"Emmo" wrote in message
...

After looking at his results, we agreed that we would redesign. I like
Bruce's I-beam idea,

Not 100% sure the roof joists could handle it, and wife would never allow me
to hang anything that ugly over the porch swing. Only reason I get this is
because it is way down to the side and doesn't interfere with the view.

myself, but what we decided was that the post should be
fixed, and the davit pieces should swivel around the post with a collar,
hinge, or other means.

Thought of that, too, but I think for the purposes of swinging load into the
deck, an axis that goes through the center of the vertical is best.
Anything else increases the leverage and flex. Right?

We also brought the winch in, right next to the
post, and made it pull up a platform with a wheeled carriage riding on the
post, something like a dumbwaiter.

Now, you're getting complicated.

We didn't see the need to hang the winch
so far out from the post.

We also came up with the gate idea so that the platform only would come up
to the level of the deck rather than trying to go over the railing - this
would make it a lot easier to unload as well.

Beat you to it, just didn't post it in the original post. I will probably
do wrought iron on that end, probably the Indital "vineyard" stuff with
metal leaves and nice decorations to make it look like foliage. Then
airbrush in details.

Of course, my son immediately
saw the possibilities of making this platform a people lift, which I told
him had already been vetoed by the professionals here...

That may still happen. Of course, I would never admit it. However, I do
weigh #195, and that would be a good test load. (I have ridden a headache
ball down from the top of a drilling derrick, but that was when the safety
man was in the doghouse.)


Anyway, it was interesting to him, as the previously mentioned ME
undergrad...


Thanks for bouncing it off a fresh brain.

Steve