Boat Lift Cable

[DealsGapCobra]

I am not sure in which forum to post, I hope this is appropriate.

Great news, I finally bought a house on my favorite lake...I am thrilled!!! It came with a cable lift and, after studying it yesterday, it looks like it would be best if I could attach the cables to the cradle closer to the center line, ie. move them in about a foot from the end of the cross-beams. I have attached a photo of a similar cradle (found on the web) with welded tabs on the ends like mine. Do you know if someone makes a bracket that I can attach farther in on the I-beam? I have searched the internet but can't find anything, guess I can call a local boat lift company.

Hmm, the attached link sends you to the main page, not the photo. Here is the address for the photo, sorry I can't figure out how to attach it.

http://boatlifts4less.com/boathoistu...dle_ForWeb.jpg

[JieemQ]

What's the reason for wanting to move them in a foot? This would increase the chances of hitting them when you pull in the boat.

A bracket would probably be bolted which would put a concentrated stress on the upper web of an I-beam (plus the chance of the bolts shearing. Welding transfers the load throughout the entire cross section of the I-beam

[charlesml3]

So what problem are you trying to solve, exactly? Moving the cables in closer to the boat seems odd to me. All you'll have is a foot or so of that beam sticking out on all four corners.

-Charles

[srock]

Bolt a u-shaped hook through the beam or you if you search the online hoist companies you will find an attachment that slides but you will have to cut the tabs on the end to maike that work. I agree with the other posts, why do it.

[GMLIII]

I agree with others . This does not make any sense

[DealsGapCobra]

Agreed that is may sound weird. Bottom line is the the cables slant in towards the center as they go up and then the front ones go in again as the run to the rear winch tube. All of the angles cause the cables to run in a bit of a bind in the tube. It appears that moving them inboard would solve all of this an should still leave me plenty of room for the boat. I'll try to get some photos and post them, you guys may have a better idea.


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[charlesml3]

Agreed that is may sound weird. Bottom line is the the cables slant in towards the center as they go up and then the front ones go in again as the run to the rear winch tube. All of the angles cause the cables to run in a bit of a bind in the tube. It appears that moving them inboard would solve all of this an should still leave me plenty of room for the boat. I'll try to get some photos and post them, you guys may have a better idea.


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There's nothing wrong with that. Mine run in a bit of a slant as well. The lift pipes up in the top of the boat house are somewhat wider than the cradle.

-Charles

[NCH2oSki]

Congrats on the new house, are you on Tellico or ?

[DealsGapCobra]

Thanks. The house is on Melton Hill.


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[DealsGapCobra]

I finally got some photos showing how the cables are run and how they wind up.


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[DealsGapCobra]

I finally got some photos showing how the cables are run and how they wind up.


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[DealsGapCobra]

Here is how they wrap on the pole.


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[GMLIII]

If this was my lift set up and I wanted to place a Ski Nautique on it, I would completely change out the cradle so it would fit the boat. The exisiting cradle looks way too long in lenght for a Ski Nautique

[charlesml3]

OK, it's an older lift for sure but that doesn't mean it's lousy. This looks like a 3000 pounds lift to me. The cradle beams are sized for that.

I see the beams are wider than the lift poles, but there's nothing to fix here. Nothing at all wrong with that. Now for the age of those cables.... it's impossible to know unless the previous owner can help you out here. I have my lift cables replaced every 5 years, not matter how good they look. I had one break years ago. Luckily, it didn't damage the boat but I don't want that happening again.

If you find they've been replaced, then the only thing you need to fix here is how they're winding on the lift poles. Lower it down until you get to the "clean part" where it's winding tight on the pole, then bring it back up keeping tension on it so the coils lay in nice. This is actually easier with the boat on the lift because it holds enough weight to keep the coils from slipping.

-Charles

[DealsGapCobra]

Thanks for the suggestions. We did lower the cradle and rewind the cables but without a boat. The previous owner replaced the cables with larger diameter ones.

I have just been asking some questions and it's looking like this lift is rated at 2,800 lb which is not enough so I guess I'll need a new lift. I'm not taking any chances with my boat!


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