How does your boat sit on the lift?

[JoeA]

Really like your design joe and we are going to do the same for our lift. Do you have both the front and rear spaced 30" apart?

Yes, both the front and rear are 30" apart. Just measure your bunk boards on the trailer as it may be different depending on the model of the boat.

[JoeA]

daylorb, where do I find those $150 brackets for the guide post?

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I believe www.boatliftworld.com has the guide posts.

[cstewa]

I believe www.boatliftworld.com has the guide posts.

I've got the same exact lift and messed around with a similar setups for years and from my experience Joe A's setup is the exact way you need to do it...

* Double boards = way stronger/less warping/less pound per square inch of force on boat

* Board MUST rest right on cross member - it should not be elevated higher or it will bend in all sorts of crazy directions

* Inside the chines - look where your boat sits on the trailer - they should match the width of the lower bunks

* Four bunks would be great, but in reality impractical on this type of lift that has straight I-breams across - the brackets would be huge on this kind of lift. I've seen custom welded lifts that have 4 that are nice, a lot more expensive

* I love having guides on the lift - for about $150 you can add brackets that help you perfectly align the boat. If you are 4-5 inches off when lifting it can tilt/warp board/not sit well on boat

I've tried angling mine in, using single board, elevating the boards, having them wider/narrower - and we settled on this and it has worked very well.

Thanks. I am building a boat house for a 2014 LSV. I am going to use this setup with the 2 2X12's on end and 10 degree angle with 2X6's on top. Should the 30" spacing work for the 2014 as well?

[RTS]

JoeA...no issues with tracking fins or prop potentially striking the horizontal beams? The 12" is enough clearance? Or do you just make sure you stop before the prop gets to the rear cross beam?

[JoeA]

JoeA...no issues with tracking fins or prop potentially striking the horizontal beams? The 12" is enough clearance? Or do you just make sure you stop before the prop gets to the rear cross beam?

No issues at all with the tracking fins. Just lower the lift a bit more after it floats and you'll be all set. I line up the rear cable to the last cleat on the boat and that's a good location for weight distribution and also keeps my prop from crossing the rear beam.

[JoeA]

Thanks. I am building a boat house for a 2014 LSV. I am going to use this setup with the 2 2X12's on end and 10 degree angle with 2X6's on top. Should the 30" spacing work for the 2014 as well?

Just measure the trailer bunks to be sure on the spacing. I suspect 30" ought to be close but I have an 2013 22MXZ.

If you're building one get one with a remote to lower and raise......you'll love it. I looked at lots of lift options and chose the design that boatliftworld uses. It's a perfect for these boats that just keep getting heavier. I went with the two motor setup rated at 10,000 lbs. It's a bit overkill or extra insurance depending on how you look at it. You'll need a 220 circuit or a dedicated 30 amp 120 volt circuit as these pull 23 amps when using 120 volts.

[daylorb]

Thanks. I am building a boat house for a 2014 LSV. I am going to use this setup with the 2 2X12's on end and 10 degree angle with 2X6's on top. Should the 30" spacing work for the 2014 as well?

Boy, I don't know about a 2014 personally - mine is '13. I found the easiest way to do it was measure the boat while on the trailer - you can see right on the trailer how the lower bunks sit and fit nicely - that same width works. Of course it took me about 3 years to think of this... at the 3rd set of bunks I figured there must be a better way!

[daylorb]

JoeA...no issues with tracking fins or prop potentially striking the horizontal beams? The 12" is enough clearance? Or do you just make sure you stop before the prop gets to the rear cross beam?

You have to make sure you stop - the fins are not an issue, but you can easily run the prop or shaft up on it. In my case, it would take running the entire boat up on the ground, but if your lift was all in deep water you could over-shoot the thing.

[daylorb]

daylorb, where do I find those $150 brackets for the guide post?

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I got these exact guides: http://boatliftworld.com/store/Boat-Lift-Parts/Boat-Lift-Cradle-Guide-Post/prod_41.html. Then you slip 2" pvc pipe over them. Put a screw through the pvc that acts as pressure into the guide. Pretty economical, the PVC deflects some if you run into it. Seem to be a good option at a fraction of the price I've seen others at. I needed to get longer bolts for them to work on my cradle, just picked them up at HD.

[Rich_G]

I don't have guide posts, but my cables are narrow enough to serve as a guide. I have PVC pipe over the bottom 5' of cable to keep from scratching anything.

[NCVride]

daylorb, where do I find those $150 brackets for the guide post?

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cstewa,

I have some of the guideposts I may be willing to part with for a fee! The ones I have work with 1 1/2" PVC and the metal pole portion is 24" instead of the 12" that are on that link. If you decide to go the guidepost route let me know and we can work out a $$. If I recall I have all the hardware, just missing 2-3 of the bolts which I am sure you can pick up at Home Depot....they are just regular old galvanized 1/2"x 3".

I don't have guide posts, but my cables are narrow enough to serve as a guide. I have PVC pipe over the bottom 5' of cable to keep from scratching anything.

Rich, this is the same as my set up. The PVC over the cable works great.

[ajvigants]

All, i just installed a new lift this year and have some input. I used a pair of 2x12's per side, cut them at a 10 degree angle, bolted together then added a 2x6 on top of the 2x12's wrapped in marine grade carpet. It's solid and will last a long time. 2x12 boards Boards are 30" apart.

I like the design but wonder if all that wood causes the cradle to want to float?

[gordon20mxz]

Joe,

You new system looks much better. I attached pictures of how mine are done.

My boat house builder welds the cradle and uses 3 inch channel uprights and then has a 2 by 4 on the side that is bolted to a brackets on each set of uprights that allows it to pivot to allow it to adjust the angle to the hull. When I got my MXZ I had to have him add the two additional uprights toward the inside to get the 2 by 4's to be just to the inside of the chines. The first set of upright were for the hull of a Ski Nautique.

[Sixball]

Same with as your stringers.

[JoeA]

I like the design but wonder if all that wood causes the cradle to want to float?

Those cradles are sooo heavy there's no chance of it floating. Trust me, it took two full grown men to barely lift one of the cradles.

[JoeA]

Joe,

You new system looks much better. I attached pictures of how mine are done.

My boat house builder welds the cradle and uses 3 inch channel uprights and then has a 2 by 4 on the side that is bolted to a brackets on each set of uprights that allows it to pivot to allow it to adjust the angle to the hull. When I got my MXZ I had to have him add the two additional uprights toward the inside to get the 2 by 4's to be just to the inside of the chines. The first set of upright were for the hull of a Ski Nautique.

Your guy has some nice welding skills. I like the fact that the 2x4 can pivot.

[BlknYlwT22]

Here is our set up with the Axis. I like going on the outside of the chines as it helps with getting the boat centered.

[augie09]

our old boat sat on 2x4's, on the longer side, with the 2x4's mounted at a slight angle to the bunk arms to match the hull angle. The chines sat just on the inside of the bunks.

we are getting a new lift for the new boat next month, will probably do it the same. Just feels more stable and like mentioned early, it's easily to get the boat settled in place. On the old lift, while it was raising, we just gently rock the boat side to side and it would naturally seat it self correctly.

only pic I got.

[jdiaz78]

I had my lift installed two weeks ago and I think they are too close. I measured the trailer and they bunks are 5' wide on the outside. Do you think I moving them that far out would be a bad idea on the lift? I just don't like the way it sits on the hull right now.

[gordon20mxz]

Here are some measurements I made prior to having my cradle modified. With my 2 by 4 bunks spread 36" to the inside measurement, the 2 by 4 boards ended up right under the chines. I took measurements of my empty trailer for a 20 MXZ to figure out the modification. I had to move my bunks inward. To be just inside of the chines, the outside of the bunk should not be wider than 32".

Edited April 8, 2015 by gordon20mxz

[gordon20mxz]

BlknYlwT22,

You have a very nice lift and a nice canopy, it looks great!

I like the idea of being just to the outside of the chines too. I couldn't do that because of the way my cradle is welded together. To modify my cradle for the 20 MXZ I had to move my bunks in. You can see that my cradle is very sturdy. All 3" steel channel welded together with 4 supports on each side.

The only issue with going to the outside of the chines is that the vertical support post has to be longer so that the fins can clear the horizontal cradle beams. With some cradles less could be less stable, but not with yours.

I noticed that you had a 1998 Ski Nautique, I had a 2000 Ski Nautique 196 open bow before my MXZ. I loved that boat!

[BlknYlwT22]

BlknYlwT22,

You have a very nice lift and a nice canopy, it looks great!

I like the idea of being just to the outside of the chines too. I couldn't do that because of the way my cradle is welded together. To modify my cradle for the 20 MXZ I had to move my bunks in. You can see that my cradle is very sturdy. All 3" steel channel welded together with 4 supports on each side.

The only issue with going to the outside of the chines is that the vertical support post has to be longer so that the fins can clear the horizontal cradle beams. With some cradles less could be less stable, but not with yours.

I noticed that you had a 1998 Ski Nautique, I had a 2000 Ski Nautique 196 open bow before my MXZ. I loved that boat!

Appreciate the compliments. A new pier is in the works so things will look much better out front here shortly.

We loved our '98 and our current '97. Both have been great boats.

Old '98

Just bought the '97 this fall. Has an unbelievable 300 hours on it.

[gordon20mxz]

Wow,

Both of those Nautiques are beautiful! That is a classic look. Your 1998 had the same colors as my 2000. I also loved the look of the model years 2000 (mine) and 2001 when they had that big sweeping "N" on the side of the boat, the bottom of which followed the water line. I thought that graphic really looked good.

We can't keep a stable Nautique dealer here in Northern Alabama. I had no one for service, luckily I never had a big service issue and I did all of the fluid changes myself. We do have a very good local Malibu dealer, that is why I got a MXZ and did not even shop for Nautique wakeboard boats. I am going to be on the lookout for a used Malibu Response direct drive in this area. This Summer I will talk to my Malibu dealer about keeping me in mind if something good gets traded in with low hours. My open bow Nautique had that front seating area that you had to walk over the bow to get to. I don't want that again, to hard to use. I want to look for one of the 20 foot Response models that had the walk through dash.

I sold my Nautique to my sister in New Jersey, so it's still in the family!

My 10 year old son loves to surf, but he also still like to get up on a slalom ski, same with me. It would be nice to have a direct drive too.

[ahopkins22LSV]

Wow,

Both of those Nautiques are beautiful! That is a classic look. Your 1998 had the same colors as my 2000. I also loved the look of the model years 2000 (mine) and 2001 when they had that big sweeping "N" on the side of the boat, the bottom of which followed the water line. I thought that graphic really looked good.

We can't keep a stable Nautique dealer here in Northern Alabama. I had no one for service, luckily I never had a big service issue and I did all of the fluid changes myself. We do have a very good local Malibu dealer, that is why I got a MXZ and did not even shop for Nautique wakeboard boats. I am going to be on the lookout for a used Malibu Response direct drive in this area. This Summer I will talk to my Malibu dealer about keeping me in mind if something good gets traded in with low hours. My open bow Nautique had that front seating area that you had to walk over the bow to get to. I don't want that again, to hard to use. I want to look for one of the 20 foot Response models that had the walk through dash.

I sold my Nautique to my sister in New Jersey, so it's still in the family!

My 10 year old son loves to surf, but he also still like to get up on a slalom ski, same with me. It would be nice to have a direct drive too.

Not to go too off topic, but the only older Response that have a true walk through are some Echelons and the Sportster. The RLX was just introduced this year with a true walk though and 2003+ LXi and all TXi have true walk through bows.

[gordon20mxz]

Not to go too off topic, but the only older Response that have a true walk through are some Echelons and the Sportster. The RLX was just introduced this year with a true walk though and 2003+ LXi and all TXi have true walk through bows.

Yes, thank you. I don't have my model names sorted out because I haven't really researched those boats much yet. But, you are correct, try to get a 20' or 21' direct drive with a walk through dash. Thanks for the input.