Sweet boat storage setup

The whole setup is cool, house,location ,boats.

+1 on the whole set up, except the winch strap tied around the dolphin striker. Is this boat designed to take that force?

yelkenli1 wrote: +1 on the whole set up, except the winch strap tied around the dolphin striker. Is this boat designed to take that force?

I agree, even though the dolphin striker bar and post is really strong it's not engineered to be pulled towards the front of the boat. On my Hobie 18 I didn't like the idea of pulling on the post with the trailer winch so I tied a loop of rope permanently around the beam and hook the winch strap to that instead.

+1

t's not engineered to be pulled towards the front of the boat

I looked at that ad. I'm not quite sure how it works.
At first I thought the platform was hinged, at the shore end, but the sea end appears to have cross bracing that would not allow it to be lowered...so does he lift the bows, then winch it up, or does it lower?
I use a similar setup, utilizing SeaDoo lifts. You remove tramp suncover, carry mainsail from garage ,walk onto dock, drop sail on tramp, raise sail, undo securing strap, lower lift & sail away.
There is one disadvantage to his,( & my) type of mast up storage vs leaving it on the beach & having Cat Trax.
If the wind is from behind it becomes impossible to raise the sail. You need shallow water & an anchor or a dock right beside your Cat. I experimented with sailing out into the bay on jib alone, furling jib & dropping a sea anchor, then raising the main. I found it easier to just walk the Cat ahead of the power boat & clip it to the dock with a couple of premade lines, facing the best direction,(there is another 20' of dock ahead of the PB).
In my case 90% of the winds are within 45* of where the Seadoo lift faces, so I can hoist the sail with the Cat still on the lift. My record is 7 minutes from garage to sailing.

Edchris just took it to a whole new level...

We can just make this the "official envy thread" for all of us that have to drive an hour or more just to get to the water.

Now you just need s lazy jack and a sail cover.

Now you just need s lazy jack and a sail cover.

Yeah, & a garcon to open the wine & peel a few grapes!
I don't know if lazy jacks would be good for a mylar sail, I was very careful to spread it out on the back lawn each time & carefully roll it up.
In all honesty, the SeaDoo lift would not be my first choice. I think mast up storage, with Cat Trax, on a beach is better. We picked up the N5.0 from Glencoe Beach,(Chicago), I thought they had a pretty sweet setup.
In my case the waterfront is protected by armour-stone, about 18" high. One has to be very careful around it. I have some slides for when I need a boat on the lawn, & if required can move it solo, but it's not fun. Some tinkering/repairs can be done on the water or lift, but some you just need to suck it up & haul the Cat onto the lawn, (my daughter says,yeah Dad, First World Problems).
I had initially envisioned a ramp onto the grass, but wifey nixed that. For some reason she thinks if I had one boat on the lawn, it would evolve into drydock for multiple "project" boats. In the interest of marital harmony, I drove down to Canandaigua Lk (NY) & picked up a couple of 800lb seadoo lifts.
The best setup I have seen is a fellow 2 bays over. No rocks. He made a ramp from 2" peeled poles as X members, & 2" pipe as stringers. the open grid does not give any purchase to wave action, & the pipe keeps the wet end on the bottom. The top portion is decked with marine ply. His kids drive an H14 right out of the lake onto the deck,(apparently sheeting out before overshooting the landing).
Depending on wind they leave it, or spin the boat into the wind

Edited by Edchris177 on Feb 13, 2015 - 07:55 AM.

The biggest pain was the jib. In only waist deep water I can't reach high enough to zip the jib on. I put roller furling on all boats, & had a UV strip sewn on the jibs. They stay raised all season.
just the tension is relaxed after sailing.

Edited by Edchris177 on Feb 13, 2015 - 08:14 AM.

This is my marine railway on Flathead Lake in NW Montana. It's a simple cradle/platform with two carpeted crossbars that have vertical posts with rotating pvc pipes, that help guide and retain the boat in choppy seas. The cradle is pulled up the rails with a $50 Harbor Freight 12 v atv winch. The rails were fabricated with 3" x 3" square steel tubing with a 1/4" x 4" cap, on which run four 8" trailer wheels(no tires).

The lift is nestled so far up into the trees that I can often rig both main and jib before launching. If not, I have the luxury of an outboard that allows a slow motor into the wind to raise the main.

Pictured on it is Flight Risk, which has moved on to a new owner on the Chesapeake. I now use it for the ARC 22 'Lunatic Fringe'. A new extended hulls SC20 should launch sometime this coming season.