I too bought my hoist on ebay for a winning bid of $32. Fortunately I was able to install mine and get it working without some of the hassles expressed by the previous reviewer. My garage ceiling is a tad less than 12' and in order to get my Bell Morningstar (15' 6" 60lbs) to clear the garage door when open, I had to make two alterations:
- First, the straps that come with the kit, although robust, are way too long. I wound up using the adjustable tie-downs that came with my car roof mount kit. Using these I can really snug down the straps and remove most excess slack. The straps shipped with the kit leave the boat hanging way too low!
- Next, I had to remove the hooks from the two pully assemblies (unbolt the hooks from the pullies) by grinding down the rivets. Once they were removed I put the hangers in a vice and using a hammer reshaped them in to strap hooks. Doing this little operation gained maybe another 10" of clearance.
This was the only way I could take up all of the slack and get the clearance I needed in my application. My canoe now has appx. 6" of clearance between it and the raised garage door.
One other word of caution. My canoe weighs only 60 lbs. At that weight it's not overly difficult to hoist. I suspect an 80 pounder may be more of a challenge. Also, be forewarned not to let go of one of the ropes while pulling on the other. Doing so will completely release the end attached to the loose rope and your boat will come crashing down! Good thing my Morningstar is Royalex!!
All-in-all I think this was a pretty cost-effective solution for storing our boat. But it does pay to be handy and have the right tools for those inevitable mods that might be needed.
