TWO BOATS STACKED IN ONE BOATHOUSE (Pontoon over Jon):
Hey all, newbe here (second post). I have a 16' x 30' boat house on Lake Marion, SC, with the roof being about 20' x 34' (with walk-around deck), and was built last year to hold our 20’ pontoon fishing boat. The lake’s water level here was down over 4-feet last week from the summer drought, and as of last week we could no longer launch the pontoon from the Decco boatlift (need one more foot of water or so). That also meant I could not check my 50-hook trotline (had 70 lbs. of catfish off it the week before), and it’s the same fate for our neighbors. Made me sick not to be able to check the line, so earlier last week I got a 14' jon boat (’94) with 18hp Evinrude ( ‘73), intending to just beach it until water levels are back up, and have it ready to go to check my trots. Great and convenient, but after a few days it needed a cover to keep things protected (remote electric start & electronics), so I got one at Walfart, but it’s just a hassel to deal with (batt charger, wind & rain), just a real pain putting it on and off.
So last Friday I came up with this idea: Lowered the ’toon to just above the jon, rigged some heavy-duty hooks & line to create a sling & bow line, hooked to the lift beams to lift the jon close underneath, and so my lift is "stacked" with the jon snug under the toon, piggy-back style!!! It's fine so far, as I'm using 1/2” 10,000 lb. test climbing-rope, and will put protective heater-hose sleeves at key wear points (it's a 6000 lb. rated lift, toon is 3000, and jon is maybe 500). It raised right up without any problems, as I have around 12' of headroom due to the water being so low, seems stable, and the jon is perfectly protected under the roof & the ‘toon. I looked all over the web and did not see where anyone had done this, but think it’s a clever solution and use of the boathouse, maybe this will help someone out in a similar situation. Just hope the lake doesn’t flood to fast anytime soon. Happy trottin’!
UPDATE:
We had the big flood near here over the weekend and water came up 2 feet Sat & Sun, but there was still plenty of room for the two boats at max lift. But I took the jon off today as we can launch the pontoon now, and in case the flood waters keep rising, and put it in our cove, so I’ll post pix the next time I set it up.
Hey all, newbe here (second post). I have a 16' x 30' boat house on Lake Marion, SC, with the roof being about 20' x 34' (with walk-around deck), and was built last year to hold our 20’ pontoon fishing boat. The lake’s water level here was down over 4-feet last week from the summer drought, and as of last week we could no longer launch the pontoon from the Decco boatlift (need one more foot of water or so). That also meant I could not check my 50-hook trotline (had 70 lbs. of catfish off it the week before), and it’s the same fate for our neighbors. Made me sick not to be able to check the line, so earlier last week I got a 14' jon boat (’94) with 18hp Evinrude ( ‘73), intending to just beach it until water levels are back up, and have it ready to go to check my trots. Great and convenient, but after a few days it needed a cover to keep things protected (remote electric start & electronics), so I got one at Walfart, but it’s just a hassel to deal with (batt charger, wind & rain), just a real pain putting it on and off.
So last Friday I came up with this idea: Lowered the ’toon to just above the jon, rigged some heavy-duty hooks & line to create a sling & bow line, hooked to the lift beams to lift the jon close underneath, and so my lift is "stacked" with the jon snug under the toon, piggy-back style!!! It's fine so far, as I'm using 1/2” 10,000 lb. test climbing-rope, and will put protective heater-hose sleeves at key wear points (it's a 6000 lb. rated lift, toon is 3000, and jon is maybe 500). It raised right up without any problems, as I have around 12' of headroom due to the water being so low, seems stable, and the jon is perfectly protected under the roof & the ‘toon. I looked all over the web and did not see where anyone had done this, but think it’s a clever solution and use of the boathouse, maybe this will help someone out in a similar situation. Just hope the lake doesn’t flood to fast anytime soon. Happy trottin’!
UPDATE:
We had the big flood near here over the weekend and water came up 2 feet Sat & Sun, but there was still plenty of room for the two boats at max lift. But I took the jon off today as we can launch the pontoon now, and in case the flood waters keep rising, and put it in our cove, so I’ll post pix the next time I set it up.