7000 lb Shoremaster Lift. BUYER BEWARE!

[DJ]

We have a G23 that we are lifting with a 7000 lb. lift. The cable snaps every 20 lifts or so. The lift is set perfectly level and we have the boat moved as far forward as possible. The lift is only two years old and we live in Ohio where the seasons are short. The cable is wrapped around a really small drum in the gear box which we think is a bad design and is causing the breaking. We've tried two different types of cables directly from the manufacturer. We have been provided little to no support from the dealer and the manufacturer. The manufacturer pretty much said too bad so sad. The customer service has been terrible. We've also burned out two of their electric motors with our short seasons. I thought I would share this so others on this forum don't get stuck with the same $10,000 piece of junk we have!

[Quinner]

I would suspect they are using garbage cables that are made in china, my neighbor bought an EBay replacement cable for his Shorestation and it snapped almost immediately. I typically get well over 10 years service on my Shorestation cables, 20 lifts is horrible. If you are absolutely stuck with this thing see if you can get a better quality cable as a replacement, if there is no special fittings on either end that should make it much easier to find.
Never been a fan of Shoremaster lifts, you do need to be certain that it is perfectly level (as you noted) and also square, if it got manhandled too much going in or out or was simply not assembled correctly, that carriage could have a ton of added resistance, happens easily with that brand lift. How does it wheel up/down without a boat on it? It should be very easy to hand crank, if you only have electric only just get someone on each side and lift it up by hand to check for resistance.
If you do end up unloading it consider a Shorestation, have had great service from all of mine for many many years, Floe also makes a very nice lift.
And I would be calling out the dealer by name also if they have essentially turned their back on you.

[shag]

Just curious, the ballasts are completely empty correct? I believe the dry weight on that boat is 6K. So with fuel, you're probably right close to the max for that lift... Still prob shouldn't have broken a cable... Good luck getting things squared away...

[scottb7]

This is so not about the mfgr...it is about the sales person. Please post a pic of winch and cable? You should have something like this for your weight...while i don't have a 7000 lb one, i have this style on my shoremaster 50120 and guess what...the cable, and motor, etc, are not gonna break...see bottom pic for my set up

http://www.boatliftwarehouse.com/boa...s/boat_hoists/

[azeus17]

I would be calling this guy if I were you...

Ryan Knox, Regional Sales Manager
Eastern Canada, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio
With ShoreMaster since 2007
Ryan.knox@shoremaster.com

[Bspot]

I have been using a 6000lb shorestation for 3 years lifting my G23 with no issues.

[LakeBill]

What diameter are your cables? I have a 200v and needed to put in 3/8" cables even though the 1/4" are rated. It's not just static load you need to worry about, someone jumping on the back platform while in the lift can cause a big shock load.

[scottb7]

i agree with above but if he burned out 2 motors than the problem is not as simple as the cable. If nothing broke on the lfit, and it was just the motor and cable then it is obviously just the winch and cable that is not rated for the load.

[shag]

Just my .02, always over engineer the lift - 20 years of boat ownership a never a problem or worry about lift or lift parts...

[DJ]

Thanks everyone for your help with this! These are all good suggestions. We are only raising and lowering the boat. Ballast tanks are empty and no one is inside the boat. All of our friends use Shorestation instead of ShoreMaster. We were just trying to stay with the local dealer. Our cables are coming directly from ShoreMaster with their recommendation. Thanks again for any other tips you guys can provide. This has been really frustrating for us! We have two little guys and we are afraid to lift or lower our boat with anyone on the dock!