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Low water boat lift recomendations?


doug1

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We have a '96 Echelon and have had a couple years of low water. We've built 4 additional dock sections to keep our lift accessible. What options are better for this than our vertical Shore Station? Are there other brands or styles (canteliver) that require less water? ......Thanks

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We have a '96 Echelon and have had a couple years of low water. We've built 4 additional dock sections to keep our lift accessible. What options are better for this than our vertical Shore Station? Are there other brands or styles (canteliver) that require less water? ......Thanks

An Air-Dock will work in a low water or variable water depth situation. I have one that I'm going to be selling a C Model soon. We should be off the waiting list at our marina for a covered slip with built in lift soon. www.airdock.com

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Here are a few other options:

Hewitt Cantilever - According to the specs, you need just 6" + 1/2 your boat draft of water. For a boat with a 24" draft, that would be just 18" of water!

Jet Dock - Only need ankle deep water.

Viking Boat Lift - Very interesting option. That third picture down scares the hell out of me, though! Check out the dock in the picture second from the bottom. Drool.gif

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I use a Harbormaster cantilever. Not much of a problem with our water level, it doesn't vary by much. But one year it went way down (different boat), and I actually jetted around the supports and sank the lift about 6 inches further into the sand. I attached a garden hose to a 3/8" pipe that was 4' long, and the water pressure blows all the sand away and makes it very easy to sink the lift a bit. Took about an hour or less, can't remember, but it was with a beer in the other hand, really easy.

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We have a '96 Echelon and have had a couple years of low water. We've built 4 additional dock sections to keep our lift accessible. What options are better for this than our vertical Shore Station? Are there other brands or styles (canteliver) that require less water? ......Thanks

Have you got your lift down all the way? Mine has adjustments where it can be lowered and raised depending on water level. I also have a Shore Station.

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Here are a few other options:

Hewitt Cantilever - According to the specs, you need just 6" + 1/2 your boat draft of water. For a boat with a 24" draft, that would be just 18" of water!

What am I missing here? How is the boat with a draft of 24" going to float in the 18" of water?

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Our dock has grown to approx 100' and the water was about 20" last summer. I dug under the Shore Station and sank it until the side rails were 1/2 covered. I believe that it is adjusted all the way down since the cradle appears to be sitting on the frame when completley lowered.

Thanks for the input. I'll research the various brands from home since our company filter is blocking most the links.

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Love my ShoreStation ... but getting tired of putting it in and taking it out. That Viking lift looks interesting!

Edit: Especially if it can handle being left in in Michigan's Winter.

Edited by MalibuNation
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Here are a few other options:

Hewitt Cantilever - According to the specs, you need just 6" + 1/2 your boat draft of water. For a boat with a 24" draft, that would be just 18" of water!

What am I missing here? How is the boat with a draft of 24" going to float in the 18" of water?

Yup. Think they messed up on that one!

Love my ShoreStation ... but getting tired of putting it in and taking it out. That Viking lift looks interesting!

Edit: Especially if it can handle being left in in Michigan's Winter.

I don't see how the dock could hold up in the ice, though. One would probably have to put bubblers in the water.

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Interesting topic to me, one of the reasons I bought a pontoon at first and have delayed buying a Malibu is that my dock goes anwhere from 6 feet of water to dry dirt. I am on a corps of engineer lake that fluctuates constantly. With my pontoon I get to use the dock quite a bit but me neighbor bought the standard air pontoon style lift for his ski boat and he hardly ever gets to use it because we rarely have enough water for the lift to sink low enough to drive on. I am hot and heavy looking for a malibu. What are the best options for a lift in 2-3 feet of water. By the way my dock is floating not a pylon.

Edited by 63Taylor
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Interesting topic to me, one of the reasons I bought a pontoon at first and have delayed buying a Malibu is that my dock goes anwhere from 6 feet of water to dry dirt. I am on a corps of engineer lake that fluctuates constantly. With my pontoon I get to use the dock quite a bit but me neighbor bought the standard air pontoon style lift for his ski boat and he hardly ever gets to use it because we rarely have enough water for the lift to sink low enough to drive on. I am hot and heavy looking for a malibu. What are the best options for a lift in 2-3 feet of water. By the way my dock is floating not a pylon.

Depending on what boat you are considering, many have a draft of 24". The Hewitt that I mentioned above lowers to 6", so the absolute minimum water depth for that would be 30" with a 24" draft boat. You may want to consider something like the Jet Dock.

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<HIJACK ON>

Many have probably already seen this, but this is what I would consider the ultimate boat lift with canopy:

.

<HIJACK OFF>

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Interesting topic to me, one of the reasons I bought a pontoon at first and have delayed buying a Malibu is that my dock goes anwhere from 6 feet of water to dry dirt. I am on a corps of engineer lake that fluctuates constantly. With my pontoon I get to use the dock quite a bit but me neighbor bought the standard air pontoon style lift for his ski boat and he hardly ever gets to use it because we rarely have enough water for the lift to sink low enough to drive on. I am hot and heavy looking for a malibu. What are the best options for a lift in 2-3 feet of water. By the way my dock is floating not a pylon.

Depending on what boat you are considering, many have a draft of 24". The Hewitt that I mentioned above lowers to 6", so the absolute minimum water depth for that would be 30" with a 24" draft boat. You may want to consider something like the Jet Dock.

Thanks,

I will look into it. My slip is a covered U shaped dock so I am not sure if the jet dock will fit in it. Plus I think the one for my pontoon would be a differnt model than the malibu one. So maybe the Hewitt is the way to go. So does it attach to the dock or just sit on the ground. I ask because underneath my dock is a lot of silt (when I hit the lottery I am dredging it out so I will have 4 more feet like I am supposed to) would the Hewitt just sink in the silt or attach to the dock

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Thanks,

I will look into it. My slip is a covered U shaped dock so I am not sure if the jet dock will fit in it. Plus I think the one for my pontoon would be a differnt model than the malibu one. So maybe the Hewitt is the way to go. So does it attach to the dock or just sit on the ground. I ask because underneath my dock is a lot of silt (when I hit the lottery I am dredging it out so I will have 4 more feet like I am supposed to) would the Hewitt just sink in the silt or attach to the dock

It sits on the ground, so it sounds like it would not work for your situation. The only alternatives that I am aware of are the floating type, like the Jet Dock and Air Dock.

I have heard of others laying down 3/4" thick plywood on the bottom to spread out the weight and push the silt out. My brother-in-law lives on a lake that has a lot of muck and silt. He used visqueen with a thick layer of pebbles on top. He slowly rolled out the visqueen and added the pebbles as he went. This pushed out the muck and silt as he went. He did it about 8 years ago, and his shoreline has remained perfect. He has a Hewitt lift on this and has had no problems. Most of the people on his lake have done the same thing with great success.

Also, another very interesting thing they have learned is to open a can of whole kernel corn and throw it in the lake once a month throughout the Spring and Summer. The carp come up to eat the corn and in doing so, tear up any vegetation that has taken root. Those that don't do this have weeds and lily pads. I thought this was an extremely ingenious idea.

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I went to Viking's website and they are out of CA, the great white north ... not West, and they have some interesting pics of their lift in the ice. Being around water most of my life ... I've always been in the camp of taking the lifts, docks and supports out for our MI winters. With the docks on my lake it's running 50/50 as far as taking them in and leaving them out.

I actually contacted Viking and this is what they had to say about leaving the lift in:

"Having several lift's in the Michigan area, none of them come out during the winter months. If you have really aggressive ice movement, we do recommend that the lift come out. We only have 3 lift's that come out during the winter months, and they are all in area's where the ice is very aggressive."

End of my semi-hijack.

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I have a Harbor Master Elite and just love it. I'm not sure about the minimum depth but I'm sure not very deep and could go shallower.

This lift is by far the most popular on our lake.

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I went to Viking's website and they are out of CA, the great white north ... not West, and they have some interesting pics of their lift in the ice. Being around water most of my life ... I've always been in the camp of taking the lifts, docks and supports out for our MI winters. With the docks on my lake it's running 50/50 as far as taking them in and leaving them out.

I actually contacted Viking and this is what they had to say about leaving the lift in:

"Having several lift's in the Michigan area, none of them come out during the winter months. If you have really aggressive ice movement, we do recommend that the lift come out. We only have 3 lift's that come out during the winter months, and they are all in area's where the ice is very aggressive."

End of my semi-hijack.

Did you get a price from them?

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Here are a few other options:

Hewitt Cantilever - According to the specs, you need just 6" + 1/2 your boat draft of water. For a boat with a 24" draft, that would be just 18" of water!

Jet Dock - Only need ankle deep water.

Viking Boat Lift - Very interesting option. That third picture down scares the hell out of me, though! Check out the dock in the picture second from the bottom. Drool.gif

Nice find. The Viking boat lift is cool. Thumbup.gif

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