Very pleased with the quality of the hardware that came with the kit. The instructions were fairly easy to interpret and the whole thing went together in about an hour.
The photo accompanying this product is a bit deceiving since it will not permit the kayak to go as close to the ceiling as shown due to the size of the pully systems and the width of the straps that come with the kit. If the straps could be shortened (they come sewn to a fixed size) you could gain several more inches. As such, our kayak is hanging only about 5.5' off the floor. It's OK, but even knowing it's there doesn't stop you from banging your head every so often.
Good kit for the price. Certainly does the job. Kayak Hoist Canoe Lift Top Quality By RAD Sportz
I compared a few units for hoisting my kayaks to the ceiling of my garage. I found that the hardware in this kit was the same in kits that were selling for a lot more from other online retailers. The installation is not terribly difficult.
You do need to shorten the straps that hold up your kayak if you want to hang it close to the ceiling. The straps are pretty long and if you don't fold them over or shorten them, your kayak will droop pretty low.
It was cheap but it is not effective for efficiently lifting my kayak. The kayak is well within the weight specifications listed but the furthest most hoist is virtually impossible to lift. Also, it doesn't have an independent locking mechanism for the two lines so you have to support the entire kayak and mess with the individual lines to try to get an even lift. Wish I had purchased a more substantial hoist, not worth the trouble to save a few bucks.
The Rad-Sportz Kayak Hoist system is a very nice system to store a kayak on the ceiling. After using my self designed system for about a year, I needed an upgrade because of a new boat. This system caught my eye because it is effective, and also inexpensive compared to many on the market right now. Raising the boats (I have two boats and two hoists) is easy and secure due to the locking mechanism. Lowering it is a bit more difficult, because you have hold one of the two lines (to release that locking mechanism) while you feed out rope on the other. My boats are heavy and this can hurt your hands, depending on how you are holding the lines.
My only other nit-pick is the rope is not the best quality, This rope seems to fray easily and will probably need to be replaced after a year or so. But for the cost, this device is well worth it and I would buy another if I got another boat.
The previous comments bout not pulling the boat up far enough are no longer true, in that they have redesigned the system with adjust able straps so you can get the boat pretty tight to the ceiling. I'm 6 foot tall and my ceiling is just over 8 feet and I can walk under my boats.
I had been thinking of building a lift similar to this put wasn't having much luck in finding the right parts. This kit has it all and I'm sure I would't have found the hardware any cheaper.
I mounted the lift brackets on a 8ft 2 x 4 and mounted the 2 x 4 to my garage ceiling.
The straps are universal and as other people have said there too long for most Kayaks, I had mine resewn shorter.
Also, later I may replace the rope with a heavier one, to lift my 65lb. Hobie Outback I have to put on leather gloves to hold the rope.
My garage ceiling is 9' 7'' and I have 6' 8'' under the Yak.
The hoist works quite well. You raise or lower each end of your boat with separate ropes, and can easily raise or lower it evenly. However the force required to lift is substantial for my 60 pound roof top cargo box. A smaller person might find it difficult to lift a 100 lb.+ canoe or kayak. The Brake System works very well and prevents sudden, uncontrolled drops should you lose control of the ropes. Overall this hoist is easy to operate.
The suspension straps provided use a plastic snap together buckle (like on a backpack waist strap). This seems dangerous. I don't believe those types of buckles are intended to be load bearing. It's the weak link in this hoist. I'm going to replace mine with cargo straps that come with a proper load bearing rating.
Installation was easy, I screwed the pulley blocks into a stud that I located in the ceiling by following a line of nails driven through the sheet rock. Drilled a pilot hole for the wood screws to verify I was going into solid wood (very important); the kit's wood screws have bolt heads so you'll need a socket and ratchet, it takes some considerable force, they are sizable screws (that's good- you're hanging a lot of weight off these things). The instructions require you space the pulley blocks a minimum 6 feet apart. That wasn't an option for me given the spacing of storage racks, the garage door, and furnace ducts. So I set mine at 5 feet apart and I'm not having any problems- it operates fine- you should have no worries ignoring this rule if you have a short kayak.
Threading the rope through the pulley blocks and tackle is easy; they give you a drawing to show how. But securing the 2 loose rope ends onto each pulley block is not so easy. They want you tie those rope ends around one of the horizontal bolts that attach each of the pulley blocks to the mounting plates. Problem is you've already bolted it together, it's screwed into the ceiling, and you don't have a lot of room to work with to make some fancy knot (they don't supply a diagram of what type of knot to use). You'll see what I mean when you do it yourself. So I simply ran the rope ends through the hole in the block and tied a simple double knot that prevents the rope from slipping back through the hole. Seems to work just fine.
I recommend you test your installation by suspending your boat just a few inches off the ground for several days before lifting the boat up high into its storage position. Check to make sure the pulley blocks aren't pulling loose from the ceiling, and tug on the ropes suspending your boat to further ensure those pulley blocks won't rip loose. You will note the ropes stretch, your boat will drop about a half inch in the first 24 hours.
Aside from the strap buckles being poor quality, I would have given this 5 stars. It's a slick product that optimizes precious floor space in your garage. - Storage - Kayak - Kayak Hoist - Overhead Garage Storage'
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