Engineered joist as a strongback?

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MNGator
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Jul 23, 2010 5:58 pm
Location: Rosemount, MN

Engineered joist as a strongback?

Post by MNGator »

Hi, I am new to the forum and want to build a strip canoe this winter. Just in the planning stages, having selected a design yet, moreso working on the logistics of space and time to make sure it is feasible.

I plan on building in my garage (insulated and heated) in Minnesota, but I really need the space for cars too. What I would like to do is put my strong back on a hoist system so I can lift the entire assembly out of the way when I am not working on it.

My thought is to use two engineered joists tied together with 2x6's, and have 4 holes evenly spaced in the side that I could slide an pipe into to attach to the hoist mechanism. I have 14' ceilings in the garage, so I have the headroom, just not sure if it would stay stable enough to not mess up the construction and alignment. When lowered, it would be attached to sturdy legs for actual building work. Has anyone done something like this? Will it work? potential pitfalls?

Thanks!
BearLeeAlive
Posts: 196
Joined: Tue Aug 18, 2009 7:00 pm

Re: Engineered joist as a strongback?

Post by BearLeeAlive »

I considered using engineered wood too, as I have lots left over from jobs I have done, but in the end built pretty much the standard strongback out of the Canoe Craft book.

If using engineered joists, I would attach at least an 8" wide piece of 3/4" ply top and bottom as they have very little lateral stability, all their strength is in the vertical plane. It might not hurt to fit some gussets on the inside of this at about 12 to 16" spacing, to help it with torsional stability. Without the stability of legs when hanging, it could be more likely for it to twist when hanging.

In the end, if you are buying new, I would likely just go with something like the one from Canoe Craft. Either one would work to hoist up above a vehicle if needed, though this would be a real pain to do on a regular basis. You would need to ensure that the strongback is perfectly level each time it is set up too.

You are probably best to just leave a car outside, and have the canoe set up permanently. This way it is easy to add a few strips a day. If you had the hassle of lifting and dropping it every time you worked on it, you would likely just leave it until you were more willing to park outside anyway.

Just my opinion having gone through similar thought processes on making the garage double as a workshop. A remote start on my wife's car was all I needed to do to gain the whole space for my projects. :tu
-JIM-
MNGator
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Jul 23, 2010 5:58 pm
Location: Rosemount, MN

Re: Engineered joist as a strongback?

Post by MNGator »

Thanks for the input. I have a rig using a harbor freight electic hoist to raise and lower it. Will probably just build the regular strongback and maybe reinforce laterally somehow. Won't really work to leave the car out, I travel too much for work, this might be a two year job!
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