Bill, I second your request. I have a Garhauer crane waiting for installation, probably over the winter, and would be grateful for any ideas that can assist me in designing an installation.

If you don't have a radar tower, I'd think you'd still have to have a pole / tower of some sort to support the weight... no?

Ours is on our wind generator pole. You need something kind of beefy to carry it if you're picking up a decent sized outboard. Given the space constraints, making stuff do double duty is a good idea.

Capt.

Here is my install... I installed the lift on my Wind Vane pole. Garhauer also sells a bracket that attaches the pole to the 1" rail making the pole/lift solid.

Chris

Bill,
This might not work for you in exactly the same way (MkI vs MkII), but it might give you some ideas. The idea is to have the vertical pole of the Garhauer lift actually be vertical, and not slanted off in any direction. I built a small extension out of 1/4" aluminum to mount the base/ball. The motor hoist was out of the way, and the angles worked perfectly to the motor.

Speaking from experience, the install is better done as two person project -- to do it solo is a juggling act of getting things lined up properly, and checking how the hook will swing to a dink in the water and back to the outboard mount. All without dropping pieces into the drink!!

Agree with Tom that the trick is to get the pole vertical. I am off by a degree or two, but still works without any apparent stress or strain on fittings.

(hopefully attached makes it)

Rick Caauwe
Moon River #550

I'm attaching pictures of our Garhauer installation on our MKII, using one of the transom seats. There is also a close up of the attachment bracket for the stern rail. For what it is worth, my wife believes that this is the best improvement we have made to the boat as far as safety is concerned.

One of the other tricks is finding out where to put the base. I put mine up on the coaming. It lines up fine with the motor mount and engine. Measure twice, cut once.

I purchased mine from Kato Marine and have never regretted it. It is sturdy and was very easy and quick to install.
Hilbre

John, that is exactly the installation I want, except on portside instead of stbd. What fitting did you use at the base of the lift stanchion...the fitting on the transom? You wouldn't have a close-up photo of that part of your installation, would you?

Larry, sorry, I have no closeups to share and it will be early November before I am back in Mexico. The angle fitting is custom from Kato for a C36. It requires three holes to be drilled into the transom which took no time at all and the backing plate comes with the fitting. The bottom of the angle fitting has a screw which locks onto the bottom of the pole. The pole is supported to the rail by a fitting that again is quick and easy to install. I have a 4HP Honda and the only thing I would change is where I put the lower fitting. I would move it up more or order a longer pole so I have a little more clearance when hoisting the engine. I also got the 4:1 purchase instead of the 3:1 which makes it easier for my wife. It would also be useful for hauling someone on board as the whole installation is quite strong. I backed Hilbre into the slip and and hour and a half later, it was all installed. it was a no brainer! It takes me about five minutes to remove/replace when I put the boat into storage. Kato makes a good product; I also purchased their Radar mount for the mast and this has also been a great product. If I were to add Davits, I would also use Kato.
Hilbre

Thanks, John. I learned a lot from your photos.

For the record, ours is identical to David Power's installation.