Getting a motorcycle aboard a sailboat

I have a 32ft sailboat. For years I have taken bicycles aboard to use while cruising. When I got a motorcycle, I thought I'd try to take that along instead

Step 1: Setup

Getting bicycles aboard is trivial - just pick them up in one hand and step aboard. The motorcycle weighs 250lbs, and I can't do that. Even with both hands. I had thought about slings and winches etc - the sailboat comes with a boom, mast, lots of rope etc. - but it is not as easy as it looks, particularly single-handed. You really need one person to work the winch, and one person to guide the load, and the boom is in the wrong place (over the cockpit - OK for removing the boat engine but not where I want a motorcycle). Using a ramp was the obvious answer.

I had a piece of C-section steel beam I had rescued from scrap, which I had used to load the bike into a van. It's easily strong enough, light enough to pick up, and nicely fits the bike tire. The edges are over an inch high and prevent the bike from slipping off sideways.

To use this on the boat, first I need to remove the safety lines. They are designed to easily unclip on the starboard bow (the bit shown in the photo). Then I adjust the dock lines to pull the bow against the dock and hold it securely (usually closer than shown here). The ramp rests on the coaming (wood rail) and is secured with a rope to a deck fitting. This stops it sliding off with the bike's weight on it. It needs to be lined up with a clear space behind to get the bike on. Well, actually, it doesn't, but it's easier that way.

Comments

[67spyder]

What makes this work is the relatively short ramp. Same as loading a bike in the back of a pickup truck, if the ramp is too long the bike has more opportunity to wander off the edge of the ramp. In the video you can see the front tire is almost at the top of the ramp when he checks the rear tire for alignment on the ramp. with a short enough ramp you can ride the bike up the ramp by: SLOWLY while both feet are on the ground advance the bike up the ramp until you can move your feet from the ground to the tailgate of the pickup in one step. I used to do this every weekend until I learned that it is better to stay sober and just ride your bike home that night rather than haul it the next day ;-)

[SandLizard]

Much safer to get someone to help and push it up the ramp. I did that riding thing a few times. The last time the tires were wet and the back tire started spinning on the ramp. The motorcycle (720 lbs.) and I (220 lbs.) both started going over the side. I was lucky, there was a very strong young man that caught me and the bike so neither got hurt. But his back bothered him for several weeks. I always get help and push it up now, much safer.

[mgalyean]

Kudos on the can-do attitude, but if making a regular operation of this maybe you should look into a davit that could be stowed when not in use. Or even some stowable davit-like assembly that would use an existing winch would be cool.

[DIYDragon]

Wow, that would've been so fail if the board broke. LOL! Nice job taking your motorcycle on your boat with you. Wish I had both of those. : D

[adaviel]

The board is a steel beam; no way that will break. The risk is of slipping, losing balance, and dropping the bike on the dock. Worst case, falling with the bike on top. That's why it's important to do it quickly and not mess around halfway up.

[Zelgreb]

No kidding! my uncle used the same technique to unload his new motorcycle from the rented delivery truck and ended up dropping a Kawasaki KLR on himself. It broke a rib. Be careful with those things!

[skunkbait]

Great instructable! There are very few people out there who will probably ever put this to use, but I am one of them. I've been around bikes and boats for almost my whole life, and occasionally the two means of transport intersect. I'll file this one away for future use.