Winch Recommendation to Pull an 850 lb Jet Ski on a Floating Dock

Updated 08/01/2014 | Published 07/31/2014

Question:

Want to pull a 850 lb Jet ski up onto a floating dock I understand the winch is designed for 400 lbs but I have no intention of pulling the jet ski straight up but rather dragging it out of the water. Will this winch work for such an application?

asked by: Steve S

Expert Reply:

Generally, the boat-size-to-winch capacity ratio is 2 to 1. If you have a long winching distances and wooden bunks for the jet ski, then that ratio may reduce to 1 to 1. If you have a short winching distance and you are using good rollers as opposed to wooden bunks, then you could increase the ratio to 3 to 1.

If you are simply pulling the jet ski directly on the dock without any bunk guides or with wooden bunk guides, then I would stick to a 1 to 1 ratio. For your situation, I would use a stronger winch like the Fulton Single Speed Winch, # F142102. This winch has a capacity of 1,100 lbs and in comes with a 20ft strap.

This is not a ratchet crank jack, but it would pull a jet ski out of the water. All of our ratchet crank jacks max out at 400 lbs.

expert reply by: John H