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Boat lift story


Badger

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My boat lift has always been off level by about 2” from front to back and side to side.  My lift has also started “creaking” and “groaning” really bad this summer to the point where I’m afraid something catastrophic was about to happen.  I’m typically a guy that does this sort of stuff myself, because: 1.  I’m cheap and hate paying for stuff I can do myself and #2  I typically don’t trust people to do as good of a job as I would do myself.  Well, we’ve had a ton of stuff going on this fall so I decided I’d try to pay someone to come over and do it.  One thing to know is that the back of my lift is in 8 feet of water and the legs are thru-bolted (long story in itself).  So to level it, it was going to require lifting the back corner and getting a patio paver underneath it.  I really didn’t want to deal with this.

So I got a couple of numbers from the local boat lift place and called a guy.  We agree for $250, he’s going to level the lift and take all of the pulleys off and grease them.  So he comes over on a day I’m not home and does the work.  I get home and see the lift is worse to level than when he started and I can tell that the grease job was from a spray can of white lithium grease.  When I call him on it, the answer is that I need to just run it up and down a few times and it will settle into level.  Ha!  Yeah, right, because I have a self-leveling bottom on my lake??

So last night I get a text from him:  “Haven’t received a check yet wondering if you sent it”.  The best part of this whole thing is that I don’t even know this guy’s last name, let alone have an address from him to send a check.

Anyhow, I’m just venting and figured some of you would enjoy the story.  Obviously, I’m not going to pay him for the work he’s done.  My only question for you guys would be, without hiring a different guy with the crane on a barge, how would you get that back corner raised up, on the cheap, to get a block under it?  Remember, the water is 8’ deep there.  I don’t have any tractor inner tubes, but have wondered if a towable tube would do the job, or I’d just wreck it.

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A towable tube will work, I've done that lots of times.  Partially deflate it, put it under the back brace in the center and inflate it until the lift comes up.

Depending on your lake bottom, you might be better off un-doing the thru bolt, moving the lift up and leaving the post down there in position, and simply drilling a new hole in the leg.  Does the lift stay in the water all year with a bubbler?

Not sure on your pulleys, but mine (old Harbormaster) can be disassembled and the bearing replaced with a simple $8 auto parts store bearing, bring it in and they can match it up.

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There was an interesting post years ago - PVC tubes sealed on each end with valve stems stuck in them.  Use ratchet straps and connect them to the lifting frame, when you lift the frame the tubes get drawn downward and thus create a lifting force on lift.  I made a set and they work reasonably well but if you have a mucky (read sticky) bottom may not break the suction force, I use them to float lift in.  Another option, neighborhood kids if you can get them off video games / iPhone / facebook.

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I'd suggest a vertical jack in most situations but because its so deep, use this method: Lift bunks, slide a jon boat in, ratchet strap around the trusses and jon boat, and the jon boat will be floating the lift.  You can also temprorarily put a small post in, attach ratchet strap to it and lift with a ratchet strap attached to the correct corner.

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I've also seen where people use the cradle & winch wheel to do the lifting too.  So, you install a pulley at the bottom of the lift on the leg using one of the existing holes in the leg.  Take a long piece of rope and tie one end to the handle of an inflated hippity hop (or similar bouyant item).  Put the hippity hop in the water, floating.  Take the rope and pull the free end down and thru the pulley, and then up to the cradle.  Pull the rope tight and tie the free end to the cradle.  Now, when you crank the cradle up, it will pull the hippity hop down, and float the lift.  Do that on both sides.

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I don't know what it is about dock/lift guys but they never seem to show up when you're  around, never return phone calls and look at you like an alien if you try to have a basic conversation about their "schedule". 

Maybe it's just my area but it's always a painful experience. 

 

  • Like 2
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9 minutes ago, vanamp said:

I don't know what it is about dock/lift guys but they never seem to show up when you're  around, never return phone calls and look at you like an alien if you try to have a basic conversation about their "schedule". 

Maybe it's just my area but it's always a painful experience. 

 

Same around my lake. I think they are just on "lake time". It is upsetting if you want something done in a timely manner tho. The guy that is building our lake house has taken about 6 months longer than it should have taken. 

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When we moved to a marina a couple of years ago I had two guys float my lift into position.  Supposed to meet me there at 3, didn't get there till 4, texted me that they were wrapping up another job.  They showed up with beer on their breath.  I called them out on it, laughing, asking how many they had left.  Sure enough, one of them directed me to their truck where I proceeded to grab a half empty 12 pack on the front seat. 

This was the first time I'd seen this method, old windsurf boards:

Edit:...and $150 later for 1 hour of work

 

Windsurf_board_lift_install.JPG

Edited by Michigan boarder
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30 minutes ago, vanamp said:

 

Maybe it's just my area but it's always a painful experience. 

 

Every boat lift story usually ends in pain.  I've got so many of them.

This one, however, ended in pleasure.  Put large enough equipment to use and anything can be accomplished.  4 lifts removed in 45 minutes, and installed in the same time a year later.

 

2016_lift_removal_3.jpg

  • Like 3
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5 hours ago, Badger said:

So to level it, it was going to require lifting the back corner and getting a patio paver underneath it.  I really didn’t want to deal with this.

I had a similar problem with a pre-existing lift on a lot I now lease but I took the opposite approach.  The lift was off level by about 6" (back lower than front) and rather than lift the back (legs are in 10' of water) I lowered the front by using a pressure washer to blast away the mud/silt/sand from under the front legs.  Now, perfectly level.  :-)

 

 

  • Like 1
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6 minutes ago, LakeOneSkier said:

I had a similar problem with a pre-existing lift on a lot I now lease but I took the opposite approach.  The lift was off level by about 6" (back lower than front) and rather than lift the back (legs are in 10' of water) I lowered the front by using a pressure washer to blast away the mud/silt/sand from under the front legs.  Now, perfectly level.  :-)

 

 

Good idea, compressed air works too.

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8 hours ago, Michigan boarder said:

Every boat lift story usually ends in pain.  I've got so many of them.

If I can find the video and figure out how to post it, I have a video of my neighbor driving his lawn tractor over the edge of the sea wall while trying to help pull my lift out about 15 years ago.  It was shear panic for about 5 seconds when we thought he was trapped under the tractor under water.  My friend ended up with stitches because the tractor almost fell on him. But later that night, it was the funniest thing ever. 

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Thanks for all the suggestions. I'm thinking the easiest is to try the towable tube or a temporary pole with a ratchet strap. I may give that a shot this weekend if my guy doesn't want to fix his work. 

I have considered the pressure washer but unless I can get my scuba diving neighbor to do it for me, the water is already too cold to be messing around under water for the amount of times it would take me to get to the bottom in the other back corner.

Luckily, I can leave the lift in all winter as the ice doesn't shift very much where I'm at.  If I had to take it in and out every year, I'd invest in the Floe.

 

Edited by Badger
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8 hours ago, LakeOneSkier said:

I had a similar problem with a pre-existing lift on a lot I now lease but I took the opposite approach.  The lift was off level by about 6" (back lower than front) and rather than lift the back (legs are in 10' of water) I lowered the front by using a pressure washer to blast away the mud/silt/sand from under the front legs.  Now, perfectly level.  :-)

 

 

Unfortunately, it's off side to side as well as front to back.

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If your in much check into steel post since your so deep. They use them around here for such situations where legs are removed and a permanent steel post is in place for lift to sit on.. 

Use large foam mats under cradle with ratchet straps to bottom bar and u should be able to float the back while u adjust.. 

No worries anyway there are only 5% of ppl in the #boatliftlevelclub anyhow.. 

Good luck

Edited by The Hulk
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