Building project

[steepcreeker]

Hey all. Long time reader first time poster.
Got a project I've been thinking about doing for a while now but could use some fresh ideas.
To get to our boathouse I have to go down a long set of steps to a gentle slope to a flat spot at the water. Going down/ up isn't too bad unless you have to carry a large cooler or other heavy stuff. What I've thought about doing was building a "sled" on a set of rails much like rail lift for pulling boats out of the water just not as heavy duty. The total drop is about 25-30 feet in about 125' of travel. Most of the drop is towards the top but not more than 45 degrees steep. What I have envisioned is taking 3-4" sch 40 PVC and making a set of rails about 2-3' apart all the way to the bottom. The sled would be a "box" of some sort with 4 wheels which would probably be something like golf cart or 4 wheeler rims (something small). The sled would be pulled with cable on an electric motor/ winch. Since I'm not using this to carry people I'm not too concerned with cargo weight since it will be less than 100lbs.
Just wondering if anyone has done or seen something like this.

M

 

[Fireman431]

Re: Building project

Make it cheap and patent it. That's your million dollar idea.

 

[Tim Frank]

Re: Building project

Google "Funicular railways"

 

[NYGiants]

Re: Building project

i saw this type of idea in the keuka lakes where the road was a hike up the stairs so there was a set of steel rails going out with a platform you could use to loadthings. no way the house coudl've gotten appliances and such without it

 

[mudslinging79]

Re: Building project

harbor freight has a 3000lb 12 volt winch that would be perfect for the job, think its round 50 bucks

 

[steepcreeker]

Re: Building project

I'm a little worried about using a standard winch to pull the sled. My first concern is the duty cycle on those things and long term durability. The second is just the fact that they are slow as hell (for a good reason). Going ~125 feet at 5-9 ft/min is going to be real pain in the arse. To pull the sled I'm thinking of something like a 120V reversible motor attached to some sort of spindle with some degree of gearing (not unlike a typical boat lift just with less gearing). The trick, I think, will be to find the best mix of speed and pulling power. Like I said I'm not trying to pull the boat up the hill just stuff to put on the boat/ dock. I have an idea of what I want but I don't know enough about motors and spindles to just go out build it without learning a bit.
M

 

[steepcreeker]

Re: Building project

Google "Funicular railways"

AAAAHHH!!!! I knew there had to be a name for them. Now I just have to build one

 

[Tim Frank]

Re: Building project

But it should be a great project....not rocket science, but plenty of room for sound design and execution. Good luck!

 

[dockwrecker]

Re: Building project

Loop the uphaul/downhaul rope around a spindle at the winch (reversible) with a simple pully at the bottom. In other words, like a big rubbber band that wraps 2-3 times around the winch spindle. Clamp the trolly to one of the lines. Envision a ski lift. (I hope you've seen one).

 

[bigdee]

Re: Building project

Loop the uphaul/downhaul rope around a spindle at the winch (reversible) with a simple pully at the bottom. In other words, like a big rubbber band that wraps 2-3 times around the winch spindle. Clamp the trolly to one of the lines. Envision a ski lift. (I hope you've seen one).

WOW...what a fun project and Dock wrecker beat me to the same idea. What about a 1725rpm 1/2 hp reversible motor mated to a 30:1 gearbox. Mount a 6" diameter drum (wheel rim) to the gearbox. this would give you a speed of approximately 90 ft/min. I wish I were there to help! A couple of sensors,relays and PLC and it would be automated. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[dockwrecker]

Re: Building project

I know my ski lifts... not much else unfortunately...

 

[steepcreeker]

Re: Building project

Loop the uphaul/downhaul rope around a spindle at the winch (reversible) with a simple pully at the bottom. In other words, like a big rubbber band that wraps 2-3 times around the winch spindle. Clamp the trolly to one of the lines. Envision a ski lift. (I hope you've seen one).

I hadn't thought about that type of setup but I like it. I'm from the south so I don't know ski lifts but I have seen a similar type of setup on a sail boat for rigging (capson winch, I think) just without a continuous loop. Not sure how much friction there would be on the spindle, though. Could the cable free spin on it if it was wet? I'll have to look into this more.

M

 

[bigdee]

Re: Building project

Instead of rails you could just suspend a gondola from the cable...put a couple of wheels on the bottom so it will skim across the ground where the cable sags. Since your using 2 cables you could put a gondola on the other cable. This would serve as a counter-balance and give you the added benefit of having one gondola go up as the other comes down. At 90 feet/min your cargo will beat you to the boathouse.