Sling lift vs. cradle lift

[wakeup]

We are building a new double boat house and the builder is giving us the option of the standard overhead cradle lift, or an overhead weighted sling lift.

Anyone have any experience with the sling type lift? I was reading online where it can cause stress cracks on hulls or could damage the sides with the pressure. I have never seen one in person, but found a couple pictures at this web site. I'm looking some advice. I'd say 99% of all lifts on our lake are the overhead cradle version like the ones sold on this site.

I think the option was given to us because it works in any water level as long as there is enough water to float the boat. We really do not have problems with water level as our lake is a reservoir which stays +/- 1' about all year.

I tried searching on this topic but did not dig up anything. Any help much appreciated.

[Sixball]

We have used sling lifts to get boats out but never left for any time. We had a large sail boat and would bring it out to do bottom work and leave it in the sling but we also blocked the haul up and did not keep the weight of the boat on the sling.

We have some overhead lifts on our lake and I think all use a cradle. I also think the same builder has done all the overhead lifts on our lake.

I would go with the cradle. (MHO).

[Ronnie]

I have several neighbors that had slings put in their lifts when they were new. They have all since changed them to cradles. They were too much trouble to get on and get them set to lift the boat. I did read when I was researching our lift for our dock that there several instances where boats with a walk through to the bow couldn't close their windshield window properly because the slings had over time closed up the walk through a bit. They were putting too much pressure on the sides of the boat.

I had my dock builder replicate my trailer bunks on my cradle.

[sabre]

I used something very similar to these slings:

From Overton's on an 88 malibu skier for nearly 18 years with no issues. It was fast to connect and worked in any water levels. There was more stress on the cables and pole used to wind the cable and initially I was worried about stress on the stringers, but never had any issues. I know that a bow lifting eye is an option on most (if not all) Malibu's so I'd assume that there aren't any issues with lifting it from the front and rear.

With this setup you will also NEVER have to worry about hitting the underwater gear. I put my boat on a cradle last year (at a rental house) and put a VERY slight bend in the prop because it had slid forward slightly as I raised it out of the water.

[MalibuTime]

This isn't the one I was looking for, but still illustrates the issue with slings...

Skip ahead to about 1:00 mark.

Also, with gorilla fins, drive shaft etc. I think getting the slings in the right spot would be a PITA. I would definitely go with the bunks also.

[wakeup]

Thanks for the replies. Just got off the phone with the builder and we are going with the standard bunk and cradle.

After discussing the issues with him (the tracking fins, stress on hull, etc.) he agreed. Plus our other boat is a pontoon and it would put a lot of inward pressure on the pontoons.

Thanks for the feedback. Next comes the construction. We have an older boat dock they are taking down and replacing it with a new one. Trying to do my part to stimulate the economy!

[Stick]

I just bought a Malibu VLX to replace a I/O. My lift currently has slings which worked ok for the I/O, although it did bend the sides of the boat in to where you couldn't close the window while it was on the lift. With the V drive, it's a PITA to get the sling in just the right spot so as it's not on the prop shaft, fin, perfect pass, etc. I am having a cradle built as we speak to replace the slings. The cradle alone, which mimics the trailer, will cost around $1500 installed. Cradle is the way to go.

[wakeup]

I just bought a Malibu VLX to replace a I/O. My lift currently has slings which worked ok for the I/O, although it did bend the sides of the boat in to where you couldn't close the window while it was on the lift. With the V drive, it's a PITA to get the sling in just the right spot so as it's not on the prop shaft, fin, perfect pass, etc. I am having a cradle built as we speak to replace the slings. The cradle alone, which mimics the trailer, will cost around $1500 installed. Cradle is the way to go.

Thanks! Appreciate the real life experience and makes me feel better about my decision.

Our builder has a local supplier on lifts and the whole thing (motor, cradle, cable, installation) for a 4000lb lift is $1200, but he said there is no way I could personally get that same price outside of his business. We're going with a 6000lb for the BU just in case I upgrade to a larger boat down the road.

We have a couple old 4000lb cradle lifts we might be selling in a month or so from our old boat dock.