Boat lift help

[wtrskior]

I'm looking at putting a lift in at my cabin and the area where I feel is best is fairly deep. To compound our lake drops 3-4' in depth from spring to fall each year. At the back end its probably 6-7' deep in the spring.

 

The bottom is also a mix of uneven rock and sand. Any tips on how to install a lift in deeper water?

[Jordan]

look at a floating boat lift....

http://www.boatlift.com/product/e-series/

[oldjeep]

Sunstream makes a good floating lift too. Father inlaw has one in Florida with his shared 200

 

http://goo.gl/Kx228u

[BraceMaker]

Look at what others are using, will tell you alot.

 

There are "regional" manufacturers which often have tweaked items.

 

 

[Skoot1123]

What type of lift do you want to use? From your original post it sounds like you want your lift to be based on the lake bottom. Do you have an option of an overhead lift?

[Wayne]

@wtrskior what is the spring time water depth at the front of where the lift will sit? Will the lift stay in year round or do you need to pull it out for the winter?

 

Sounds like you would have to go with a vertical high lift as your water depth is not quite deep enough for a floating lift. Depending on how big the rocks are that you mention would probably dictate what type of foot is on the lift support posts. Lift brands seem a bit regional but I've seen some Shore Station lifts set up for some fairly steep shorelines with deep water. @inland made some posts on here a while back. I know he had to deal with a lot of water level fluctuation and the lift brand he has seemed to have more travel than any other manufacturer. He might chime in to say what it is. You might have to go to higher capacity lift to get more travel.

[oldjeep]

@Wayne - not deep enough for a floating lift? How do you figure? Or do you mean the type that has a fixed undercarriage and barrels?

[wtrskior]

great questions guys. There are local options, but I don't see many, if any lifts on the lake. it is a rocky Canadian shield lake, and the lake is fairly deep.

 

@wayne the depth in spring at hte front is about 3', this drops to almost 0' by fall; with total draw about 2.5' on an average year.

 

We would pull the lift for the winter as the lake freezes solid.

[Sxr_nathan]

Look at Floe boat lifts, we have one for our boat and it is great. Easy to adjust to changing water levels and if needed is fairly easy to move with the wheel kit. On our Alberta lake I would say 60% of the lifts and docks are Floe.

 

www.floeintl.com

 

[BraceMaker]

By front you mean where the front of the lift would sit?

 

To me I think you'll have to move most lifts at some point during the summer - which is not horribly difficult.

 

There are lifts from most brands that you can buy "deep water" legs for, however in my experience its harder to move lifts when you use these kits since the wheel kits and such attach to the cross frame - so instead of setting the lift really deep all season I'd just keep it in shallower and then bring it deeper as the water drops.

[Wayne]

@wtrskior so realistically you will have 3' at the front and 6' or so at the back when the lift is actually in use? That's pretty common for a vertical lift and nearly the same lake depth my lift is in. Are you concerned about the lake bottom, depth or slope? If by "rocky sand mix" means you have jagged rocks the size of a soccer ball, that's going to be hard to deal with. If the rocks are smaller than your hand, then no issues. Find a lift sold in your area that has a good reputation and you should be fine.

 

@oldjeep I was thinking of the barrel style floating lift. I know there are the bladder lift bag type that can be used in fairly shallow water too. Viable option for sure.

[oldjeep]

@Wayne sunstream has two rotating pontoons that scoops the boat from each side.

[Fast351]

2nd Floe lifts. I have a VSD5000 that my boat resides on. The legs are screw adjustable from above the water (you do have to remove the boat first, the screws are not rated to lift 2500#). 3/4" socket with a cordless drill of the 20V variety and the legs go up and down easy. It has a HUGE lift range. Not to mention the wheels stay on, so if you wanted to start shallow in the spring and move it out a little as the water drops, just lift the legs, slide it out another few feet, and drop the legs again.