Hydraulic boat lift

[skihart]

Hey

Would my Ski Nautique 200 be okay on a 3000 lbs hydraulic boat lift?

There’s a great deal on a used one close to me. I always wanted one to replace my vertical lift with a hydraulic one.

[Jordan]

Seems a little light....call the manufacturer

 

[mbabiash]

I was told 4000 lb hydraulic lift for my 200 was just enough. 3200 dry weight for the 200

Might struggle and stress the pump.

[Horton]

@skihart I had to upgrade the ram on my Basta. Few hundred dollars and now it will lift anything

[skihart]

@Horton good thinking. I will look into that. I ended up buying it anyway. Winter deal i couldn’t pass up.

[lakeaustinskier]

When it came time to replace my lift I was conflicted about spending money on a hydraulic lift. The price was almost double the price compared to a traditional cable/vertical lift. Some of the best money I've ever spent. No more overhead cables. no more watching your kids to make sure they didn't lose fingers, no more grease dripping onto the boat etc.

[BraceMaker]

Overloading a lift really depends on the design, in other lifting applications proof testing is common. No reason you can't do that with a boat hoist. Grab you boat and a few 500lb water sacks and try to lift your boat +1000lbs. If it lifts successfully you are reasonably assured it will be safe with the boat and a few people.

 

I wouldn't want to find out the lift was not up to the task when your kids were diving from the swim platform or something silly. The boats already a few hundred pounds over capacity (dry) and people do think some of these weights are off. So I would proof it.

 

 

[mmskiboat]

I would be concerned also with the strength of the frame. As you increase weight the frames get heavier typically. Also the top load if when the lift is fully extended when the hydraulic arm is not doing the work. With the lift I will be getting the weight total dropped a lot due to adding extensions due to water depth so little changes can affect things.

 

This is something that you are going to forget about and I would hate to have anything happen years down the road due being above tolerances.

 

[rfa]

Always better safe than sorry. My experience may not be relevant because I don't know the weight of the 200 relative to my boats, but I'll share anyway. I have owned a 3,000lb Wyman hydraulic lift for 25 years. '94 MB Echelon, '99 Ski Nautique, '08 MB LXi, '13 MC 197. Still working well. Good luck with yours.

[dbutcher]

The owner's manual for my 2015 Ski Nautique 200 closed bow says its dry weight is approximately 2,800 lbs. No way would I put it on a 3,000 lb. capacity lift - a full tank of gas would push the limit not to mention the other stuff we all have in our boats. The 2019 Nautique 200 is about 500 lbs. heavier than the older 200. Maybe the lift capacity can be increased; but absent that, it's too light in my uneducated opinion.

[skihart]

I picked it up yesterday and it is a pretty heavy duty design. Feighner hydro max 2.

I will try it and see if it lifts the boat. I am pretty sure it will do it without issue.

 

I feel safer pushing am hydraulic lift to its capacity rather than a vertical cable design.

I have broken the cable on my vertical and it was pretty scary as the boat dropped two feet instantly and created a mini tsunami. No damage but darn shocking.

[skihart]

Anybody here leave their hydraulic lift in the lake all winter? That’s my goal with this lift as it would be a couple of feet under the ice with the bunks all the way down. I hate putting my vertical lift in and out spring and fall.

[thager]

If it is completely under the ice it should be OK structurally. I would worry about water intrusion of the hydraulics. Also hydraulic leakage would have the tree huggers going nuts.

[PatM]

The Feighner will have no problem lifting the 200. I have an older version of the Feighner (which was really a Summit lift). Rated for 4400lbs. No problem when I went from my 196 to my 200.

[skihart]

@thager the hydraulic boat lifts use environmentally friendly fluid so if there is a leak it’s not an issue. Some people have told me it’s vegetable oil but I am skeptical. I know that many people on warmer climates leave their hydraulic lifts in all year. The @theboardingschool has one for their Prostar that has been in for years as far as I know. I am not sure what brand they have but I should maybe ask Travis next time I am there.

[BraceMaker]

Guy down the lake does. He has to remove his canopy but he just lowers the bunks under water. His bunks are super scummy come spring time though.

[Bongo]

@thager, @skihart - I've got a Sunstream hydraulic lift, and use food grade hydraulic oil. Bio-based, which essentially means vegetable oil. ISO 32 on your Google device. Presumably safe in environments where food might be impacted with leaks, even small drips. So safe enough for the environment.

 

I'm in Missouri, where we leave our lifts in year round. About 1 in 5 years we get enough ice to walk safely onto the lake. Possible it breaks down the seals a little faster than if it were dry, but haven't seen a correlation and haven't really thought about it.

[LeonL]

a guy has a Basta on our lake and its been in for about 12 years. Leaves it up all winter. We always have a thin freeze over. A couple of times thick enough to walk on. So far no seal, hose or any other problems.

[thager]

We get 2 feet of ice here where I am in MN. If I let it freeze in like you guys do it would be rolled into a little ball come spring when the ice sheet moves. To get one under the ice I would have to pull it into about 6 feet of water. All the hydraulic lift owners I know here still use hydraulic skunk oil in their lifts. Also letting the lift freeze in would be a huge liability with snowmobiles, snowcycles, and ATVs screaming by.

[skihart]

@thager i think these hydraulic lifts are much lower profile than the vertical ones. There are no aluminum posts sticking up above the water. So in theory the whole lift will be sitting on the bottom underneath the 24 inches of ice.

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/DEUCeCGNA2M/maxresdefault.jpg

 

[thager]

OK. That image helps. All my buds with the hydraulics have canopies which would have to be removed though. None of the ones I have seen are that short vertically.

[BraceMaker]

@thager most hydraulics are build like that and then into each of the leg extensions there is a post bolted to it for the canopy mount. That's why people will dismount the canopy and its legs and leave the base underwater - additionally you might notice they often lack the side rails where wheel kits are typically mounted.

 

They stay put pretty well, not a bad idea to drive in an auger and chain your lift if you do the submergence technique bigger risk around us is the fishing line snags.