Beef Up Your Kayak Hoist for $25

Beef Up Your Kayak Hoist for $25

[@CaraHillVoiceoverArtist]

Thank you for making this video! I bought the hubby a kayak hoist years ago before I knew anything about kayaks. The one he ended up getting is huge and super heavy. I was going to surprise him with installing the hoist. However, the surprise might have been a damaged car hood. I appreciate you making this video so I can rethink my plans. 😃

[@crixus1032]

Thank you for the comments. Safety first and foremost. Good luck with the hoist and Happy Holidays!

[@tomrum42]

I like the idea of using hammock straps very much. One of the snap together buckles on one of my straps has broken. Because the strap is longer than I need I tied a knot in it but I don't really trust the knot. Thanks for the hammock strap idea. Very good video.

[@OMGWTFLOLSMH]

Just spend the extra money from the get go for a heavy duty kayak hoist. Why reinvent the wheel?

[@garycalcote1227]

I plan on getting 1/2" PVC cut for pieces and drill a hole through the center of each piece, then put two on a 2' pice of rope and tie knots and repeat with the remaining two pieces of PVC: then put PVC through scuffer holes and attach the rope to my hoist.

[@zemzem8323]

Thank you for this, the manufacturers original parts make me feel unsafe to put up my kayak.

[@jimscanlan7385]

Those were good ideas. One thing though, there are holes above the hooks to string rope so that the two ends don’t separate. No need to risk yourself running a rope underneath.

[@jerichojoe307]

Dude you're talking about strength in the 2-inch bull rope is. Do you have any idea how strong that material is? It's essentially the same thing as your seatbelt. It requires hundreds of pounds of force to tear it period. Why do you think tie down straps are so strong even though they're made from the same material it's about the weave. I have a set of 1-inch tie-down ratchets that have a 500 lb load Force. So two inches are probably well over 800 lb. Those hammock straps that you bought are essentially the same thing but with a different weave that's why it had to be thicker to reach that 800 pound load. The other reason that they make the hammock straps sticker is because of the multiple tie-off points and rubbing against tree bark and such. I don't think your kayak is going to be doing much rubbing. The belt itself would never have torn under 75 lb LOL actually half of that since each strap would be supporting half of the overall weight. So you're worried that your boat is going to fall because you don't think that that strap apparently could hold 37.5 lb. Hell you could probably hoist a 75 lb kayak with jute twine LOL. Or better yet go and get some 550 paracord for $5 a bundle for a 50 foot length of it at Walmart. I clicked on this video really thinking I was going to see something Innovative. And all I saw was somebody over engineering something that doesn't need that much thought. Each of those pulleys divided Force by about half. A4 pulley system on a 75 lb kayak is literally lifting 18.75 pounds per pulley and each of the termination points only lifting half of the overall weight at 37.5 pounds per termination, so you over-engineered this for what reason🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂. Give me a two-by-four, four 1 and 1/4 inch clothesline pulleys from walmart, a bundle of paracord. Three .97 Cent carabiners from Walmart. Two 50 lb eyebolts. A couple of 4in screws with fisheye washers. A steel ring , And an old tie down and I'll make the entire system for $25.

[@crixus1032]

Thanks for the comments. But I wasn’t worried so much about the strength of the existing strap itself as much as I am of the cheap plastic buckle. That is the weak link in the kit as I’ve seen many comments on that breaking. Also the original rope easily frays as mine started to do so replaced it with a better one. I’m sure there are many ways to improve upon that original method as you suggested. What I did was inexpensive and easy. Sounds like your suggestion also a good one for the same price. Cheers.

[@rebas04]

Great video, looking to buy a 75 lb fishing kayak, in your opinion with what you paid and then your updates, are their better systems you would buy today?

[@fogsmart]

The bucklers are gone now on the new kits. There’s an improved set of multi position web straps now.

[@crixus1032]

Good to know and glad they're finally improving that design - thanks!

[@wildlifefreq]

I actually am in the process of installing a new one right now and when I saw this video I was confused about the buckle. I definitely wouldn't have bought this kit if they still had that feature! Glad they upgraded. Also I'm pretty sure the rope is 3/8" now too.

[@willrothfuss8470]

These particular hoists are rated for 60 lbs and you said your Kayak was 75 lbs. I agree with other posters. Why not just buy a beefier hoist rather than replace many of the parts, which seems like a more expensive option. I am also not sure what you did at the ceiling there. Screwing the brackets into a board screwed to the ceiling is actually less strong than screwing through the drywall into the joist ( and a lot uglier) It's still 4 lag bolts- 2 per bracket- either way. The one thing I will do is tie the two hangers together to keep them from spreading- but above the kayaks not under. If I am worried, I'll add a rope or bungee under the kayak to the ceiling for the winter.

[@crixus1032]

Thanks for the comments. At the time I didn’t see any heavy duty hoists and they all seemed the same. The 2 x 4 does have 4 3 1/2 to 4 inch lags through the drywall and into the joists. The instructions said to use two so doubling seemed a better idea. You’re right that a rope at the top rather than underneath is better and I’ve been doing that for some time.

[@markmay184]

I’m in the market for a Kayak hoist. The only two I’ve seen commercially available are this one from Storeyourboard, the “Classic” and their other one, the “Pro”. They are basically the same, except the Pro does not have hooks, but uses a box frame arrangement to attach the lifting straps to the “falls” on the hoist. Additionally, the Pro has a centre strap to stop the lifting straps from walking along the Kayak. They are both rated to 60lbs. The upgrade mods you have done are ok, but the pulleys, brackets, hooks and hardware are still original - a system is only as good as it’s weakest link/s. It could be argued that with a 4:1 mechanical advantage the original rope (rated to 120 lbs?) was operating well under its rated load, and the lifting straps on each end of were only lifting 30 lbs (if the Kayak weight was 60 lbs. Anyways, it doesn’t hurt to upgrade some of the components. I’d be interested to know of the name of this company that sell a “beefier hoist”

[@Jonathan-pz3zb]

Ok, but you didn’t account for asteroids striking nearby…

[@bobsugrue2703]

Harbor freight bicycle hoist $8.00 buck's.

[@scottmerritt9877]

Just installed a couple of the Harbor Freight bike hoists and definitely do like them. But they are only rated for 50 lbs. Also, they eliminate the need for two ropes, plus increase mechanical advantage over the pulley system shown here.

[@brecksarge]

Did you put the piece of wood on the ceiling because your ceiling joists run the other direction? My joists run left to right in a one car garage so I’m trying to figure out the best way to mount it.

[@crixus1032]

The joists do run the other direction but if you don't put up a 2 x 4 or other wood then the brackets would bolt up against the dry wall so you need the wood for that reason.

[@HairBeard]

You said an quarter inch line is in it, do you think a third inch will also fit?

[@crixus1032]

I don't think so. This one barely fits on this particular hoist anyway.

[@garychalmers2335]

trying to follow your set up. my kayak is 13 foot. on the 2 by - what was the length of yours? 8 or 10 ft?

[@crixus1032]

this kayak is 12.5 ft - I don't recall exactly without measuring but looks like was 10ft eyeballing it

[@taytus]

Guy who buys the cheapest hoist is worried about it’s quality.