Single Point Lifts

dannyv1986

dannyv1986

New Member
Hi,

my girlfriend likes the sunfish, and we're thinking about getting two of them as our next boat.(i have a laser two).

i keep my boat at a place with a crane, is there a simple avaiable to single point lift sunfish out of the water?

Thanks,
Dan
 
In a word, "no." There are no fittings on the Sunfish that you can trust to lift the boat with, but you could devise a canvass strap lifting sling that fit under the hull if you have no alternative to hoist launching and retreival.

Alan Glos
 
To echo Alan's advice and to give a bad example I did use the bow handle and rudder fitting to hoist my first Sunfish up in the garage. I think it took about 12 hours and around $100 in supplies to repair the damage when the rudder fitting let loose.
Single point can be accomplished with a bar and dual straps and lifting off a fitting in the bar. Just using two straps with a single lifting point means the straps would have to stay seperated. and they won't. Again I found out the hard way, but no damage that time...LOL
 
I am just reading this post and have a question about the rudder mount bracket and using it for something else besides the rudder. I purchase my SF boat, used, and the owner gave me a small dolly he had used to move a Laser around with. The dolly is basically a capital letter "H" with the wheels on an axle running through the bottom legs. The upper portion has a pin, like a rudder pin that lets this dolly "attach" to the rudder mount. I tried it on our flat, smooth driveway, but am a bit leary of rolling it on uneven grass or sand. The weight, half the boat that is, is being carried but the rudder mount and that is just those four screws. Has anyone used this dolly type? If I can remember it was a manufactured dolly called "little launching buddy". I do not plan to use it. I plan to carry my SF or trailer launch it directly to safe water.
 
Good question. The fact is that any of these old style dollies that either attach to the rudder
hardware or slip into the dagger board trunk put a lot of load on the rudder fittings or the trunk and risk hull damage. The modern Seitech dolly with the wide strap is a far superior design in all respects. The big wheels on the Seitech dolly also make it easy to transport a boat over sand or uneven surfaces that often surround bodies of water. I put the Seitech dolly in the same catetory as duct tape and velcro.

Alan Glos
Cazenovia, NY
 
Thanks for the similar feelings. Yes, that Seitech dolly is like a "baby's cradle" when it comes to minimizing stress on the hull and hardware. I know have an odd shaped "stocking stuffer". I think I could rig my center mounted hammock base and make it more portable when I need to moved it while cutting the grass.
 
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