ShoreStation with a canopy can you put a boat on with a tower

[DBattt]

i just bought a cottage with a boat lift included, a Shore Station. Now I have a cottage, and a boat lift and no boat, but I am working on that. As I am looking for a sport nautique with a tower I am not sure the boat will fit under the canopy. Do they make extensions for the Shore station to rais the canopy or do you have to put the tower down every time you dock? Any thoughts or ideas are appreciated.

[NoWake]

Hi,

We have the 2011 Sport Nautique with a covered lift (Great Lakes brand). We don't have the extensions (although I believe they are available). We do put the tower down each time we put it on the lift. I expected this to be a huge pain and wanted to investigate raising the canaopy.

I chose not to because unlike any of the previous boats we owned, putting the tower down on the Sport 200 couldn't be easier. My 6 year old can put it down by himself. With the canapy at the original level, you can also snug it up in there in case of a storm without worries of rain, etc blowing in.

Although it wouldn't have been my suggestion before I tried it, I would leave your canopy at the stock level and put the tower up/down. It's a breeze.

BTW, you can't go wrong with the Sport 200 IMHO. It has been an awesome boat for our family. Our kids slalom, wakeboard, trick, barefoot, surf, jump, wakeskate, etc so we needed the versatility. It's an impressive machine from our experience.

Scott

[DaveP]

I also have a Great Lakes lift with canopy. Mine allows for extensions so I do not have to lower my tower. I have a bimini that is not a lot of fun to put up and take down so I simply raise it to the top of the canopy and it works out fine. My neighbor has a Shorestation and I know they also offer extensions for towers.

Oops. Forgot to say congrats on the new cottage!!!

[DBattt]

Thanks!! I don't think we'll be getting a 200 just yet, cash flow is a little low after the purchase of the cottage. Again, appreciate your feedback I'll look into extensions if I get a boat with a tower which is what I am planning for.

[Quinner]

The standard shorestation canopy will have long enough tubes to raise it high enough to get the boat in/out with tower up. If you raise it too much you will not be getting the full shade/weather protection the canopy offers. I raised mine to where with tower up you can get the boat mostly out of the water, all but the rudder, and with the tower folded it can get up tight to the underside of the canopy and better protected from the sun/weather. If you don't have a tower mounted bimini then folding the tower only takes a minute or two.

BTW, if the vinyl is on the canopy you do not want to leave the lift without a boat on it for extended periods as a strong wind can carry the lift away without the boats weight on it, seen it happen a couple times over the years, get's messy, lol.

[Lovenwlink]

I fold my after market tower so I can park under our canopy, not the worst thing in the world, it is reasonably fast & easy. it would be nice to have a taller canopy so I could just pull in. I was told I would need to go to a machine shop to get the posts extended or to get longer posts made all easy stuff, not very expensive, guess was $300 for the posts & another 300 to install.
I think the wind issue should be considered, for us during the summer we don't have problems but during the winter the wind gets going even with the canopy lower you wonder if its going to be ok.

[wawasee]

I fold my after market tower so I can park under our canopy, not the worst thing in the world, it is reasonably fast & easy. it would be nice to have a taller canopy so I could just pull in. I was told I would need to go to a machine shop to get the posts extended or to get longer posts made all easy stuff, not very expensive, guess was $300 for the posts & another 300 to install.
I think the wind issue should be considered, for us during the summer we don't have problems but during the winter the wind gets going even with the canopy lower you wonder if its going to be ok.

On our Lake in northern Indiana, the pier shop is extending the tops of Shore Stations so that wake boats can be pulled in and lifted out of the water enough without folding down the tower. Some folks probably regret doing this because some thunderstorms have bent canopy frames and ripped the canvas. Our lake is 3100 acre and wide open so the winds can be strong. Shore Station is the main brand lift on our lake. Our lake is has rough water and just about every boat is on a lift. If I had a boat with at tower (We have a SV211 no tower) I would fold it down to fit under a standard Shore Station.