Boat lift for Sunfish

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Offramp

New Member
I would like to keep our new Sunfish on a boat lift during the summer to keep the hull clean and especially free from zebra muscles. Our shore line is protected with a bolder barrier wall to prevent ice and wave erosion. I'm thinking that keeping the hull on a lift is easier and better than hauling the hull over the rocks everytime the boat is used. The lake depth is only a maximum of 3 feet deep by our dock.
What make and model of boat lifts or PWC lifts are a good match for the Sunfish and shallow waters?

Thanks and please bear with me - a newbie to your forum and to the Sunfish.

Offramp
 
At a lake season place we had in the Adirondacks we had a problem with the number of boats moored off the beach, just plain ran out of room with bottom anchors and the swing distances. So we looked into boat lifts. They worked fine for the power set, both boat and PCW, but for the sailing set the main problem was mast height, so anything with overhead frame work was out. Unless you plan on pulling the mast/rigging before you put it in the lift. That extremely reduces your choices. They are out there just keep that in mind when looking.
I do remember seeing a davit type lift they use for lifeboats on large ships used for small craft on seawalls up on the shores with seawalls near the St Lawrence Seaway. The boat was lifted and swung in over the wall to store right on the seawall. Sorry but no idea if they were commercial or homemade. It's been years.
 
Do a search for "Boat Lifts" and "Davits" both on this forum and over on Yahoo Sunfish Sailor. There was a discusion on here this past year and there are some pictures and ideas on YSFS.
 
A new commercial boat lift is expensive and an overkill for a Sunfish. Most lifts start at being able to hold 1500# and cost $1000 and up.. You may want to look around the shore line as many used lifts show up for sale as owners upgrade to lifts either because they have a larger boat or they want to change from the cantilever to vertical lifts. The mast will cause no problem, as there are very few lifts with the front cross bar left. There seems to be a lot of the old steel cantilever lifts around and a lot of people are selling them to change to lighter aluminum lifts. Just look for rusted out areas where the pivit points are. You can adapt most lifts by building a wooden skid on them to hold the Sunfish. One problem you may find is that a strong wind may blow the sunfish off the lift. Tie the Sunfish down as the wind, when the boat is on a lift ,will be able to get under it and lift it.
If you have shoreline you may do what I have done. I also have a shore line with boulders on it, and a verticle drop of about 3 feet. I built a wooden frame using 2X4s and placed rollers at one end. I then put carpeted bunks on to support under the hull. I have a small winch at the other end. I place one end of the skid on blocks on shore and the other end on blocks in the water. (so the end is bout 1 foot above the water line.) After sailing I wrap the sail and winch the boat up on the skid. To launch the boat I pick up on the handle and, using the rollers on the end of the skid, roll it into the water. Have been dong this for 5 years now with no problems. This, because it is close to shore, leaves the dock free for other boats..
 
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