Boathouse Upgrade

[Jimmypooh]

I thought some of you might find this project interesting.

We started the project in the middle of last summer, but a contractor bailed on us. We are currently almost done with the steel work using another contractor.

Our old boat was a 69 Stuery with an outboard. We kept it in our boathouse when not in use using a cantelivered lift and roll design. The lift system has worked perfect for 30+ years. Now that we upgraded boats we needed to beef up our lift system. The old boat was about 2500 lbs. and 18ft. We decided to keep the same basic design but add bigger beams and instead of using the boathouse to hold everything up, we will drive 4" id posts down to the point of resistance and support everything on that. This way the boathouse is actually independant of the lift system.

My sister's fiance made these renderings of the old boathouse.

Other than the i-beam and cables, the entire structure was wood including the pier.

While upgrading we decided to make the pier perminant with i-beams. The new pier will have poles to the bottom of the lake during the summer but nothing in the water during the winter (ice destroys everything).

Here are the pictures of the progress:

Bringing the metal

We are supplied well

Pounding the posts down

Pete behind the wheel of the barge threaded the needle and slid those beams right in.

Interior support away from the water

Cable supports up then raising the main roller beam

Welding the cables to the roller beam.

Cables ready to support the beam and cross braces in place for upper structure

The roller beam is about 60ft long and the pier beams are nearly the same length. They stick out of the boat house about 30ft and gives us room to lift a boat no more than 25ft long. All of the Schedule 40 is 4" inside diameter. I'll have to look to see what the cable strength and size is, but it's about a 1" cable with a working strength of 10 tons.

When the steel work is done we will be adding some joists to the bottom of the boat house to it rests on the posts that have been driven down. Currently it sits on a few cinder blocks. In the past the boat house had to be leveled every few years from sinking.

More pictures to come.

[Jimmypooh]

Not sure why, but they put 2 foot extentions up through the roof to connect the cables to rather than having the cables come through the roof and connect to the beam.

This wasn't going to fly. It would cause too much sideways stress on the extensions so I had them weld braces back to the roller beam.

Finishing up the top cross braces

Tightening the cables

Edited June 3, 2011 by Jimmypooh

[Jimmypooh]

Cables tightened up

Putting in bolts (welds are currently holding the beams up but why not add a little extra support)

Adding brackets to hold poles. These pole holders have a set screw so we can lift them up for the winter and get them out of the ice.

Edited June 6, 2011 by Jimmypooh

[Jimmypooh]

Floor painted

Most of the pier built

Pier Finished with our toon tied up.

Picked up the Bu but had to put it on the shore station

Digging the ditch for the electric to the boat house. Notice the shirt.

Edited July 1, 2011 by Jimmypooh

[Jimmypooh]

First actual lift!!!

Hanging without issues

Rolling in slowly because we know the lift isn't high enough yet. Notice the back yellow straps are long.

We've shortened the back straps.

No cradle the first day.

Boat fits like a glove. There is about 4-5 inches to spare front to back and about 6" lift to spare.

See this post for an updated explanation.

Edited July 25, 2011 by Jimmypooh

[Slayer]

Looks great. I'm looking forward to seeing more of this.

[Jimmypooh]

Looks great. I'm looking forward to seeing more of this.

My dad is out there until the project is complete. The contractor needs some direction some times and also needs transportation to the island since you have to take a boat to ge there. Dad is also helping out with some of the digging/woodwork. I'm excited every time he texts me a picture. Hopefully only 2 more days of work before we can start with our work on the boathouse.

[Slayer]

My dad is out there until the project is complete. The contractor needs some direction some times and also needs transportation to the island since you have to take a boat to ge there. Dad is also helping out with some of the digging/woodwork. I'm excited every time he texts me a picture. Hopefully only 2 more days of work before we can start with our work on the boathouse.

Very cool, Jimmy....keep the pics coming.

[Bill_AirJunky]

Love the pier design. Wondering why no one has done that..... or the boat lift for that matter. Very inventive.

[PUskier]

This is a very cool project. I am a Civil Engineer, so I love this stuff. Who did the design, you, contractor, engineer? Just curious. I will be watching for more pictures. Thanks for posting.

[Jimmypooh]

This is a very cool project. I am a Civil Engineer, so I love this stuff. Who did the design, you, contractor, engineer? Just curious. I will be watching for more pictures. Thanks for posting.

My great grandfather (not an engineer) designed the original lift many years ago. I'll ask my mom for some more details. The rest of my family and I redesigned the new plans. We had an engineer friend take a look at the plans to help us decide the overall hieght and size of material. In the end I think most of the material is overkill, but we didn't want to hire an engineer and put the money into more material instead. After seeing it yesterday I feel like it could lift a tank. That just allows us the possibility to upgrade the boat in the future .

[Slayer]

This is a very cool project. I am a Civil Engineer, so I love this stuff. Who did the design, you, contractor, engineer? Just curious. I will be watching for more pictures. Thanks for posting.

I was wondering the same thing. I'm not an engineer but I am an estimator for a large self performing civil / structural contractor and this really sparked my interest as well.

Very cool, Jimmy that you have family history here.

[Michigan boarder]

So, do I have this right:

The whole pier is suspended and no posts go in the water. Decking boards (maybe 2x8's?) will be bolted on top of the two I beams. Next to the pier, and 10 feet higher, is a beam that will support a cradle and trolley. The boat pulls up next to the pier, gets put on the cradle, then hoisted, then the boat and cradle glide on the trolley into the boat house?

Sorry if it's obvious but just wanted to be sure how it worked.

[Jimmypooh]

So, do I have this right:

The whole pier is suspended and no posts go in the water. Decking boards (maybe 2x8's?) will be bolted on top of the two I beams. Next to the pier, and 10 feet higher, is a beam that will support a cradle and trolley. The boat pulls up next to the pier, gets put on the cradle, then hoisted, then the boat and cradle glide on the trolley into the boat house?

Sorry if it's obvious but just wanted to be sure how it worked.

Close. The pier will have some post supports during summer months only and the decking will be sections of about 5 5/4 boards going across the pier, also summer only. The boat gets lifted by hoists on trollies but by the eye hooks on the front and back of the boat. It then rolls in, and gets set down on the cradle. I'm currently waiting on a measurement of the rear eyes so I can have a spreader bar made. We have our old spreader, but I'm not sure it's heavy enough.

Speaking of cradle, I need to make one and would love a few pictures of trailer bunks or lift bunks and some measurements. I will need to build one in a few days when the lift is finished. I'm assuming I can use 2x10s or 2x12s on their side but need to know the minimum height I need to keep the running gear off the floor. I would also need the width of the bunks. Thanks!

[PUskier]

Speaking of cradle, I need to make one and would love a few pictures of trailer bunks or lift bunks and some measurements. I will need to build one in a few days when the lift is finished. I'm assuming I can use 2x10s or 2x12s on their side but need to know the minimum height I need to keep the running gear off the floor. I would also need the width of the bunks. Thanks!

For the cradle I would use your boat's trailer for the template. Obviously the overall design would be different, but it would give you a guide as to the layout of the actuall supports the boat sits on.

[Slayer]

For the cradle I would use your boat's trailer for the template. Obviously the overall design would be different, but it would give you a guide as to the layout of the actuall supports the boat sits on.

I agree with this completely. It's how I set up the bunks on my hoist.

[Michigan boarder]

Close. The pier will have some post supports during summer months only and the decking will be sections of about 5 5/4 boards going across the pier, also summer only. The boat gets lifted by hoists on trollies but by the eye hooks on the front and back of the boat. It then rolls in, and gets set down on the cradle. I'm currently waiting on a measurement of the rear eyes so I can have a spreader bar made. We have our old spreader, but I'm not sure it's heavy enough.

Speaking of cradle, I need to make one and would love a few pictures of trailer bunks or lift bunks and some measurements. I will need to build one in a few days when the lift is finished. I'm assuming I can use 2x10s or 2x12s on their side but need to know the minimum height I need to keep the running gear off the floor. I would also need the width of the bunks. Thanks!

Gotcha, that is slick.

Rather than build a cradle, can you just leave your trailer in the boat house and place it on the trailer? Can you back a trailer thru from the opposite end?

[Jimmypooh]

For the cradle I would use your boat's trailer for the template. Obviously the overall design would be different, but it would give you a guide as to the layout of the actuall supports the boat sits on.

I agree with this completely. It's how I set up the bunks on my hoist.

Gotcha, that is slick.

Rather than build a cradle, can you just leave your trailer in the boat house and place it on the trailer? Can you back a trailer thru from the opposite end?

I have the same answer for all of your questions. The house is on an island and there are no roads. You must take a boat to get there. We do not have a trailer because we only boat on this set of lakes. I would love to have a template to work from but we knew we weren't going to trailer it.

[Michigan boarder]

and also needs transportation to the island since you have to take a boat to ge there

I knew that

Edited June 2, 2011 by Michigan boarder

[malibudreaming]

Keep us posted on the progress this is a very cool project, I always like it when someone builds a better "mouse trap" very ingenious . I'm no engineer but it looks very stout indeed.

[martinarcher]

Very cool project. I sure wish I had property on a lake! This is so cool.

[Bill_AirJunky]

Very cool project. I sure wish I had property on a lake! This is so cool.

No doubt about that. Secondary waterfront, Matt. It's waterfront for the workin man. Check it out.

Hey Jimmy,

I'm curious how you will install & remove the pilings for the pier. Seems like it would be better to suspend it from above sort of like your trolley is done.

Edited June 2, 2011 by Bill_AirJunky

[jk13]

I still like the foam block idea for storage. Lightweight, easy transport, easy to move out of the way when not in use, etc. I'd stay on that for a while.

Although, I haven't found any yet, either. I need to get the boat off the trailer for some trailer rehab and to polish and wax the bottom of the hull. If I do find some, I'll let you know and I'd appreciate if you do the same. My brother is in Bartlett and travels up here every other weekend to his lake house, so transport to/from me to you would be fairly simple.

[Jimmypooh]

No doubt about that. Secondary waterfront, Matt. It's waterfront for the workin man. Check it out.

Hey Jimmy,

I'm curious how you will install & remove the pilings for the pier. Seems like it would be better to suspend it from above sort of like your trolley is done.

The pier doesn't need to hold any weight during the winter so we don't need it suspended with cables. We're just going to weld on some pole holders with a set screw so that any extra weight in the summer is not being held by the suspended beams. I think we're going with 4 total posts, 2 on each side. Then we can tie to them. I thought about not having the pole stick up from pier, but some people use them to steady themselves from getting on and off the boat. BTW the other side of the pier is where we park the pontoon.

[jetskipro550]

Cool project, but seems like a lot of work/money just to get your boat out of the water. Could you have built a boat shed over the water for less?