Idea about DIY boat lift ramp thingy

[Mr Bojangles]

ok, here is the deal. I have my 550 at my inlaws on a 12 foot wooden ramp I made out of wood with a winch at the end to get it out of the water, however from the top of the dock to the water is about 6 feet, and once it sinks down, I have to have the ramp almost vertical to keep the ski out of the water, or get a few people to help me pull it up and onto the dock. now I have access to a few 55g plastic drums, and on the web I see people make DIY floating dock out of them, and they say a 55g drum can hold around 700lbs! So since the ski weighs about 300 max, do you guys think if I were to attach one to the end of the ramp, I could have a slick mini ramp? see the sweet pic for what I am talking about. TIA!

 

[rollin5150]

Don't see why it would not work.

 

[Mr Bojangles]

It's really a matter of getting the drum and some roap and giving it a go I guess. I only have $10 invested in it already since I'm using the same winch from my truck bed launch ramp. It's just a pain to get it out if the water and it's in salt so I need to have it out if the water and flushed easily.

 

[MDStandUp]

no one heard this from me.
you need to go behind a bar and steal a few DOMESTIC kegs. bars will usually put empties out back until they get picked up. if your not a stealer then drink a couple and dont return them. you will have to eat the $30 (PTR) deposit though. I'd take a couple of those to use. the nice thing about them is they do are aluminum, 15.5 gallons, and adjustable. you can rent a tap from a kegs to go place and can play with how much water you want to bleed into them or pump out. They make the perfect floating dock.
things to remember:
get domestic kegs so that couplers are easiest to find. they are 15.5 gal vs imports at 13.2 so they will be a little taller.
its easy to put water into the keg but you need the stand the keg back upright to pump out water. so dont bolt down until happy
mounting them vertical wont give you the most bouancy but will make it a lot more easy to adjust the balast. especially with a tide to tilt the keg more.

 

[FlightPlanDan]

PICASSO!!!! I've not seen talent like that since Mary Jane choked on the paste and started the whole "abstract thing"...lol

Just kidding. Floating docks are everywhere. Most of them use boxes (same as drums) But are looped or connected to a stationary piling upon which they slide up and down with the tide and/or the user. All it takes is a garden hose and some pvc pipe to set pilings deep enough for your ramp.
The pilings will keep the angle constant (except for the tide) as you launch or winch in. Flotation alone may give you and your neighbors problems if there is any current at all.

 

[Speedfreak]

Make sure that your 55 gal. drum has the lids glued on really good. We built a dock at the lake and 3 of the 10 drums we used sank and tore the other parts of the dock up. We used old fire hose to wrap the drums to hold them in place. And a piece of galvanized angle iron we lag bolted across the lip to keep them from slipping.

But the ideal looks good to me except for the pivot point. I would make it so that it would stand straight up on the nose if needed.

 

[DAG]

One of the problems with this is you will need the drum near the front if you want the tip of the wood to be touching the water without the ski on it. Then with the ski on it the drum will need to be near the rear (as you pictured). I have made something similar without the use of a drum. You need cable to hold the front to act as a perm stop so the back end is touching the water w/o the ski on it. and when the ski is on it the cable will keep the wood from going vertical. This works if you have room to let the wood pivot with the wall as the halfway point so you can winch the ski so it sits horizontal.

Also give us dimensions on max height of the wall, because your looking WAY to steep.

 

[FlightPlanDan]

Try these guys! I'm sorry. I couldn't help myself!

http://www.rocketsciencedesign.net/

 

[Mr Bojangles]

The wall is about 6 feet tall when standing in the water so it's going to be pretty steep. My main problem is realistate on the dock and seawall. I already have my boat and couch on lifts there so adding another and having space to get everything in and out is hard. When I go over their this weekend I will take a pic to show what I have going on.