Winch for paralyzed boater

[REHinH20]

Have friend dealing with paralysis and getting in an out of a boat will be almost impossible.  Has anyone had any experience with figuring out some type of winch/harness to use under the tower and enable us to get her onto the boat from the dock?  She's always lived for time on the water, but just can't get there anymore.  This device will not need to be used long term unfortunately.  Trying to figure out a way to get her on with dignity.  Any help would be appreciated.

Edited August 11, 2022 by REHinH20

[blk93jeepzj]

14 minutes ago, REHinH20 said:

Have friend dealing with paralysis and getting in an out of a boat will be almost impossible.  Has anyone had any experience with figuring out some type of winch/harness to use under the tower and enable us to get her onto the boat from the dock?  She's always lived for time on the water, but just can't get there anymore.  This device will not need to be used long term unfortunately.  Trying to figure out a way to get her on with dignity.  Any help would be appreciated.

What kind of dock do you have?  We had a neighbor at the lake that was wheel chair bound for awhile.  Her dad added an overhead hoist system to their dock with an I beam to lift her from the walkway of the dock and into the boat.  Also extended the I beam out over the water to be able to set her into the water as well.  

[CaptainMorgan]

hmm...is boat trailered/trailerable?  if you could launch at the ramp with her already in the boat, then might open up possibilities that aren't dock feasible. 

not sure if the tower is the way to go, since you'll need a contraption to reach out over the dock.  What about davits?  if you google jet-ski davit lift, things like that would enable a sling/chair and then are made to rotate out over the dock by a few feet and lower it.  (for example https://boatliftwarehouse.com/product/davit-master-600-lbs-davits/).  may be someone on your lake with one you could borrow for a day?

[BlindSquirrel]

What about one of those handicapped lifts that they have at pools? Yikes, they look pretty pricey. 

[REHinH20]

43 minutes ago, blk93jeepzj said:

What kind of dock do you have?  We had a neighbor at the lake that was wheel chair bound for awhile.  Her dad added an overhead hoist system to their dock with an I beam to lift her from the walkway of the dock and into the boat.  Also extended the I beam out over the water to be able to set her into the water as well.  

Unfortunately the only dock around where she is would be a public ramp/dock.

[REHinH20]

43 minutes ago, CaptainMorgan said:

hmm...is boat trailered/trailerable?  if you could launch at the ramp with her already in the boat, then might open up possibilities that aren't dock feasible. 

not sure if the tower is the way to go, since you'll need a contraption to reach out over the dock.  What about davits?  if you google jet-ski davit lift, things like that would enable a sling/chair and then are made to rotate out over the dock by a few feet and lower it.  (for example https://boatliftwarehouse.com/product/davit-master-600-lbs-davits/).  may be someone on your lake with one you could borrow for a day?

We would be starting from trailer, but lake is about an hour away from her, I can't imagine she'd be willing to ride there from her house, even if it was legal! 

[oldjeep]

Are you or you and another person able to just pick her up?  I recall years ago my wife's uncle really wanted to go in the boat.  He was wheelchair bound and couldn't stand anymore.  My brother in-law and I picked him up and placed him in the boat.

[CaptainMorgan]

1 hour ago, REHinH20 said:

We would be starting from trailer, but lake is about an hour away from her, I can't imagine she'd be willing to ride there from her house, even if it was legal! 

Lol, yes that's a ways...I actually was thinking way outside the box...aka probably dumb... but along the lines of something like davits on a truck next to the boat or two trucks with a beam suspended between them you could drive boat under or a fork truck in the parking lot with a sling underneath...I'm full of bad ideas!

I'm sure something can be done but all are probably way more complicated than finding two burly friends to carry her.

[blk93jeepzj]

How about a hitch mounted or bed mounted crane?  

https://www.amazon.com/MaxxHaul-70238-Receiver-Hitch-Mounted/dp/B008CE0WCW/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?crid=3TR2YZC0ROKKQ&keywords=truck+bed+crane+lift&qid=1660273824&sprefix=truck+bed+craine%2Caps%2C225&sr=8-3

[REHinH20]

11 hours ago, blk93jeepzj said:

How about a hitch mounted or bed mounted crane?  

https://www.amazon.com/MaxxHaul-70238-Receiver-Hitch-Mounted/dp/B008CE0WCW/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?crid=3TR2YZC0ROKKQ&keywords=truck+bed+crane+lift&qid=1660273824&sprefix=truck+bed+craine%2Caps%2C225&sr=8-3

That is a thought, but I'd need one that had the capability to lift her up over the gunnels, so will need pretty good range.

[CaptainMorgan]

10 minutes ago, REHinH20 said:

That is a thought, but I'd need one that had the capability to lift her up over the gunnels, so will need pretty good range.

That's where I was going with the ramp parking lot options.  Crane could work. There are also gantry options that extend to 12 ft - sling would be 4-5ft below but depending on boat-on-trailer height you need to clear

https://www.amazon.com/Titan-Telescoping-Gantry-Crane-Capacity/dp/B01NH36TIJ/ref=mp_s_a_1_6?crid=26EBOX37MTVOB&keywords=portable+crane+lift&qid=1660317809&sprefix=portable+crane+lift%2Caps%2C234&sr=8-6

 

[Woodski]

Another option for suggestions might be an adaptive sports organization.  I know Ohio has a very active group, Kansas does also for watersports.  I couldn’t find any of the links using the phone, I’ll try off the laptop.

[TomH]

One of our drivers on the show ski team is paralyzed from the waist down.  If you've got the manpower, it's realistically the easiest to just pick them up.  Three people is ideal, two lift under shoulders, and one controls/directs the feet.  If you do it as a two step process where you go from chair to dock and then dock to boat, it's pretty easy.  Also, the build of her chair makes a difference.  If it's a power chair with the lift option, she may be able to get up to the gunnel height on the trailer, and then it becomes more of a slide on in scenario where you can get them in the boat while it's still on the trailer.