The beach boat faction doesn't command the attention of the dock accessory industry like heavier less transportable motorized craft do. For what you desire, a jetski lift would be close, but you'd need to modify it yourself to better fit your Sunfish.What I was really asking about in my post was about small boat hoists that really accommodate small sailboats like the Sunfish. Jet-ski boat hoists tend to be too narrow …
A boat lift for a Sunfish is uncommon so equipment in that vain is usually one-of-a-kind, tailored to specific needs and location. Racks are found a little more often since they are an extension of what's used in transport. For example, any of these rack ideas could be assembled as a single tier for dock, lakeside, or backyard storage...I think your ideas about constructing a wood or pvc rack may be the way to go in the future. I have heard that some Sunfish sailors do this, but have not been able to find a photo or plans for any, which surprises me. I guess we can figure one out, just thought I would not re-invent something that someone on the Sunfish Forum may already be using.
I have a similar situation, but the Sunfish is light enough to just pull up on the dock.Perhaps someone can help me out on this, I am looking for suggestions for a good way to keep my Sunfish in/near the water on a lake--a hoist, roll-n-go, whatever??-- some convenient way to be able to quickly get the boat out sailing. A little background, there is limited shore before the large rocks of the wall, and the bottom for this part/side of the lake is "stony," so just dragging it up is not a good solution.
I think I've got that black sprinkler pipe on the edge of my New England dock. It is very slick, but when I tried to find the same material in Florida, what they offered wasn't the same stuff. They called it "irrigation pipe", but it was squishy and flimsy—not suitable at all.The sprinkler pipe is ideal as a slide and very slick -- almost too slick as you had to hang onto it to keep it from taking off.
Harbor Freight makes a small hoist for lifting automobile engines of much greater weight than a Sunfish.
If you could drive a big pipe into the shoreline, there should be enough lift-capacity remaining in the hoist to extend the hoist's boom to lift your Sunfish. Just leave off the hoist's base with its tiny steel wheels, and use the pipe to rotate the Sunfish to rest on shore.