will it work

[baedriver]

I purchased a 1997 196 with the Gt-40 were going to pick it up in a few weeks. I need a lift and found a 3000lbs (can't remember if this is pushing the limit of the lift I am 99% sure that the boat is somewhere around the 2500lbs range. And if anyone knows anybody selling a lift in the St. Louis area please post. Thanks for the help

[bkhallpass]

Boat weighs 2340 lbs without fuel (32 gallons) , equipment, biminis, etc.

Personally, if it is a floating lift, like a hydrohoist, galvalift, or polylift,
I'd look for a 4000 lb. If it is a lift that sits on the bottom, then I perhaps 3000 lbs is enough.

BKH

[Mikeski]

My lift is rated for 4000lbs and my boat weighs 3800lbs+/- (211). Had the lift before the boat (196 was on it before). Whenever we get more than one or two people in the boat it starts going down, sometimes it's pretty annoying. With the other boat we could load it up do whatever we wanted in terms of loading and it never went down, go for the extra capacity, your next boat will most likely need the extra capacity too.

[TrailInn2]

If it is a shorestation or hewitt or that type I believe the lift will work. They are somewhat underrated for liability purposes. A higher capacity lift will be easier to raise as the gearing is going to be such that you can raise more weight with similar effort. If you are raising it manually they are all a pain in the $%s. Used lifts are not easy to find, but if you have some time before you have to make a decision I would keep looking.

[DavidF]

If it is an overhead cable lift, you can double the capacity by adding pulleys at the cradle and then fixing the free end overhead somewhere. The downside is that the speed is cut in half. Just remember, if using a cradle (not straps) then you must figure the weight of the cradle when calculating straight lift capacities.