I’ve read over the posts I could find about garage hoists. Great stuff here in the message board when you bother to search. 
I’m still stuck with a simple question; Where can I buy the nylon webbing to use as loops to put around my boats? I’ve been to Lowe’s and Ace Hardware…neither have it.
Go figure.
Any ideas?
You can buy it in
bulk from several places, but what I found was cheaper, was I bought some inexpensive straps and cut off the hardware.
How heavy is your garage?
fabric store
go to your local sewing shop (jo-ann fabrics, etc), they should have some in several sizes and colors. That’s where I got mine
Kayak hanger straps.
Our local Ace hardware stocks the 1" bulk webbing, with buckles. Another (really strong) option would be seat belts from a junkyard. I made my straps from two “tree belts”, sold at WM, to hold hunting accessories for deer hunters in tree stands. Had to reverse one part of the belt, but it now hangs from two bike hooks, and I can utilize the quick release buckle and the clamp buckle for raising and lowering the kayak. Put a couple of lightweight sawhorses under the straps, and you’re all set to clean, modify, or test fit equipment.
webbing
Try http://www.seattlefabrics.com/ or local climbing stores (MI…don’t know) for a wide array of webbing. The wider the webbing to support your boat probably the better…perhpas a minimum of 2.5"? Might want to consider placing the system in such a way that the straps supporting the boat are at your bulkheads where possible/reasonable. Probably minimum of 3 straps per boat?..
Garage hoist
Most marine stores carry 1", and 1 1/2" or 2".
I use my old NRS tie down straps.
fire hose
a friend who worked where they where replaceing all the hose that hangs in the hallways at work got me a roll works great i’ll have enough to last a life time.
1/2 Inch Nylon Line
was leftover from a VFD training evolution so I used it with a safety knot to keep it from neither tighting or slipping.
Also solved the problem of what I was going to do with two 48 lengths of 1/2 inch line that kept “getting in the way”.
SYOW
har dee har har
Funny
Swimming noodles
I configured my own hoists for our boats. I’m using 3/8s or 1/2 rope running through swimming noodles as the cradles. I’d picked up a number of swimming noodles for a buck a piece a couple of years ago and have been using them in this manner ever since.
West Marine
I use to work at West Marine, and you can get the stuff there in different colors and widths. Best to check it out, it’s not to expensive either.
Strap for lawn chairs
I got a roll on clearance. had my wife sew 2" metal ring on one end and screwed a 1x1 over the other end for an adjustment. Used a heavy nail to hook the ring on.
Good luck
Randy
Target has the whoe hoist system for $25
50 pounds rating.
If you need something more heavy duty, try to search a site at shopping.yahoo.com. I got one sytem rated at 200 lb for $35 shipped.