Boat Lifts Feedback

[Ski4Kids]

I like the boat lift called Jetdock www.jetdock.com looks right for me but very expencive it is suitable because I will need a new dock were I want to install. I was told that you can allow these to freeze in if you are in a calm area. Anybody have experience with the Jet dock lifts?

Will probaly go with the more traditional lift (the metal Galvinized)due to price. Questions
1. My location is very muddy I feel type will sink in the mud. A sales fellow sad just a bigger pad at the bottom solves this.
2. What is set up time and break down time?
3. I would like to go with the manual wind up and down any thoughts?
4. I am in a very calm bay in Canada has anybody secured the lift well and allowed thier lift to freeze in for the winter?
5. I believe I have seen lifts with a walking plank for access any feed back here?
Thanks for the Time Danny

[AbunDiga909]

RE: Boat Lifts Feedback

I don't have experience with the Jetdock, but I do have experience with Connect-A-Dock, which is almost the same plastic material I think. In the winter we just tie the dock up to some trees in a cove and it rises right above the ice and therefore can be left in the water. Saves a lot of time and effort. Expensive, but may be worth it.

[MacedayDave]

Regading your questions on the traditional boat hoists;

I have a Hewitt cantilever boat hoist that has provided great service for the past 6 seasons. Here's a link to their site http://www.hewitt-roll-a-dock.com/ It is aluminum construction and I have a full canopy overhead.

For the winters, I remove it from the lake as an assembled unit (with the vinyl canopy removed to prevent it from becoming airborne in high winds). You can move the hoist to the shore with some large inner tubes and four people - or hire somebody, which is what I do .

If you have a soft lake bottom, a 2' x 2' piece of 3/4" plywood under each leg works fine.

The manual winches are OK, but it takes quite a numer of revolutions to raise or lower the boat due to the gear reduction. I have the electric-powered winch which I would recommend if you can get power to your shoreline.

[Ski4Kids]

Will probably go with the more traditional lift (the metal Galvinized)due to price.
Sorry I was referring to the alumimum types of lifts.
There seems to be a vertical lift type and a cantilever. I can see by the pictures how they work. Is one better than the other?
Thanks Danny

[GRskinautique]

I have quite a bit of experience with traditional lifts. The lake I live on, everyone has one. To answer some of your questions:
-dealing with a soft bottom can be a real pain. A larger foot pad will work in some conditions but in extremely soft bottoms these can sink as well. I have also seen rails that are 2X10s that are long enough to go under both feel on either side and are left permanently in the water secured by posts. There are several boat lifts in our lake that are stuck in the muck and are just left there all year.

-Setup and breakdown time kind of depends on conditions. Where I am is very sandy and I can drag the boatlift. In the winter, I leave it on the shore so when spring comes I just put some wheels on it and push it into place. Fall, basically the same but I pull it out with a truck. This takes maybe 1/2 hour tops. Many people also use innertubes to float the lift which works better with a soft bottom. One thing I will say is the more people you can get, the better. I have done it before with 5-6 people and you can just pick the thing up and move it to where you want in a few quick minutes.

-I have a manual wheel that is attached to an electric motor driven by a 12 volt battery. What I would ask is how many times are you going to lift/lower your boat. If it is like once or twice a day then manual should be fine but if you are in and out a lot, might want to invest in a powered lift. The manual ones make your arms very sore very fast, especially if they are already sore from skiing.

-There are many people who leave their lifts in the lake at my lake in Michigan some even leave their boats on them. I have never seen one get damaged but that being said for the price of these beasts, I choose to take mine out.

-My lift does have rails on either side that allow you to walk on them. This is handy to board the boat but my experience is when cleaning or working on the boat, I usually just get into the lake. I have not seen anything any different.

-You also said something about a galvanized metal lift. I would highly recommend you buy an aluminum one. I would think all the new ones are but you can find some old used galvanized ones out there. They are extremely heavy and would be a huge pain to move.

One thing I would highly recommend is a canopy. Yes they are expensive but the first time you forgot to put the cover on and you have to run out in a rainstorm, its worth it. I also found that before my canopy, I would sometimes not go out because I had to deal with the cover. Now, I just crank it down and go.

Hope this helps

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