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Boat Lifts


Buwannabe

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Newbie question folks! Looking for a new 5,000lb lift. Original plan was to go hydraulic but the lift guy I spoke to was big on a manual (Great Lakes Lift) and adding the Sidewinder motorized lift. Anyone have any experience with this setup? Anybody have a hydraulic and experience any reliability/maint issues? The boat weighs 3,800 lbs empty. Appreciate any info you can send my way.

Dave

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We have a manual vertical lift with a motorized conversion and like it. I don't have any experiance with hydrolic. How long do you plan on keeping the lift? replacement of cables are easy but hydrolics seem like they would be more of a pain. I'm sure the hydrolic would be faster and quieter though (possibly more expensive. Are you going new or used? Make sure you get a canopy. Helps with the heat and protection of the boat.

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We have a manual vertical lift with a motorized conversion and like it. I don't have any experiance with hydrolic. How long do you plan on keeping the lift? replacement of cables are easy but hydrolics seem like they would be more of a pain. I'm sure the hydrolic would be faster and quieter though (possibly more expensive. Are you going new or used? Make sure you get a canopy. Helps with the heat and protection of the boat.

I plan to get a canopy. He discouraged me from hydraulic because should the power source fail, you can't get the boat off the lift. Claims to have had it happen to a customer on a holiday weekend. Manual with a motorized conversion would seem like the most cost effective way to go. He didn't have any used ones and I think I want to stay with this particular dealer, so it looks like it's going to be new. Plan is to keep it forever. This is the boat that will grow old with us.

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If you go mechanical be sure to replace the cable at the recommended intervals. One of my ski buddies didn't and when the cable broke it did a fair amount of damage (broken pulleys and even snapped a weld on one of the aluminum crossbars). His is motorized and seems to have issues at least once every summer. Another of my ski partners has a manual mechanical lift and doesn't seem to ever have a problem. Yet another has a hydraulic and it is by far the fastest and the quietest (important if you're into the 6 AM sets :) ) The hydraulic has never had a problem either. Maybe it depends on whether it's a scissor vs cantilever vs ??? on whether a loss of power would trap you in the up position. His is a 12V cantilever system with a solar charger. He had a wire separate so his batteries weren't being recharged. One morning he lowered the boat (bled off the hydraulic fluid into the reservoir), we skied, after skiing we found out the batteries were dead. The boat lowered with no issues but the lift function was a different story.

Edited by NorCaliBu
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Another very well made lift made in Mi. is the Midlander. It is made just down the street from me. Around hear 97% of the lifts are Midlander. I have a Midlander and have had it from spring of 96. The only thing I have done to it is Cable and add 110 motor. I would buy another. I Think If I was to get another with electric power I might get it without and add the Hewitt direct drive it is a very nice setup. Its much more compact and faster less weight for taking the lift in and out. You will need to pick from a vertical or cantilever lift. The cantilever is very simple to change cables. The vertical lift is a bit more work but not to bad. Vertical is quicker lifting and can be used in less water. It is also better for parking if you just want to set the boat up for a short time and go back out.

http://midlanderhoists.com/midlander.pdf

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If you go mechanical be sure to replace the cable at the recommended intervals. One of my ski buddies didn't and when the cable broke it did a fair amount of damage (broken pulleys and even snapped a weld on one of the aluminum crossbars). His is motorized and seems to have issues at least once every summer. Another of my ski partners has a manual mechanical lift and doesn't seem to ever have a problem. Yet another has a hydraulic and it is by far the fastest and the quietest (important if you're into the 6 AM sets :) ) The hydraulic has never had a problem either. Maybe it depends on whether it's a scissor vs cantilever vs ??? on whether a loss of power would trap you in the up position. His is a 12V cantilever system with a solar charger. He had a wire separate so his batteries weren't being recharged. One morning he lowered the boat (bled off the hydraulic fluid into the reservoir), we skied, after skiing we found out the batteries were dead. The boat lowered with no issues but the lift function was a different story.

On the Hewitt direct drive you can use a cordless drill if you lose power to lift or lower a boat. Its a nice extra at no cost.

OH my Vertical lift is quiet. Not as Quiet as hydraulic but Quiet.

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I plan to get a canopy. He discouraged me from hydraulic because should the power source fail, you can't get the boat off the lift. Claims to have had it happen to a customer on a holiday weekend. Manual with a motorized conversion would seem like the most cost effective way to go. He didn't have any used ones and I think I want to stay with this particular dealer, so it looks like it's going to be new. Plan is to keep it forever. This is the boat that will grow old with us.

My manual conversion need power to get the boat down. If power went out I would have to convert it back to manual if I wanted to bypass the power. It's easier to just hook up an inverter to use 12V DC. Yes it would have to be a beefy inverter, but can be done.

As for longevity, it's easy to replace cables, but pumps, fluid lines, and seals seems like another story (I don't have experience in that). Let us know what you decide.

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Depth is certainly an issue for us as we are waist deep at the end of the dock. The unit we demoed at the boat show was a 6,000lb hydraulic Hewitt (they don't make a 5k) and it seemed to be very nice (and $$$). As far as the power issue goes, the plan is to use a solar/battery system but we do have electric service on shore near the dock. Should the battery die, it seems there would be a way to hook it up to a cord until we could get it fixed.

A fast lift working off of a fob is the way we want to go. He also carries Shorestation, which we will explore.

Next question. Anybody you know use hydraulic AND have to deal with zebra mussels?

I really do appreciate all the help folks. In case you couldn't tell, we are pretty excited to finally have a boat :biggrin:

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My manual conversion need power to get the boat down. If power went out I would have to convert it back to manual if I wanted to bypass the power. It's easier to just hook up an inverter to use 12V DC. Yes it would have to be a beefy inverter, but can be done.

As for longevity, it's easy to replace cables, but pumps, fluid lines, and seals seems like another story (I don't have experience in that). Let us know what you decide.

I went to the Sidewinder website and they indeed do include a manual crank should you experience a power failure. The speed and lifting capacity of the hydraulic system was pretty impressive and they work well in shallow water, but as you pointed out, you are adding complexity to a pretty basic function and I have no idea what the maint. issues are.

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Depth is certainly an issue for us as we are waist deep at the end of the dock. The unit we demoed at the boat show was a 6,000lb hydraulic Hewitt (they don't make a 5k) and it seemed to be very nice (and $$$). As far as the power issue goes, the plan is to use a solar/battery system but we do have electric service on shore near the dock. Should the battery die, it seems there would be a way to hook it up to a cord until we could get it fixed.

A fast lift working off of a fob is the way we want to go. He also carries Shorestation, which we will explore.

Next question. Anybody you know use hydraulic AND have to deal with zebra mussels?

I really do appreciate all the help folks. In case you couldn't tell, we are pretty excited to finally have a boat :biggrin:

We have zebras and they do not affect the non-hyrolic lifts. If you can't find someone with hydrolic zebra experience I can ask around near us and find out if they are an issue. It will probably be a couple weeks until we get out to the lake though.

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the Shore station Hydro is a cable operated hydraulic. This keeps the hydraulics out of the water, in a weatherproof container. Also, for batteries, you should just get a tail to the boat battery. Pull in, plug the lift into the boat, hoist it up.

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I guess I have 4 cents worth.

First 2 cents---Just make sure you are getting it big enough, ie a 3500-3800# boat with ballasts that for some strange reason you can't pump out one day, plus fuel, plus people (unless everyone has to get out/in before "lifting") plus equipment, it doesn't take long to eat up that 5000# lift. I know I was told once by a dealer that you take your boat weight plus about 1000# and that will be "lots", his "lots" and my "lots" are totally different.

Second 2 cents--- Floe 6000 VSD, I went with the 7500# but I own a heavier boat than your SANTE. It takes two peole to get it into the lake, two peole to get out of the lake. Also protect your investment, get the canopy. I really believe that Floe has the best of these too. I'm not gonna lie to you, you're gonna pay top $$$$ for it but that's not a 17 foot runabout your driving around either. Dress it up, 24V, solar panels, canopy extensions (no folding down the tower)...

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Depth is certainly an issue for us as we are waist deep at the end of the dock. The unit we demoed at the boat show was a 6,000lb hydraulic Hewitt (they don't make a 5k) and it seemed to be very nice (and $$$). As far as the power issue goes, the plan is to use a solar/battery system but we do have electric service on shore near the dock. Should the battery die, it seems there would be a way to hook it up to a cord until we could get it fixed.

A fast lift working off of a fob is the way we want to go. He also carries Shorestation, which we will explore.

Next question. Anybody you know use hydraulic AND have to deal with zebra mussels?

I really do appreciate all the help folks. In case you couldn't tell, we are pretty excited to finally have a boat :biggrin:

I have a hydraulic (Summit) in a lake with zebra mussels, and have had no issues. I made sure to choose a lift that compresses the hydraulics when in the up position, though. That way, in the position that the lift is in most of the time, the cylinders are protected. Summit Marine is just north of Grand Rapids. I spoke with the owner, Jim, many times before and just after buying the lift (even on Sunday when I had a question while installing the lift for the first time!). I have had it for 3 summers now with no problems; I would strongly recommend Summit. If you are going to be moving your lift in and out of the lake yourself in the Spring and Fall, getting a lighter model would also be helpful. Mine is only 450#. I had Jim weld on 1-1/2" diameter by 18" long aluminum pipes to the top of each foot, and I bought those poly dock wheels. To get it in and out of the water, I just put an air mattress under the bunks, lower it (this lifts the feet off the bottom), but the wheels on the "axles", connect the winch cable from my ATV and pull it right up on shore. In the Fall, I do just the opposite except I use my jet ski to pull it from the beach and into the water until it is floating on the air mattress. I then just maneuver it into the slip, remove the wheels and lower it down. I can remove and install my lift with no help! Of course, my buddies are on the dock just watching me do all the work.

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I have a hydraulic (Summit) in a lake with zebra mussels, and have had no issues. I made sure to choose a lift that compresses the hydraulics when in the up position, though. That way, in the position that the lift is in most of the time, the cylinders are protected. Summit Marine is just north of Grand Rapids. I spoke with the owner, Jim, many times before and just after buying the lift (even on Sunday when I had a question while installing the lift for the first time!). I have had it for 3 summers now with no problems; I would strongly recommend Summit. If you are going to be moving your lift in and out of the lake yourself in the Spring and Fall, getting a lighter model would also be helpful. Mine is only 450#. I had Jim weld on 1-1/2" diameter by 18" long aluminum pipes to the top of each foot, and I bought those poly dock wheels. To get it in and out of the water, I just put an air mattress under the bunks, lower it (this lifts the feet off the bottom), but the wheels on the "axles", connect the winch cable from my ATV and pull it right up on shore. In the Fall, I do just the opposite except I use my jet ski to pull it from the beach and into the water until it is floating on the air mattress. I then just maneuver it into the slip, remove the wheels and lower it down. I can remove and install my lift with no help! Of course, my buddies are on the dock just watching me do all the work.

With beers! I'd be driving your Bu around.

That sounds really light, and a perfect set up. What is the capacity of the lift? I have an older Harbormaster cantilever 3,600lb lift that I can put in by myself and shimmy it into place by hand, but I need assistance with the removal.

Off topic, but does anyone have a team of homeowners that put lifts in and out? I can't figure out why so many people pay $75 a pop for install and then again for removal. I try to coordinate this annually but get only 1 or 2 guys like me that are interested, which is a few guys too few. If 10 nearby neighbors on our lake just get together, the 10 of us can remove the lifts without equipment or any back strain. And collectively save $750. So, I always suggest we pick a day, pull all the lifts and have a "end of season party" with a portion of that $750 (steaks...pony keg...hell, rent a bounce house). Do the same in the spring. We all end up drinking beer together on someone's patio or bonfire anyway, so what's the diff? Rant off.

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My manual conversion need power to get the boat down. If power went out I would have to convert it back to manual if I wanted to bypass the power. It's easier to just hook up an inverter to use 12V DC. Yes it would have to be a beefy inverter, but can be done.

As for longevity, it's easy to replace cables, but pumps, fluid lines, and seals seems like another story (I don't have experience in that). Let us know what you decide.

I've not seen a pump fail but hoses have. Try to find a design that if the system loses pressure that the boat will not come down. This has happened to 3 boats on my lake. How bog is the lake it will be on? Will it get very rough? if so, I'd go hydraulic, it is SOOO much faster, def needed when big waves coming in.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Anyone familiar with Lakeshore Products or have any comment on their lifts? I have come across a deal that I may not be able to pass up on a manual 4000# vertical lift.

Edited by inlandlaker
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Anyone familiar with Lakeshore Products or have any comment on their lifts? I have come across a deal that I may not be able to pass up on a manual 400# vertical lift.

400# might be a little small for the 'Bu..... :whistle::crazy:

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Good point....I forgot the extra "0" while typing and have since edited the post.

Still.......anyone with any comments on a Lakeshore lift?

I looked hard at them when buying mine. In the end, I went with a Hewitt because the Hewitt dealer took my old crappy one in on trade for $1200. Even though the Hewitt was more expensive, this resulted in a slightly better deal. If that wouldn't have happened I would have bought the Lakeshore. Made in Michigan too.

400#...4000#...Seriously, my opinion is that you think about the 5,000 lb model, if you are buying new. I know you've only had your boat for a week, but I've already seen you comment about a possible upgrade in a few years. Depending upon what that upgrade is, you may be pushing the limits of 4,000#. It's better to be safe than sorry.

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what year Lakeshore?

When I was searching, I was told by more then one person to stay away from any Lakeshore that was pre 2004.

That's just what I was told though

I'm not sure which year it is and won't know until I check tomorrow. Were you given any specific reasons to stay away from pre 2004?

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One stray thought...ensure you check and measure the loacations of the lifting bunks in relation to the gear under your boat....IE the paddle wheel !! If a lifting bunk lifts the boat and is under the paddle wheel it will crush it...

A 2007 23LSV owner buddy of mine has done it twice...its a quick 25$ 5 min fix but something you'd rather avoid... depends on the individual boat lift and what boat you have and where your stuff is installed..also say its just close but ok, you know that you have to have the boat on the lift perfect each time, even in a hurry, in the wind, lightning etc etc.....just another consideration...

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I have the Hewitt Hyd. I forget the model, but it holds my 08 Sunscape 21.6'. I bought this at the 08 boat show. If you buy the Hewitt, send me a PM and I'll give you my phone number and I'll give you all the detail you need!!! For the first year this was the best lift around. Every year since then it's been problems. I have the 24V DC system. I ran solar chargers on each battery and once ran out of juice. This was a vacation week and we were in and out 4 times a day and by Thursday it ran out. Also, I only have morning/afternoon sun, shade after that. I hooked up a jump pack and back up and running. So far I've busted a line under water 3 times. The crimps corrode and fail. Each time the pump empties out and then you blow up the pump motor. FYI Hewitt charges $75 more than other reps for the pump. Also, they haven't stood behind anything. Hewitt also installed flow controls backwards. Now, $500 later, I have redesigned it and haven't had a problem. Maybe I got a lemon. Key fob is great. Mine is the cantilever and the cylinders are exposed when up. I wished it was the other way but hey, its what I bought. I leave my lift in through winter, each spring I have to remove the top cylinder pin and lift it up and clean SS cylinder before first use. Through the summer it stays clean. Still love the idea of hydraulic.

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