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Lift Canopy's for tower?


zamboniman

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Any recent or long term experiences with the various tower accommodating canopy options for a boat lift? Floe, Craftlander, Sunchaser, etc.. all have something they are marketing as a drop, extended, tower type canopy.

Just wondering if the collective has had any pro or negative experiences so far or what's good and what to stay away from.

Looking for something that will actually protect the boat with the tower up.

Thanks!

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I have a Floe lift that works very well with our tower and I did purchase the extensions. I can pull in with the tower up without problem. I then lower the tower and have the lift raise up as high as it can and it keeps the boat high and dry. I have a ton of pictures if you are interested.

Edited by 2004WakeSetterVLX
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I have the standard Floe canopy on a Hewitt lift and am happy with the protection it offers with the tower up. If I had a quick drop tower option, that canopy would be deep enough to cover down to the rub-rail. I can't use the side extensions, as I access my boat from the side.

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I have the standard Floe canopy on a Hewitt lift and am happy with the protection it offers with the tower up. If I had a quick drop tower option, that canopy would be deep enough to cover down to the rub-rail. I can't use the side extensions, as I access my boat from the side.

We access our boat from the side and don't have any issues with getting it or out of the boat after lowering it some. We still would have to lower the boat some even if we didn't have the extensions.

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I have the Floe lift with the extensions. I have not put on the extensions but love the standard canopy. I keep my tower up and it still does a great job of covering the boat. This year, I will put the extensions on and will be even more happy with it. Can't beat the Floe system

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I have a Floe lift that works very well with our tower and I did purchase the extensions. I can pull in with the tower up without problem. I then lower the tower and have the lift raise up as high as it can and it keeps the boat high and dry. I have a ton of pictures if you are interested.

Please share the pictures if you don't mind.... THANKS!

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No problem. I am not sure what stuff you exactly want to see but anyways here are some. Note that the extension frames were installed in the most of the pictures and the canvas is missing. The custom sides had not been completed when this was all installed.

Tower up

DSC05865.jpg

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Tower Down

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Note that there is a ton of room between the boat and the frame of the roof. It has to be set up this way in order to pull the boat onto the lift with the tower up. We will be installing everything this weekend and are hoping to tweak things a bit more to really tuck the boat up in there. I will take more pictures and post if there is any major difference. (This is only our 2nd season with the boat and lift.)

DSC05879.jpg

DSC05883.jpg

Tower Down and with Canvas Extensions. (Water level is super high so that's why the boat doesn't look like it is out of the water as much.)

IMG-20110506-00050.jpg

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Thanks exactly what I wanted to see.... What canopy size/length is that?

It is 26'.

Edited by 2004WakeSetterVLX
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Do you think if the canopy had a zipper door on the back to get the boat on without having it mounted too high that there would be good coverage without the side extensions? I'm considering a craftlander lift along with their hightop canopy. The hightop is similar to the floe without the extensions perhaps even a bit more drop than the floe. They do offer a zipper back for towers but no extra extensions. The price difference between the craftlander complete setup is dramatic compared to the floe setup. The lifts themselves (non screw drive model) look to be very similar in build quality... you just lose some of the floe extras like screw legs which I don't need.

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Do you think if the canopy had a zipper door on the back to get the boat on without having it mounted too high that there would be good coverage without the side extensions? I'm considering a craftlander lift along with their hightop canopy. The hightop is similar to the floe without the extensions perhaps even a bit more drop than the floe. They do offer a zipper back for towers but no extra extensions. The price difference between the craftlander complete setup is dramatic compared to the floe setup. The lifts themselves (non screw drive model) look to be very similar in build quality... you just lose some of the floe extras like screw legs which I don't need.

Is the frame open in the rear sort of speak then in order to allow you to pull the boat in without hitting the frame if you were to unzip? I wandered around Craftlanders website some and didn't run into any pictures or videos of what you are referring to.

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No problem. I am not sure what stuff you exactly want to see but anyways here are some. Note that the extension frames were installed in the most of the pictures and the canvas is missing. The custom sides had not been completed when this was all installed.

What's the point of having a canopy if you still have to cover the boat? I have those canopy skirts, but some people don't like them because they'd rather see their boat.

347xxqa.jpg

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What's the point of having a canopy if you still have to cover the boat? I have those canopy skirts, but some people don't like them because they'd rather see their boat.

I cover it because I'm super picky about keeping it clean. it keeps the birds and bugs out of the boat.

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Here are some updated pics from today. The canopy could be dropped another 6 inches but our lake fluctuates quite a bit so we left it alone for now until the water level becomes more stable.

Raised as high as it will go with tower up.

IMG_0078.jpg

Raised as high as it will go.

IMG_0085.jpg

Tower up.

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IMG_0081.jpg

IMG_0082.jpg

Tower Down

IMG_0083.jpg

IMG_0087.jpg

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IMG_0091.jpg

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Is the frame open in the rear sort of speak then in order to allow you to pull the boat in without hitting the frame if you were to unzip? I wandered around Craftlanders website some and didn't run into any pictures or videos of what you are referring to.

Yes the frame would be open.. That said I think I'm going to try the sunchaser option which is completely open on both ends. I've talked to them directly and they'll custom build it to whatever amount of side drop you'd like. Ken is very accommodating and helpful there.

The updated pics are great thanks for the help.

  • Like 2
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Yes the frame would be open.. That said I think I'm going to try the sunchaser option which is completely open on both ends. I've talked to them directly and they'll custom build it to whatever amount of side drop you'd like. Ken is very accommodating and helpful there.

The updated pics are great thanks for the help.

Glad to help. I would love to see pictures of your set up once you have it put together!

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  • 9 months later...

I know this is an old post, but does anyone have experience with the Craftlander high top canopy? I was recently speaking with a local dealer that spoke and showed me pictures of a canopy similar to the Floe canopy in the above post. While speaking with Craftlander they informed me that some of their dealers offer their frames with a zipper open end canopy design. Apparently the had a bunch of pontoon boat owners that wanted it for Bimini tops. After looking at it, the design seems that it would work well with a tower installed. I'm a new boat owner and now shopping for a lift and canopy, the price seems to be fair with the Craftlander models compared to the Shorestation, Shoremaster, and Floe lifts that I have looked at. Any feed back would be much appreciated.

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