Hey Guys!

I am thinking about getting a boat lift, currently, I have been boating all day, and then just pulling the boat out and leaving it on the trailer overnite. I built a "launch ramp" at the cottage just for this reason.

This summer it began to be a real pain to keep hauling the boat in and out. Also, I have to drive 2 hours to the cottage and if I am going boating I need to take my truck [02 1500HD, 6.0L PIG! on gas] instead of a car because I need the truck to launch and retrieve the boat.

What do you guys recommend for a lift? So far I have been looking at the "Air Docks" and "Hyddro Hoists" and would appreciate ANY input, I will probably buy something "used" since I cant justify spending 10K on a lift for a 20K boat, LOL

Also, I live in Ontario, Canada, so, whatever I buy has to either be reasonably easy to remove in the fall, or be able to be left in water that freezes, the water at my dock is usually 4-5 feet deep, but, drops about a foot in the fall.

Any input appreciated!
Thanks!
Michael

You said you have a dock????????? Why not just tie it to the dock instead of pulling it out every night??????

Because I dont want to leave the boat sitting in shallow dirty water all weekend, I hate the "scum line" that gets on the boat. Plus I dont like the idea of driving 2 hours home and leaving the boat sitting in the water, unattended, its a pretty remote area.

Keep the input coming
Michael

Dont think you are deep enough for a Hydro hoist.
I bought a used 16K one and kept the outlaw on it till I steped up to the Gun. Love it.

I have an Air Dock that works great! Bought it in May and have never had an issue yet. Reasonably priced at 4300.00 shipped for a 10,000 LB boat. I have a 31 FT Cig Bullet. (for sale) I would recommend this lift to anyone.

Buy a cheap truck and leave it hooked to the trailer at the cottage.

Don't you just drive on an air dock, or is the air dock the one that blows up like a large black bag? I was wondering if it really gets the boat out of the water. Do the drives stay wet when docked, even when you trim them up?

Hey, Thanks for the input!

How much water do you need for a hyrohoist? appox?
Right now, I have two 20 foot floating docks, so, if I was to put the hoist at the very "end" of the dock I would probably be in about 6ft of water, maybe a little more in the spring'/summer.

The Air docks are the big black bags that inflate and lift boat, they look really well thought out and are supposed to be good in fluctuating water depths. The ones I have seen DO lift the transom out of the water when fully inflated, but, I am not sure if they all do?

My concern is how "durable" are they? does it take much to puncture one? My neighbours brat kid at the cottage is always wandering around shooting a bb gun and dont want him to "accidently" sink my damn boat! LOL

"1BIGJIM" I had actually considered that very same thing, but, was considering buying a used 4wd tractor instead, but, for what it was gonna cost I could buy a decent used lift. Also, my garage at the cottage is pretty small and would have to park the truck or tractor on the lawn, the problem is my garage is too small to park a full size truck or tractor in, so, it would have to sit outside and be "in the way" everytime you cut the grass, but, I appreciate the info, I was leaning towards the tractor since I could get a bucket and mower and stuff like that for it down the road to use for other stuff as well.

I wanted to get the lift since I found ESPECIALLY this summer that is was a real PITA to keep launching and retrieving the boat. Before last year I had smaller "runabouts" and ski boats that I didn't care about leaving in the water and they where easy to pull out. Now I have my first "real" boat [which is pretty mild compared to the stuff on here] but, its bigger than what I had previously, so, I find we are boating longer [and farthur] and several times this year we got back from boating at dusk [or later] and it would have been REAL nice to have been able to just drive onto a lift, raise the boat, put mooring cover on and be done with it, as opposed to backing in trailer, centering boat on it, winching it on trailer [in the dark] and then pulling it out. Dont get me wrong, I am damn glad to have my own launch ramp and it works well, I just dont want to use it everyday! LOL

Keep the input coming, and thanks for the advice!

Michael

Quality aluminum lifts in Fl. I paid 4800 shipped to NJ for a 10K elevator lift. No problems and it was worth the money. If you want info and pics pm me your email and I will send you contacts and pics.

Does this lift need poles to work? If so Michael, make sure they are driven deep.

Ice movement is a bad thing.

Ken