Drill-A-Lift

$45 + replacement drills when they go off the edge of the dock. Add a guick release drll safety teather hanging from the canopy and it might be cool.

quinner wrote: Wonder how well it would work with a heavier boat though and the load spinning from dead center has got to be huge.

That's what I was thinking. I don't own a lift, and don't have a ton of experience, but I've spun a few in my day and I can't see a drill having the torque to do it, especially as Chris points out, having like 0 mechanical advantage. I am very suspicious.

I don't buy it. It may work on a very light boat or jetski but not a 3000lb boat. I used my 19v drill on the bolt holding the wheel and got my boat halfway up in torque mode but then the drill was really hot. It definitely wouldn't go that fast either. Sure I don't have a Dewalt drill but that's also $200-$300.

I modified my Hewitt Hi-Lift lift for an 1100lb harbor freight hoist. I removed the normal cable reel on the hoist and bolted a small atv chain sprocket to it. Then I bolted another sprocket to the lift handle that is similar to the one in the video and run a chain between the two. I first ran a small sprocket on the hoist and a big one on the lift handle for max torque (roughly 1:3). I later added a slightly smaller sprocket on the lift handle (roughly 1:2) and it definitely bogs the motor down more but the wheel turns faster now.

Here is a picture of my first generation DIY boat lift. I've improved it since but don't have any picture readily available of it.

8122pbrainard wrote: How's your homeowners insurance when someone gets their hand caught in the sprockets and chain?

:Insert smiley rolling his eyes: Really? Why are you always so cynical? I'm not saying do this... I'm saying a big powerful 110v motor designed for hoisting engines would struggle to get my boat out of the water with a 1:1 drive so I don't see how a hand drill would do it. <---that's my point and I felt saying "it won't work" wasn't enough justification.

I feel for you if you constantly worry about your "friends" sticking their hands in a moving saw tooth that you're blocking and then suing you. What happens when someone puts their head through your wheel when it's moving? Maybe you should put a shroud over the openings on your wheel...

8122pbrainard wrote: What do you do if you have a power outage?

I can remove the chain in a couple seconds and go by hand if the motor or something tanks. If the power is out, taking shelter is usually on my mind more than taking the boat out.

Waternut wrote: 8122pbrainard wrote: How's your homeowners insurance when someone gets their hand caught in the sprockets and chain? :Insert smiley rolling his eyes: Really? Why are you always so cynical? I'm not saying do this... I'm saying a big powerful 110v motor designed for hoisting engines would struggle to get my boat out of the water with a 1:1 drive so I don't see how a hand drill would do it. <---that's my point and I felt saying "it won't work" wasn't enough justification. I feel for you if you constantly worry about your "friends" sticking their hands in a moving saw tooth that you're blocking and then suing you. What happens when someone puts their head through your wheel when it's moving? Maybe you should put a shroud over the openings on your wheel...

I may sound cynical but yes, I do think about safety and potential law suits. It's the world we live in. My statement was because you have not taken any precaution guarding the chain/sprockets. If you are "not saying do this", don't post a picture.

Regarding the "moving saw tooth", I thought of that as well. My using a DC control was not only because of the voltage drop but also because they have a torque limit setting. The torque limit is set just above the point needed to power the lift winch. As an extra precaution, I also used a torque limiting drive sprocket on the gearmotor.

Regarding your sprocket ratio change, did you start with a torque wrench on the wheel? Gear ratio and HP of the winch?

8122pbrainard wrote: I may sound cynical but yes, I do think about safety and potential law suits. It's the world we live in. My statement was because you have not taken any precaution guarding the chain/sprockets. If you are "not saying do this", don't post a picture. Regarding your sprocket ratio change, did you start with a torque wrench on the wheel? Gear ratio and HP of the winch?

I originally posted the picture because I didn't think people would understand my whole point with a description alone. My current setup is more protected now with chain guides but that was more to keep the chain from jumping off. Call it a safety feature if you like since you can't accidentally get caught in the chain now if that's what you're worried about. At the same time, the motor stops instantly when you let off the button so if someone or my dog gets close, I do instinctively stop the lift but that's more for the cross bars on the wheel than the gears.

No the initial gear setup and follow on gear change were very unscientific. I first started out with a 1:1 replacing the wheel with my motor and that didn't work so I went to a block and tackle setup which also didn't work because I ran out of cable before the boat was up. Knowing it had to be geared down, Gen 1 of my geared motor setup was based on readily available predrilled sprockets suitable for my application. Gen 2 used a readily available sprocket of smaller size but I had to drill the holes. Everything has come a long way in only 2 years and I'm always improving.