Use a Winch?? to Get H-18 Sand Beach to Where We Keep It

I am tired of busting my b*lls everytime we sail because we have to pull the H-18 50 feet up the 10-15 degree sand beach we have to store it for the night til next time.

We want to know who has figured out how to winch an H-18 up the beach ....on a wheel-set...single handlely? Electric winch?? How powerful??

I think attaching the cable to the dolphin stricker...having the cat wheels loose under the shrouds...and somehow controlling the winch while balancing the hulls on the cat wheels would work.

Who has done this already??? What do I need to know??? Thanks.

There was a discussion on this same topic a while back you may try to look up.

I think if it were me, rather than going with a winch of some sort, I'd go for a block and tackle. Especially if you have beach wheels and more than one person. I'd guess 2:1 or 3:1 purchase and some decent blocks would do it. Connect to the dolphin striker or make a bridle for the bows. One person balances and steers the boat. The other person holds the line and walks down the hill pulling the boat up. Way more simple and less expensive than an electric winch.

sm

John,
I use a trailer winch and am able to get my boat on and off the bulkhead by myself. I will see if I can find a pic. I try to time my sailing so I come in at a high tide so I dont have to winch very far. But you are right the boat is very diffucult to move around.

I cant find the pic, but will take one tomorrow. BTW at one time tried the
electric winch (From Harbor Freight about $50 2000lbs 12V) and it worked good but the salt air corroded it pretty quick . If you have power it might be a good option for you.

I would think you should be able to take a section of PVC pipe and either cap one end and drive it very deep or concrete it in one of the cells of a concrete block. Bury this assembly at your anchor point. Then take another pipe, galvanized w/ a floor flange screwed on, that you can slip inside the buried PVC. Use a block of wood to attach a boat winch to the floor flange. More likely than not you'll need to pin the two pipes together, so the winch won't pull out while you're cranking. The best part is you can then take the winch with you by pulling it and the galvanized pipe out when you leave. You'll need to stick a dowl, back down in the buried PVC to keep it from filling with sand while you're away.

Cat wheels, or two ladders made of 1" PVC pipe should be all you'd need to pull it across the sand. You could probably set the rungs 2 ft. apart and it'd still work. If it's really soft sand you might need a larger diameter pipe.

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TC

I wouldn't attach a line to the dolphin striker ,,,, you may bend it and that could be a Pain-in-the-a_s to repair if the dolphin striker has been together for any time .... or it could be simple. Flip a coin ... it can go either way

So here's my suggestion .... I have made a "Towing Bridle" which would also work for you. you will need the following

(2) small shackles (1/4" pin/captive pin is best)
(3) carbiners
(2) 3/8" docklines w/ an eye-splice in one end

Replace the clevis pins where the bridles are attached to the hull w/ the small shackles.

Next tie the "straight" end of the dockline to the frontcrossbar to the front-crossbar where it meets the hull. I have marked the line so I can get both sides to be equal in length.

Pass the line from each side forward under the bridle, passing it through a carbiner that you have attached to the small shackle installed at the bridle attachment point

Using the third carbiner attach the tow line along w/ the (2) eyeslices together ... or you can just tie the eye-splices together using the tow line

Pull w/ whatever mode of power you wish

This places the load on the front crossbar ... I use this bridle when I need to be towed .... It doesn't happen often, but it does happen ..... Last year when returning from a Yacht Club/regatta across the river from my home Yacht Club the wind died ..... there I sat ... and sat ... and sat, just with-in sight of my YC. So out came my YC's mark boat to tow me in and I was sure glad to see them ...... they also brought w/ them for me ... a tumbler of Wild Turkey Rare Breed Bourbon and a 20oz Yuengling Lager Draft Beer ..... They had my boat and I on plane w/ rooster tails out the back ......

Good Luck

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HarryMurphey
H-18 mag/ #9458
Fleet 54 Div 11

I love my boat ramp!

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Frank, sailing '02 Getaway in Wichita KS. Lake Cheney
(Hobie 17 RIP, storm of '05)

The strap on the winch is about twenty feet long. I have extra line that I can tie if I need to go longer. One the boat is winched up I leave it as is with the winch locked.

Genmar Star, your winch system is great. I especially like that you are using webbing, not cable/line. Ours is similar, but without webbing, maybe we'll upgrade.

If you (or anyone else) knows how to post pictures, please email me, I will email you pictures of what we do at our Club. My email is lunnjohn at magma dot ca. All Hobie sailors with sore backs will thank you.

Mine is a trailer winch like yours, my buddies use an electric winch, marine battery and a solar powered recharging system.

Henry told me:
"You might tell your Hobie buddies that the winch Pierre uses is 1,500 lbs whereas I use a 2,000 lb one. Not much difference.

tip 1) the "haul away" line and hook should be attached to the middle of the dolphin striker. It was not in the picture and the cat will waddle like a duck.

tip 2) if you can get 4 wheels under the cat, (with an extra set of Trax), the job is 100% easier, and can be single-handed since you don't need to constantly balance and steer the cat as it crawls up the beach.

tip 3) start the season with a fully charged battery, add a small solar panel and it worked for both Pierre and I all summer.

tip 4) and most important, do make sure the system is disconnected/disabled after use or some kid might come along, press a button and rip the guts out of your cat.

Minus 24C last night, can't wait for spring.

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2015 H16, with spin,
SOLD 1989 Hobie SX18 Sail # 1947 "In Theory..."
'Only two things are infinite, the universe, and human stupidity. But I'm not sure about the former.'

I have a similar issue as John with retrieving my H16. A slightly steeper beach slope, but about the same distance. My setup is similar to that of Genmar Star's, but I mounted my winch on a 4x6 post as I needed the height to account for the slope and keep the cable out of the sand.

The only difference in my rig is that I since I have a 16, i rigged a bridle to the end to attach to each pylon. This balances the boat out and spreads the load better. don't know if you can do that on an 18. But if that sand is deep, I would be carefull how much pressure I put on the crossbar. Maybe it can take it...I don't know. Some beach wheels or pieces of PVC pipe cut to length would certainly help.

Another friend of mine also rigged a system of rollers and an electric winch. He pulls a H21SE off the Rappahanock river, over a bulkhead single handed up a slope of propbably 30%. The electric winch works great...but of course, its fresh/brackish...not salt. So it won't corode like Genmar Star's did.

I have been thinking of setting up a portable winch system using a Harbor Freight Winch mounted on a two wheeled dolly. Our Hobie beach is a little too public to leave the winch at the beach so this would give us a way to easily take it home with our cat-wheels. Just wheel the winch and battery in place, stake out with some re-bar and hook up the line. I think using webbing is a great idea even if it is just a Y connection from the boat to the cable.

Tipping the local rental guy a few bucks or a beer to haul it up the beach with an ATV after a long day in the sun also works but he isn't always around.

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1981 Hobie 16