Help design my boat lift...please.

[pmreed]

Ok guys, need some help setting up my boathouse lift for the new 22 Classic. Currently the boat is on a Continental trailer with 2 bunks under the first set of strakes in from the edge of the hull. This seems to be normal, but is a pain in the neck to center up on when recovering the boat. The Poodle has a nice set-up on his trailer that makes it much easier to properly center the boat on recovery.

I'm looking for suggestions as to the best way to set up the cradle for convenience and function...as in easy to center up and proper support for the hull. I searched "bunks" and 'boat lift" and found a little info, but can't quite come up with the optimal solution. Since the boat will be stationary as the cradle rises underneath it, the requirements are not quite the same, though the final configuration at rest should be. Any suggestions will be welcome. :confused:

Thanks, Phil

[HyperDonzi]

i will run over to the trailer in a day or so and get a pic, drive on, wait a sec and it centers up then hit the gas and it is on.

[Bryan Tuvell 33ZX]

This may not be much help but only food for thought, I have seen hundreds of lifts.
trailers and lifts are two different scenarios.
Simple seems to be the ticket. The balance of the boat will take care of itself.
Straight bunks offest from the center of the hull.
Bryan

[MOP]

I saw what looked like a nice set up on boat house up state. The man had PVC pipe about 3" stuff secured to the beams above which centered his little mohogany speedster wink

[Jamesbon]

Phil,
Here's how mine works. The vertical PVC pipes guide the boat to the center of the lift everytime. It's a no brainer. As you can see in the pics though, my lift is set up for the 8 foot wide Donzi, that's why the PVC's are so far away from the sides of the Rabco. Also, the builder added the grates to the end of the cradle which are great for boarding the boat when on the lift and flushing the engine.

http://www.donzi.net/photos/nsclift1.jpg

http://www.donzi.net/photos/nsclift2.jpg

[Forrest]

I like ABL Boat Lifts (http://www.ablboatlifts.com), but there are a number of other good cradle lifts out there as well. If you are doing a boat house, get one designed for a boat house (http://www.ablboatlifts.com/boat-house.htm). Also, if you can build a boat house, you can put the lift in yourself. Installers usually charge more than the cost of the lift itself for installation.

Also, speaking from experience on Florida coastal waters, make sure that you have all your permits in order before you start any work. In Florida waters, you will need a to file a Joint Application for permit exemption (http://www.dep.state.fl.us/secretary/info/permitting.htm) through you regional DEP office. The Join Application for permit exemption cost nothing and is necessary to get your approval letter from DEP, DNR, and the Army Corps. Without the approval letter and other paper work that they will send you, your county building department will not issue you a building permit . . . and you know how neighbors are.

[Stix Magill]

Does anyone use straps for the cradle anymore? That is what I had planned on using on my lifts. I have used them in the past with no complaints. Please fill me in.
Thanks,
Scott

[BigGrizzly]

I have a hydro hoist. its great so does Tomahwak.
don't use strals they huty rhe gunnels where they hit.

Rsndy

[MOP]

Yup I've seen the set up on the lifts, what was different about the setup I saw in the boat house was the PVC was fairly tight against the guys hull and hung down into the water. Funny you should mention straps thats what he had, I got a pretty good look at that. It was two large pipes mounted in carrier bearings on big wood up rights that looked like they went to the roof he had a chain drive linking them to gether with a big electric motor with a gear box. Both pipes I could see turned the same direction with four drums each side loaded with thin 3-31/2 staps good support for old wood beauty.

[pmreed]

Thanks to all of you for the suggestions :) . As a clarification, I already have a dock and covered lift. I currently have my 1500# jetboat hung there on slings. I'm going to a heftier motor for the additional torque, and a cradle to replace the slings. My dock guy ( he built this dock and lift 12 years ago) said it's a piece of cake, but I don't want to take any chances on poor support for the boat or a configuration that's too hard to center up in when the lake's a little rough, or the wakeboarders are passing by 50 feet off the end of my dock :mad: .

Phil

[DonziDave]

Phil - Forget the cradle. I use a cable hoist with the winding pipe located over the centerline of the boat. I have two cables with swivel hooks on the pipe located over the bow and stern lift rings. To keep the hooks from scratching the rings, I had two industrial nylon straps made about 18" long with eyes on each end that I slip thru the rings and snap onto the swivel hooks. Hit the switch and bingo! - the boat lifts straight up into my boathouse. With no rails or belly straps, I can slide a walkboard (bellyboard) across the boathose and wax-clean-maintain the hull without anything in the way. I have been hanging my '86-18 this way for 16 years with no problems.
Dave

[MOP]

You guys make me Drool, I'm in salt with no lift trailer and hose. I love the boat house setups on the lakes thats the way to go.

[NeedSpeed]

Phil - I had the same centering problem on my lift. The bunks caught the first lifting strakes from the chine. I like the bunks resting there because the strakes are wide and give the most surface area to spread the weight over. Many people just move the bunks closer together to catch the deadrise but you end up supporting all of the hull on a very small surface of the bunk. (like the edge)

I solved it by stacking 2ft long pieces of pressure treated 2 x 4 on the cradle cross beams. Took 4 pieces stacked to catch enough of the keel to provide good centering. Cut a "V" in the stacked lumber to match the deadrise of the hull and covered with outdoor carpeting. Lag screwed the the wood to the cross beams with stainless hardware. My total cost was $15 for two V's, one on front cross beam and one on back.