How to lanch a kayak down a deep slope and get it back up the slope?

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JimD
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How to lanch a kayak down a deep slope and get it back up the slope?

Post by JimD »

Happy New Year.

I have not been on the board in a while and not been kayaking or running my BabyCat on the bay.

I bought a place on the Gaudloupe River last week that came with 3 10 ft kayaks, two inflatable kayaks.

My problem is not which one to fish but how to get the kayaks down to the river. My place in near Boerne Texas and The slopes are steep down to the river where the first step is 1 ft deep and the next about 4 foot when you get into the river.

The question is have you seen a good home made ramp to slide the kayaks into and out of the river. In the pictures I have seen some made from pvc and old 20 ft ladders. My problem is I have only one place to put a launch in and it is about 30+ degree slope up for 15-20 feet and from there you can pull the kayaks up to the top of the bluff. another 50 feet This is the area at the bottom the cut down to get water from the river.

I would love some pictures and ideas on what is the best and cheapest way to do this. I have seen pxs of people use an old ladder and others use pvc to slide the kayak down. At the steep angle I am a little worried about the kayak entering the water. I do not have electricity in the area so I will have to build a home made pulley system with a big drum attached to a dead man to get the boats up and down. I also need to figure on some type of landing at the bottom. Area at the bottom is not very wide between the trees pipe for the water system.

I would appreciate any suggestions. JimD
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Ron Mc
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Re: How to lanch a kayak down a deep slope and get it back up the slope?

Post by Ron Mc »

Don't have an exact picture of what you're dealing with here.
If possible, might consider a small floating dock that would winch up the bank when you weren't using it.
You could lash your boat to it to winch it up the bank at the same time.
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JimD
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Re: How to lanch a kayak down a deep slope and get it back up the slope?

Post by JimD »

I have a house close to the river and the drop off is from 40-60 feet down with a 10 ft drop off or more. I have one place that we can get down to the water where the bank was cut a little for a water pump.

The last 10-15 feet is steep but doable and I am looking for some way to rig a way to pull kayaks up and down plus launch and remove.
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Ron Mc
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Re: How to lanch a kayak down a deep slope and get it back up the slope?

Post by Ron Mc »

My buddy built the man-cathedral for his GMC RV and hangs his boats on a pulley system he built.

Image
There are also nice davit cranes made for attaching to a p/u truck bed.
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TexasJim
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Re: How to lanch a kayak down a deep slope and get it back up the slope?

Post by TexasJim »

Being averse to sweating, I would get a 12 volt winch, and a battery, put them in a cart and wheel it to the edge of the drop-off. Drive a pipe or post into the ground to stake the winch to and pull your yaks up and down. When you're through, drag the cart back, and charge the battery with jumper cables, or a charger. Harbor Freight has winches with 50 feet of cable starting around 100 bucks. Cheaper than a trip to the chiropractor. You could build a ramp or track, if needed. Most of us drag our kayaks over dirt and grass often. Or, make your kids earn their keep, and pull them up. Good luck, TexasJim
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Ron Mc
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Re: How to lanch a kayak down a deep slope and get it back up the slope?

Post by Ron Mc »

Jim, what you're describing is a davit crane, and worth googling to see what's out there.

a ps about Stevo's boat lifts - no sweat or strain to those, the leverage and mechanical advantage is built into pulley blocks.
They were off the shelf at Northern Tool - he added the cargo nets.
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