27Fountain,
I would think a limit switch could be incorported to stop the lift at a point that would not allow it to be crushed. I know things fail, but I see that as a small problem to solve..Limit switch!
Jane,
It depends if you live by your lift (on the water). I have a friend that lives on the water. He starts downt the hill from his house and by the time he gets there the boat is down.. Pretty neat. Nice to not have to do the hassle thing, drag the trailer and then park it.. etc.
But a lift at a marina might cause some unwarrented situations. I know some have done it in our area.. a nice 41' Apache used to sit on the hoist with #6's on the back and he never had any one disturb it.. Of course that is what insurance is for. But if you trailer you can lock the boat up. If it is on the water on a lift, the props are easy accessible by the not so nice people in the world...
PS, Jane is a quick learner!!

Dick

Mr. Gadgets,

Your right, some type of cut off switch could work. However I know of this happening twice in 10 years on my lake. Both lifts had breakers and switches to stop it. Sometime they just fail, for we have 5 boat lifts, and have made them all so that you actually have to stand there and hold the switch. Also yes we had a close call, a guest lowered a seaddo lift jumped on and took off. The lift unwound all the way and started winding up in reverse. We caught it befor is caused any real damage, but was a close call.

I walk my boat on and off of the lift. Two switches to lift and lower it. The type I use I would not be comfortable not watching it go up and down. Also gives you a chance to do a full inspection each time it is used on the cables ETC... I sure do like having it in front of my house. Underway in just minutes. Only used my trailer twice this year for maintenance purposes. I do keep the trailer when I need it. Lets you have maximum flexibility. Most of our boating club is in dry storage.

Jane, I talked to the salesman about that lift at the NYC boat show. They were also giving demo's of how lift operates. That lift looked amazing. The only problem there is a 5 month wait for there 6000lb lift and 1yr for their 15000lb lift. The lift goes down by two hydralic pistons that turn the pontoon sideways (tuff to explain) . I have some paperwork at the house, and I will post the info later. I believe he said you can drop the boat down in 20 seconds.. The cost of the 15,000 lb was $20,000. Not sure of the 6000lbs.

Tom


If you worried about a stray signal dropping the lift you turn the power off when not operating it..

Site is www.sunstreamcorp.com

Tom

Tom: That lift is interesting. Looks like your slip needs to be quite a bit wider than the boat, but that it does not require an actual slip to function.

Jane: Lifts are great, for the right boater. It is a substantial investment in the lift, and the slip. If you do most your boating at the same spot, and or want to quickly run down to the boat and take it out for short hops, go with one. It is easier and quicker than trailering. You should be able to find used lifts for your size boat with little trouble (At least we can in the mid-west) but I'm not sure of the price savings. Let us know what decide.

anybody have any thoughts on the airdock? trying to avoid trailering, but don't want to hassle with a hydrohoist. thx.

I have a remote controlled boat lift and there is no way it could keep going up or down until it does damage. my remote and the control box on the dock have 2 buttons ( up and down) you need to keep the button pressed down in order to continue in the direction you have chosen. if you let off the button the lift stops. the buttons on my lift do not stay on without you holding the button down. yes it is a bit of pain holding the button for the whole duration but you can't beat the safety factor.

Hope this helps clarify things. i think the newer boat lifts require you to hold down the button while older lifts may be simply on/off in their mechanics.

James