Lifting a pontoon off the ground(dumb new guy)

[sweeney153]

I have a 20' Grumman that need some love. I found a guy who has one that I can get the railings off. They are in great shape the rest of the boat, not so good. The toons have holes, no furniture and the deck is shot all I want is the railings but it’s all or nothing. I figure I can junk the rest but how do i get it on to my bunk trailer. If i knew someone with one of those scissor trailers i could do that but i don’t.

[ronb]

ouch, this is more difficult, up onto a bunk style is going to be difficult. I have been thinking about this issue for a while for my own boat so I can do some repair work on my bunk trailer this winter.. here are the options I have come up with so far..

Large A-frames with a connecting rod, and a chain hoist to lift it, then you can strap that corner up to the cross bar and use the chain hoist to lift another corner until all corners are off the ground and high enough.

Shorter stands (like the type you would use for wood work, but made of metal) then jack it up and put a brace beneath the pontoon tubes but high enough that the trailer can be moved under it. This could be a huge pain to get it on and off the trailer.

If the rest of the pontoon is junk as you say.. maybe you don't want to do anything to 'try and save it' go borrow a car trailer and winch it up onto the flat bed, use something like either heavy duty rollers (you can get cheap furniture moving dollys at Harbor Freight) or a peice of sacrificial plywood and slide it up on the trailer, take what you want and then haul the hull in for scrap..

Or find somebody to borrow a scissor lift trailer from, which would be the safest and cleanest option. Maybe one of the storage businesses in your area would be willing to haul it for you for a fee?
-ron

[PlaynDoc]

I like the idea of using a car trailer and wench. Drag it on the trailer, haul it home, strip it, then take the rest to the scrapyard

[GregF]

Take the tongue off the ball and tilt the trailer so the bunk is on the ground, winch it up. I needed a step ladder to start but I always have one on my cart so it wasn't a big deal.
Once you get it started the trailer will tilt back down as the boat comes up. It helps if you can block the bow up a bit.
I did that with a junker here for a neighbor. They got $700 for the aluminum (24 footer), once they stripped off all the wood etc.

[mgarvie]

I have a scissor trailer if you're in central Illinois.

[ronb]

Greg, does he need to wet the bunks to assist with slipping? I talked to my trailer manufacturer early this Summer about a warranty issue (my winch post) and he was telling me that a guy tried to do pretty much what you are saying and that he flattened all of the bunk riser brackets in the process.

-ron

[Bamaman]

When in doubt, get a couple of heavy come alongs and start crankin'. If you use the winch tower, just make sure the strap/rope/cable is not worn.

I also like the car trailer answer.

This may take some of that democrat ingenuity.

[oldmn19]

Here's another idea to check out, check with local towing company's that have roll back trucks, I don't know if there wide enough but they could wench it up onto the truck right off the ground. You don't care if the tubes gets scratched up!

[GregF]

Greg, does he need to wet the bunks to assist with slipping? I talked to my trailer manufacturer early this Summer about a warranty issue (my winch post) and he was telling me that a guy tried to do pretty much what you are saying and that he flattened all of the bunk riser brackets in the process.

-ron

I have a roller trailer so it wasn't an issue but since this is a dry boat, some lube is never a bad idea.

You could break off all the furniture and other stuff before you lift it but that may not really make that much difference. Is the motor still on it? That will make a big difference.

[BoatCop]

I like the idea of using a car trailer and wench. Drag it on the trailer, haul it home, strip it, then take the rest to the scrapyard

I think it would take a whole lot of wenches to muscle that thing onto a trailer.

[GregF]

I like the idea of using a car trailer and wench. Drag it on the trailer, haul it home, strip it, then take the rest to the scrapyard

I think it would take a whole lot of wenches to muscle that thing onto a trailer.

I saw a couple on the Olympics who could toss that boat up there like a frisbee.

[tracker2]

I think I would take off the pieces I want and take a sawzall to the rest and load it on a trailer destined for the scrapyard..

[PlaynDoc]

I like the idea of using a car trailer and wench. Drag it on the trailer, haul it home, strip it, then take the rest to the scrapyard

I think it would take a whole lot of wenches to muscle that thing onto a trailer.

I saw a couple on the Olympics who could toss that boat up there like a frisbee.

I was wondering how long it would take before the 'wenches' were noticed!

[ronb]

I was wondering how long it would take before the 'wenches' were noticed!

We always notice wenches...

[BobG]

I was wondering how long it would take before the 'wenches' were noticed!

We always notice wenches...

Especially when the suggested action is to "strip it".