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Garry | profile | all galleries >> Boats and Projects >> Cartopper Dinghy Loader tree view | thumbnails | slideshow

Cartopper Dinghy Loader

We needed an easy way to transport our dinghy on top of our van. I saw an idea for a car top dinghy loading scheme on another site ( http://web.mac.com/robertwagenvoort/iWeb/Site/Cartop%20Lift.html). So, after thinking it through, decided to build one with my own innovations.
Rolling the dinghy into lifting position
Rolling the dinghy into lifting position		 Ready to lift
Ready to lift		 Supported by 2x4 block
Supported by 2x4 block
Use the legs!
Use the legs!		 Support coming into position
Support coming into position		 Self-supporting!
Self-supporting!
Ready to slide over
Ready to slide over		 Pushing over
Pushing over		 Lifting ends over tie-down eyes
Lifting ends over tie-down eyes
In travel position, ready to tie down
In travel position, ready to tie down		 Starting to unload
Starting to unload		 Lifting end over tie-down eye
Lifting end over tie-down eye
Pushing into unload position
Pushing into unload position		 Starting to come down, kicking suport out of the way
Starting to come down, kicking suport out of the way		 Use the legs!!!
Use the legs!!!
Strap-on dolly
Strap-on dolly		 Placing dolly in position
Placing dolly in position		 Placing dolly in position
Placing dolly in position
Tighten nylon strap
Tighten nylon strap		 Ready to roll
Ready to roll		 Passing line through oarlock to help turn
Passing line through oarlock to help turn
Using line to start the roll
Using line to start the roll		 Easing her down
Easing her down		 The Spindrift has landed!
The Spindrift has landed!
Moving with the dolly
Moving with the dolly		 The lifting rack
The lifting rack		 Unhooking
Unhooking
Pivot end detail
Pivot end detail		 Folded up
Folded up		 Pivot end underneath showing support leg hinge and cutout
Pivot end underneath showing support leg hinge and cutout
Cleat added to support leg to hold ends together, turn button on other side
Cleat added to support leg to hold ends together, turn button on other side		 Cartopper end view
Cartopper end view		 Cartopper top view
Cartopper top view
Cartopper details
Cartopper details

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TPE 15-Sep-2013 16:18
This is a very clever design. I used it for my Dyer Dhow (104 lbs) atop a Toyota Sienna minivan. I found that 10' 2x4s were quite unwieldy if used as the "ramps" (hard to put into the van for offloading the dinghy, etc) so I cut them down to 8' and they worked just about as well. To my thinking, the pivot bolts for the ramps are best placed towards the bottom of the plywood box, not the top as you placed them. Could you comment on this?

Love the dolly too - a thing of 2x4 beauty.
Graham 04-Apr-2013 22:53
Not only will this help with topping my soon to built boat, but also gives me a way to pull my Jeep's hardtop off. Great idea.
knuclehead 27-Jun-2009 22:53
Brilliant! You have saved me hundreds of dollars that I dont have to spend on a less elegant solution like a tralier and hull lenght seitech dolley.
Nigel 18-Mar-2009 17:25
I must have been tired when I wrote that comment - I didn't think about the physics! you are in fact lifting half the weight if the boat is halfway up the ramp, which it appears to be. If you could get a 30 degree slope, you would also only have to lift half the weight (assuming no friction) but that would seem to require longer boards than your current set up.

Here's an idea that might work for a smaller nested dinghy: construct a roof rack out of a couple 2x4's that is the length of the boat and that is balanced on the roof so that it extends over the windshield and over the back of the van a bit. Then you lift half the boat up, slide it forward, then lift the second half up and put it behind it. Tie them both on. The lifting might not be too bad since half a boat is half the weight and a lot less cumbersome than a whole boat. You could obviate the need for a long rack if you could get them to nest on the roof, but that would probably be tricky.

Just an idea. Cheers.
Garry18-Mar-2009 15:42
My dinghy weighed about 130 lb and it was not a strain to lifit on the dinghy loader. You're only lifting about half the weight. I think that trying to push it up would actually be harder. You might be able to rig some kind of pulley system that would help if the lift is too much.
Nigel 16-Mar-2009 19:38
I have been really enjoying reading your site! I have been struggling with the boat-on-the-minivan problem with my laser for a couple seasons now. Your dinghy loader seems like a viable solution assuming you can dead lift the weight of the boat plus the 2x4's. I'm skeptical I could do that without torquing my back out. It dawned on me while looking at your pictures: why not just push the boat up once its in the supported position? In other words, just use the supports as a ramp. Have you tried that? Another question: is it possible to take advantage of the nesting aspect of the design in loading the boat? I'm considering building a spindrift 9N or 10N, and was hoping that loading one half then then putting the other on top might be possible. Thanks, Nigel
John Cheyne 02-Jul-2008 11:45
Hi Garry, Great solution and fantastic illustrations of the idea. I am just about to purchse a 8 foot Bic 252 for car topping and was a bit worried about doing it solo - but not anymore! I will be building a version of your system as soon as my boat arrives. Thanks!

John - UK
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