Boat Lifts and Marinas
 

I am contemplating finding a local marina to slip the Fountain but want to keep it on a lift.

What are you experiences with marina and floating boat lifts?

Also, what's the latest on lifts? Brand likes dislikes? Is it worth it to have Myco build a cradle and then installing it on a float lift system?

Most likely, specific marinas will have specific brands of lifts that they allow.
The only reason you would need something like a Myco cradle is if was a cable style lift.
Floating lifts should have adjustable bunks that can be adjusted to fit your boat nearly like it is sitting on your trailer.

Lots of sun, dirt, spiders, spider and bird chit, rain, snow, fire (family boat almost burned up just few weeks ago), people running into your chit, people fishing on your chit, floods and droughts. If you can get past all that they are pretty sweet. Dock people can be fun. Convenience of marina is great, everything is a phone call away, even food sometimes.

Look around the marina you want for the most commonly used hoist, no need to reinvent the wheel and even if you did doesn't mean marina is going to want to work on it.

We used to keep ours in a covered slip with a floating lift. Added bunks to fit it, also had a platform on the back so I could clean the drives. Was great, drive down and lower it. Did that for a couple years and it makes you really hate to go back to the ramp follies.

When we moved bought on the water, have a cable lift and love it. Lower and go.

Thanks for the feedback.

Most of the marinas up here are not playing with floating lifts in the slips. A few are but they are sketchy at best, meaning they could care less what you do, just pay the fee.

I was actually shocked that a good majority of marinas have LONG waitlist and most are saying don't count on anything until late 2024!

Last one of ours was 'kept in a wet slip and while super convenient to us... it was also a big fat pain in the neck.
There wasn't a single time we could just walk to the boat, hop in and drive off. Not once.
Every single visit to the dock turned into a 30 minute chit-chat with every person between the parking lot and my boat at the far end of the dock.
Every weekend (after talking to everyone on the way to the boat) I had to spend hours cleaning it. Spider crap, spider webs, bird crap, bugs, etc... not to mention all the slime, algae and scum that attached itself below the waterline.

I know being a "trailer sailor" is not ideal... but it sure goes a long way to keeping a nice clean boat. Only problem then is dealing with boat ramp campers. lol

We are actually in the process of building a 30x40 garage to keep the boat inside so it's protected from the weather and neighborhood stray cats that like to sleep on the warm canvas at night.

how about an In/out service? Then you don’t have to buy a lift and the boat is kept inside.

I've been doing the ramp thing for decades and it is just becoming too restrictive. Where we are you can't be at low tide to launch or load, so the entire day revolves around timing the put in and take out. That is the price we pay for the one launch site that can accommodate our rig length. On top of that you have to get there early to get one of the few spots to park, but if the tide is wrong, the day is scrapped.

In reality we are for the first time considering downsizing to something we can bottom paint and leave in the water. Love the performance boat, but as you get older the routine gets old.

Did the valet rack the first season and it was great, but the racks were tough on the hull and I just couldn't tolerate the marina owner in the end. There is a marina that will launch/load the boat and keep it on the trailer. I was shocked at the cost of $450 per launch!! No, that didn't include fuel.

I've been doing Marinas/floating lifts since 2006. Here in the Midwest we have covered docks and floating lifts (Poly Lift, Galva-Hoist, Econo Lift, etc.). I see you are East Coast so your setups are most likely different. Differences aside, I would never go back to trailering.