UJ,

Good thought on the garage door opener but everyone I've ever fooled with has a resistance sensor on it for safety. IF it were [pulling a canoe up under a porch, it would have to slide very easily or the opener would shut off. Also, it would have to be kept out of the weather which may be difficult under a porch.

One thought might be a 12v DC winch used on trucks and 4WD vehicles in the woods. They are weather proof. The down side there is getting 12v DC to it and they can get to be a little expensive unless you can pick up a used one somewhere.

If the winch could be kept out of the weather, Harbor Freight sells a couple of nice winches for just over $100. You can get them on sale regularly for less. They would work great. They work both in and out so getting the canoe out would not be a real problem.

Building 2 runners and covering them with trailer bunker carpet would be easy and inexpensive. You can also get a teflon material to put on top of the runners that will let the canoe slide real easy.

Good luck with it and let us know what happens.

Adrian