Physics question update: solved!

Thanks to mechanical engineer (and now canoe lift consultant) LH, we've learned several things:

1. My existing pulley system offers "no mechanical advantage." That's a politically correct way of saying that it did squat. Less friction on the rope, but all the weight of the canoe. Great.
   
2. My 12th grade physics class provided me with crackerjack abilities to predict the fall of a marble down a stairwell or launch a 2-liter bottle rocket 75 yards, but no actual life skills.
3. Fortunately, there are much smarter people than I who do have a clue (example follows).

So, it turns out that the right way to lift a canoe without playing "spin the jff" or "crack the K" is diagrammed here:

You can tell this diagram was made by an intelligent person by the use of subscript to describe the "load." Even a science-dolt like myself can understand that I will be exerting one-third the physical force and 1/10th the mental energy by following this diagram. Thank you, LH.

Update 2, 12:07am: The new system worked and the canoe is currently suspended. Now we just hope that my knot-tying merit badge was legitimately earned. Wait, was I a Boy Scout?