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Any thoughts on Air Docks??


SteveB

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Hi All,

I am curious if any of you have used or know someone that uses Air Docks as their primary boat lift. Though the lake is frozen right now Cry.gif I am preparing for the summer to keep my sanity. I keep my boat on the water all summer long. It is at a friends place and the traditional boat lift is a bit of an issue for several reasons: fairly shallow spot for a traditional lift, the cost to install and remove each year, cost to store and transport it for the winter and my friend is not to excited to see the frame etc when the water level goes down.

Sooo, I looked into these Air Docks. I have seen a bunch of them in the SF Bay to lift boats and adjust for the tide. Curious if any of you have used them for your Malibu? Thanks for the help.

Steve

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Heres a thread from less than a year ago where it was discussed.

I've considered one myself. We have shared waterfront with a dock that has about 17 boat slips on it. Boat lifts have to be easily moved in the fall, plus if the lake gets shallow late in the summer, and nothing mounted permanently on the dock. We keep the boat on the lake for weeks, possibly months at a time. It would be great to get the boat out of the water to keep it clean & protect it. So a Jetdock or AirDock is about the only option..... and a Jetdock would be a drag to move or store for the winter. Other floating lifts I've seen won't work on our dock because of the width.

Edit: I have used a Jetdock a few times with my 205. Getting on & off was very easy. Just power up, jump out & tie the bow off. Or just unhook the bow ring & jump in as the boat slides in. I think they suggest you winch off the thing because it may slide in rather quickly.

My only issue with the AirDock is how fragile it seems like it would be. One knick with the prop or a fin & it seems like it would be junk.

Edited by Bill_AirJunky
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yes, that is a good thread, a real smart guy added his thoughts :-)

i looked at the jetdock too. it is more stable, but it is WAAAAAAY more expensive (was over 10k for an inboard, not sure what it is now), and it also seemed like too much work to get the boat on and off. i never really got to try one, so it was hard to spend 10k for something without ever seeing it in action.

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One of my ski buddies had a Jet Dock for about 7 years, supposedly the first one for an inboard ski boat. Getting the boat off the dock was easy, you just gave it a push and it slid right off. Driving the the boat on the dock was an art form.

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the demo i saw at the dealer showed that the inboards had to be winched off. the outboards could be pushed. I wonder if it is dependant on the boat.

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We keep our 'Bu on an Airdock all year. I installed it myself in July, so we have only used it for one season so far. There is a learning curve to set it up just right, but once you get the internal chambers set correctly, it works well. I had to replace one D-ring because I didn't tie the mooring ropes shorter than the ropes that hold the Airdock...user error.

The customer service is great. If you have any problems, the owner answers or calls back quickly.

The Airdock has been a good solution to keep our 23 on a lift without upsetting the HOA at the marina.

-Whoa

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I don't know about any air docks around Vegas but there are a lot of Hoists around. I have kept my Bu out on the hoist for the past 2 years and have had no problems what so ever. A buddy just picked one up for a real good deal.. People have been walking away from them lately.. :( But that's a whole other story lol

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