lift jonboat to dock

[RossDean]

Hey there, I was wantin' to do something similar last year for my 14' jon boat. I got a good start on it before all of my permits came in for my cabin project, but didn't quite finish it up, 'cuz those permits eventually did come.

Basically built a frame out of treated lumber sloped down to the water, then put some larger, air filled rubber tires closest to the water, then several other 'banks' of cheap plastic lawn mower wheels about every 2 feet after that.

Not the best picture of the frame here

 

[RossDean]

At the lower right of the previous picture is where two large, air filled tires were mounted with 3/4 bolts.

Those tires almost touch the water, so that when the boat is nosed into them, they actually grab hold of the bow.

Right now I just pull it up with a rope, and it does pretty well, but does take some effort. My plan sometime this year, after the cabin is done, is to fasten a winch that I have to a 4x4 that's buried at the highest point of the boathouse, then get a couple of pulleys to help with the load.

I've got the roof trusses built and sheathed, but not shingled yet. We're gonna get siding and shingles that match the cabin to finish off the little boat home, but that again is a future project.

Here's a shot of it from the water, with a temporary cover:

I can take some better pictures of it this weekend. It ain't beautiful, but the basic design is pretty sound. Made a few errors (bent some flimsy brackets) but recovered from them pretty quickly.