is safe here.<br /><br />Needless to say, don’t want to spend a fortune here (under $500 would be nice). Just anything that can help my aching back from dragging the boat last night . Any advice is appreciated including this being a bad idea . <br /><br />Thanks,<br />Amir

 

[bayman]

Re: Power Winch and small boats

Some people like to use the drive-on ramps which have a trailer winch mounted on them. However, I don't know if this is even an option.<br /><br />A $30 trailer winch could be a good low-cost option. It wouldn't be as fast as a power winch but how fast do you want to pull a boat over rocks? It might corrode, but it is less likely to get stolen than an expensive unit. If mounted high enough, a nylon strap might be okay.

 

[CATransplant]

Re: Power Winch and small boats

How about building a cradle for the boat that's on wheels, then winching that up with a hand or power winch?<br /><br />For wheels, you could use some nice fat ones like the one's on small ATVs. The cradle could be really simple, and you could even mount a hand winch on it to pull the boat up on the cradle.<br /><br />Sounds like a boat trailer, huh? That might actually be the cheapest way to go. Buy an old small boat trailer and winch it and the boat up to the top of the beach.<br /><br />I dunno, but I wouldn't like dragging a tin boat over a rocky beach. Pretty soon you'll wear out the keel. That way madness lies, as Paul Moir and Willy the Shake say.

 

[amirm]

Re: Power Winch and small boats

Thanks Bayman. I had thought about the manual winch but worry that it make take forever. But then again, I am thinking of my regular boat. Pulling the much lighter dingy may not be so bad and doesn't cost much to try!<br /><br />CATransplant, that is a creative suggestion! Unfortunately, I don't think our neighbors would appreciate a trailer of any sort laying around the beach. I might make a small dolly though if the thing gets hung up too much. Otherwise, no worries about the boat. Everyone drags theirs here and we are talking about $500 jobs that you just leave on the beach.<br /><br />Thanks again and happy to hear any other ideas folks might have.<br /><br />Amir

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Power Winch and small boats

Throw this at the wall and see if it sticks. Sink a pole at beach level. Height is up for grabs but six feet would seem to be sufficient. Sink another pole at the level where the boat would normally be stored. String a cable between the two poles. Attach a pulley block to the cable. From the block, suspend a cradle or straps from a small cable or rope hoist. Attach the straps to the boat and use hoist to lift the boat just high enough to clear the obstacles. Pull the boat up the incline manually with a rope or use any suitable winch. No rocks to bounce over and it would be fast. For even more excitement, get in the boat for the ride up and down -- but wear a helmet.

 

[amirm]

Re: Power Winch and small boats

That is sure creative Upinsmoke . Unfortunately, we are talking about Puget Sound here in PNW and putting in a post on the shore would be no-no. I very much like it otherwise. Have to think if there is a way to make it work.<br /><br />The soup also thickens. I measured the distance yesterday at low tide and the distance is 125 feet and that was at zero tide (we get up to -2.5). No wonder my back is still hurting .<br /><br />I did take a look at winches. I worry that a manual one would be a pain over such a distance. Many also don't hold this much line....<br /><br />Amir

 

[coop6573]

Re: Power Winch and small boats

amir;(if rules will allow)--anchor a bouy with a pully attached 50 feet or so below low tide.set a sand anchor with pully above high tide mark.run a line through pullies and back to shore.tie in a snap or fastener to attach to skiff.after you unload skiff snap skiff to line,pull skiff out to bouy and let it ride there untill you need it again.----good luck-ed cooper

 

[harrisg]

Re: Power Winch and small boats

Here's another idea.. Sell your aluminum boat and buy a porta-bote, (porta-bote.com). It's perfect for your use and is used all over the world. Weight for a 10 ft is about 58 lbs and 12 ft is 68 lbs. also, much more durable over rocks than inflatables and aluminum.

 

[amirm]

Re: Power Winch and small boats

Thanks for the continued suggestion. Harrisg, not sure about stability of the portabote. We use our dingy for throwing and fetching crab traps and would need something that is big enough and stable enough for that use.<br /><br />Ed, that is a super clever idea! But folks run their boats between our bouy and the shore (crazy, I know but they do it). So any line there would be dangerous. <br /><br />Amir

 

[Triton II]

Re: Power Winch and small boats

At our sailing club we have 150ft of steeply sloping beach and need to launch a 5.7m aluminium rescue boat which weighs about 2000lbs all up. We use a two-speed AC windlass from the shed at the top of the beach and a triangular cradle with three fat low pressure tyres. The boat goes down under its own steam and once launced we use the windlass on high ratio to pull the trolley back into the shed. To retrieve we simply push out the trolley and recover the boat then use the windlass on low speed to pull the whole lot back in. The rope used is 10mm and goes through a single large pulley for leverage, but for your application you could do everything on a smaller scale and probably without a pulley. The club bought the windlass secondhand from a marine chandlers for AUS$100. Don't know how much the trolley cost but it's nothing flash - probably the wheels and tyres cost more than the tubing!

 

[Wimperdink]

Re: Power Winch and small boats

sink a small steel fence post at high tide and low tide positions to just below ground level... run a loose cable between that will rest on the ground.. tie a rope to a snap ring and to your boat... when ya come in put the snap ring to the loose cable and another rope from snapring to high tide post. As tide comes in the boat will float towards high tide position... if it doesnt come all the way in, pull the rope attached to high tide pole and snap ring... never drag your boat over rocks again. no damaging posts sticking up. and cable rests on the ground so it wont create issues... and all done for around 40 bucks<br /><br />spose I should have asked if your taking it to the house for theft prevention... at any rate some smaller gauge chain from the boat to the cable and a padlock from chain to boat cleat would fix that too. If a theif wants it bad enough he's going to get it anyway.

 

[i rowboat]

Re: Power Winch and small boats

I agree with harrisg; just bought a 12' porta bote, and although only using it twice so far, I'm pretty impressed. I bought it for it's stability (5'beam), and capacity, and it didn't break the bank (boat, 5hp Nissan, bimini, wheels and axel ropes for rocky terrain, yada yada....for 950 on ebay)I'll post some pics soon, email me if you want more info....and no, I am not affiliated with them, nor do I have any hull wax for sale...<g>

 

[Wimperdink]

Re: Power Winch and small boats

Originally posted by i, rowboat:<br /> I am not affiliated with them, nor do I have any hull wax for sale...<g>

Nice save <br /><br />on the otherhand...<br />you could buy some amazing wow hullwax for your rocks and make it easier to slide over them.

 

[Triton II]

Re: Power Winch and small boats

Deleted, sorry, wrong thread!