Boat Lift

[chadsanchez]

Anyone have Recommendation for price conscientious people for my Z1? Our current slip isn't for an inboard or the fins? We are about hour north of Fort Worth if that matters!


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[Sayonara]

I just purchassed a Hewitt 6600lb lift w/heavy duty motor and tower canopy for our 2016 Z3. My Z3 weighed in at 5600lbs full of fuel and equipment.
1 thing you might be able to do is replace the bunks on your current lift with inboard bunks if the capacity is adequate.

[IDBoating]

As always, take a look at AirDock. Cheaper, more reliable, easier to install and maintain, and FAR nicer to your boat's hull than any "floating trailer" mechanical lift. I have three and there are now two more on my lake alone.

Standard disclaimer: I have no connection except as a very satisfied (2x repeat) customer.

http://airdock.com

[chadsanchez]

This is what I have currently and I am trying to modify what I have ... any thoughts?


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[TigeFamily]

Looks like you may have an issue with tower height with metal bars at top once you raise boat...not sure if you have checked into that yet?
But as far as the bottom to allow for the fins and the inboard prop/rudder, why cant you just build bunks differently to raise them and give you the clearance you need? My boat requires around 18" of clearance to not hit (If you have a trailer, you could use that as a reference for what you will need). Is that not an option for you? Only other option other than a modification would be to replace the lift, correct?

[chadsanchez]

Yeah the bar at the top is a problem but if it comes down to it we can lower the tower if it needs ... I like the idea of just adding some 2x12x12's or something


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[bsreid]

As always, take a look at AirDock. Cheaper, more reliable, easier to install and maintain, and FAR nicer to your boat's hull than any "floating trailer" mechanical lift. I have three and there are now two more on my lake alone.

Standard disclaimer: I have no connection except as a very satisfied (2x repeat) customer.

http://airdock.com

How does that work with the tracking fins? A thick rubber Mat doesn't seem to appealing to be pushing weight on then. Are they actually cheaper too?

[IDBoating]

The rubber mat works great. The one caveat is that the mat they (used to?) sell wore through after a few years from the fins. I picked up some replacement material locally, from a conveyor belt supply house. They sold me a remnant from a spool of rock crusher belt material. Stuff feels infinitely strong, with layers of woven threads between the layers of solid rubber. After two seasons it has literally ZERO marks on it anywhere. I expect it to last forever. So when the initial mat finally wears out, $20 will replace it permanently.

No worries about "pushing" on the fins. What really happens is that the fins hold the mat in place, which sets the airbag spacing, and then the airbags come up and lift the hull. The fins have very little pressure on them.

Yes, they are way less expensive. A buddy here on the lake just picked up a brand new Centurion 23-something-or-other last year and got an AirDock for it. Less than $3K shipped to his door. I think he said comparable mechanical docks were over $5K. And our lake's water level moves a little bit during the season with snowmelt in the Spring and then dam-controlled releases in the summer. He'd be out there moving a mechanical lift around all the time, whereas the AirDock naturally floats right along with the dock on its anchor cable.

I also like that the AirDock would fail more gracefully (if that ever happened). Lose a cable on a mechanical lift and you have a BIG problem. Lose an airbag, and your boat is still safe and you can get it out just by deflating the other bags.

AirDocks also don't require all the adjusting to different hulls. Another buddy (Ewok here on TO) sprung a leak in his ballast system on our lake a few years back. He drove to our AirDock, pulled right in with no adjustments needed, and we figured out the problem nice and high and dry while his hull drained naturally out of the drain plug. We fixed the hose problem and he was good to go. Otherwise it would have been a panic run to the public ramp, running to get the trailer, and trying to get the boat out of the water since no bilge pump was going to keep up with the inflow (he didn't know what was wrong and couldn't get to the problem until the water was out).

Some people are hung up on "traditional" lifts but I'll never own anything but nice, soft airbags to cradle our baby!