pinnerite expressed precisely :
The problem is that at 6.5ft the cord is too short if the mounting point
is some way away.

Am I approaching the problem in too simpolistic a way?

I had a similar issue, a workshop in my loft, accessed via a normal
loft hatch. I fixed a simple pulley to a rafter, reinforced to the two
adjacent to it, able to take an 8mm rope. I raise and lower on it
regularly and much more weight than you are proposing. A ratchet is not
necessary, but one of those metal brackets fixed to something
substantial, where the rope can be wound in a figure of eight might be
useful if a pause might be necessary, in raising or lowering and
awkward item.