Angle of boat on lift leaves water in rear of boat

[Schindawg]

Hey crew,

I just had a Floe VSD-5000 installed and am so far very pleased with it. Incredibly quiet with none of that loud, cable binding sound when going up or down. The installers didn't get the width right on the bunks, but a quick measurement of the trailer bunks and we got that sorted out ourselves. Being a vertical lift, the lift structure itself sits level with the water, with rear legs extended out further than the front. The bunks started out basically even with the water as well, but due to the shape of the hull, when you lift the boat out of the water, the bow ends up being a few inches higher than the stern. Not a big deal, but I then noticed that after an outing and the normal leakage from the shaft packing, instead of all the water draining forward to the plug under the ski locker, where I can then let most of it drain out, more of it is left back by the vdrive (LSV 23). Don't get me wrong, I love not having to trailer any more, but when I kept it on the trailer, my engine compartment was bone dry. There's not enough in there to even for the bilge to suck up, but there is a little standing water right where the shaft goes through the hull. I always heard you don't want water on/near the shaft because it sprays it around while under way.

So, I tried lowering the the front of the bunks on the lift, which leveled it out some, but it had the negative affect of making the back rise a bit, which in turn makes it harder to center when coming in off the lake. The boat contacts the rear of the lift but then doesn't really touch the front part of the bunks until you lift her up. I'm almost resigned to the fact I need to return the bunks to more or less "level" with the water so coming in/out is easier.

Am I making a big deal over nothing? I just have a thing about standing water back there... Oh, and pulling the plug under the vdrive doesn't do much either. It collects right at the shaft entry/exit.

Sorry for the long rant!

[nuttyskier2002]

It's true that you do not want water in the bilge in the area of the spinning shaft/coupling,.... but this pertains to when the boat is running. I little water in this area when the boat is stored will not hurt a thing. It will shift towards the bilge pump when you set the boat back down in the water. So enjoy that boat lift and put yourself at ease a little.

[Big Mac]

IMHO, big deal over nothing. Leave the bunks parallel to the water and the lift sitting level. Water in the bilge of a boat on a lift is a normal state of affairs.

[Stanley Wheelhouse]

i lowered the front of my lift slightly so that the water drains out of the center drain plug. if you do this be sure to lower your lift a littler further than normal.

[Sixball]

I never get all the water out on the lift. But than the boat is in the water so much more than if I would need to trailer!!!!!

I will take the bilge water.

[99response]

We had a few customers who used to rip through steering cables - they would be locked up every other season. We figured out it was because of the lift setup where the back of the boat had standing water in it, it would keep the cable wet and then it was only a matter of time unit those cables went bad.

I would make sure you don't have that much water back there, or just get a manual bailer or add a bilge pump back there.

-Chris

Edited August 28, 2009 by 99response

[Brett Melberg]

I just got a FLOW VSD-3800 and really like it. If you are having trouble centering the boat then you probably need to move the Vertical Guide-Ins closer. I have mine only a few inches away from the boat. I have double Guide-Ins on the back and single Guide-Ins on the front. Getting these set properly makes it really easy to center the boat. If you don't have the vertiacl Guide-Ins on the front and back then buy them, there worth it.

Brett

[Schindawg]

Thanks for all the replies! I do have the double guide-ons which are great. I'm not having a problem with the spacing of the bunks, but the slope, if I may use a math term. At this point, it looks like I'll just adjust them back to parallel with the water for ease of guiding the boat on and live with the little water issue in the rear. Again, it's a small amount of water; the bilge pump area is dry, it just pools around the shaft area.

Getting cold up here! Hope we can squeeze in another week or two of lake fun!

[Big Mac]

Thanks for all the replies! I do have the double guide-ons which are great. I'm not having a problem with the spacing of the bunks, but the slope, if I may use a math term. At this point, it looks like I'll just adjust them back to parallel with the water for ease of guiding the boat on and live with the little water issue in the rear. Again, it's a small amount of water; the bilge pump area is dry, it just pools around the shaft area.

Getting cold up here! Hope we can squeeze in another week or two of lake fun!

Our lake temp yesterday AM was 65. Fortunately, the air temp was 60, so at least it felt warm...nice morning for skiing, though.

[Brett Melberg]

Thanks for all the replies! I do have the double guide-ons which are great. I'm not having a problem with the spacing of the bunks, but the slope, if I may use a math term. At this point, it looks like I'll just adjust them back to parallel with the water for ease of guiding the boat on and live with the little water issue in the rear. Again, it's a small amount of water; the bilge pump area is dry, it just pools around the shaft area.

Getting cold up here! Hope we can squeeze in another week or two of lake fun!

Why do you need the bunks to guide the boat on? That is what the vertical guide ons are for. If the vertical guide ins are in the right spot then you simply get the boat above the bunks and raise the lift.