Boathouse Design & Slip Dimensions

[TOAST]

We recently took the plunge on a 50yr old fixer/upper floating boathouse combo in the Portland area a s a 'weekender' place.  We will make some immediate improvements with a potential Phase II addition to build out the 2nd story over the existing boat well.   It is fully enclosed with a little kitchen, living, bath and a loft with room with a couple of beds.   We're extending the boathouse now to max length.  In addition to the enjoying the Malibu, we plan to do some kayaking, and stand up paddle boarding.  

Photos below of 1) Current State:(we'll extend house and remove swim dock and 2) Planned Phase I dimensions/layout. 3)Example of platform lift 

A couple of questions for the Crew:

1) Dimensions on boat well:. The 23LSV will fit in 25'x10' slip as drawn.  We'll upgrade current HydroHoist lift to handle the LSV.   I've heard we could make the slip a little shorter if we dialed it in since a foot or two of bow could extend  above the deck. Thoughts? Keep it 25', shorten a foot or two?

2) Height/Clearance: I measured a buddy's house with similar set up and he could just squeeze the boat up on the lift under the ceiling with 100" between the top of the deck to the ceiling. . . .Anyone else have experience with vertical clearance needed above the deck or waterline? (I've got the height measurements on a trailer)

3) Decked Lift: We're exploring the idea of building a platform over the HydroHoist level with the decking, to mimick the functionality of a platform or deck lift. (ours must be floating lift since it's a floating home)  We like the safety, convenience and more usable space when boat is out.  I kicked the idea around at boat show using painted aluminum decking - some thought it was doable.  Has anyone seen something like that built over a HydroHoist/floating lift?

4) Exterior Doors: We've looked at several options for the 2 exterior doors from the boat well out to the swim floats - would love to get a 3 ft wide glass garage door to allow light when closed, but really open up the space when open. But hard to find or SUPER expensive.  Any ideas? I've looked at solid roll up doors too - but want the natural light/view. Right now we are headed toward a wide all glass swinging door.

5) Stabilize small floats: Any ideas to steady the 2 small swim floats off the back of the house? They will be hinged to the main float.  But expect they will buck pretty good with any rollers coming in.  Saw a post here about FLOE docks, or may just have them custom build. 

Other ideas, comments, or suggestions welcome!

(PS I agree with The Hulk - could be time to get a separate topic for boathouses and boat lifts!)

[The Hulk]

It's the most talked about topic.. that still lives without a category/section.. long live the general discussion 👍 haha

You may need extra tanks for weight if adding decking, and check swing arms/clearance etc. If u add surface u may loose clearance and need liger swing arms, or go with a front mount style lift. 

Also since it's floating u may need to consider gaps and tolerances could be pinch hazards going up and down compared to the other structure since it's not locked or suspended in place like the example u show.. example u put your foot by gap the boat lift Bob's up and then comes down over your placed foot and takes a tow off, u may need a bigger gap for safety or maybe some large pins to lock in place with the floating house structure, problems with that as well without getting into detail.

Biggest issue is u may want to leave some larger slats or use pass through decking such as sure step or thru flow, Titan etc.. with a solid surface or aluminum extrusion profiles that may trap air could take extra long to sink as well added resistance on way up. Pass through decking would be non slip and drain easily. Just an idea. Will give u better air flow for drying as well . def Would be awesome for cleaning and walking around etc.. I'm sure it would cost quite a bit but would be sweet! 

Edited February 5, 2020 by The Hulk

[jwl019]

I can't help with much, but to stabilize the floats, you could hinge on the end up against the dock and use 3.5" aluminum pipe at the other end so the dock slides up/down the poles with the water fluctuation.  

Similar to how Ez Dock anchors using the poles.  If the water is really rough you may need to use something bigger.

https://ezdocktexas.com/floating-docks/

[Sparky450]

6 hours ago, TOAST said:

 

I have no need for a boat lift/house. But I’ve i did that floor under the boat would be the shiznit. I will leave the specifics of material to the people in the know. 😎😁

[ahopkins22LSV]

I personally feel you should keep the boat slip as big as you can. What if you want a 25 LSV or 24 mxz in the future? 

[bcoppess23]

With a hydro hoist, you would need a larger gap in the decking under the boat to account for the swinging of the support bracket.  I am not sure that is as safe as one would like.  FLOE lifts are not floating.

Are you able to drive a supporting pole at the ends of the swim platform?  If not, I imagine if you hinged the swim decks in multiple places to the house float, you would have the stability desired.  

[jmack]

35 minutes ago, bcoppess23 said:

With a hydro hoist, you would need a larger gap in the decking under the boat to account for the swinging of the support bracket. 

Correct - We have a Hydro Hoist lift and I don't believe it would be possible to install decking like you want due to the construction of the lift. It has struts to tie the front and rear hinges together (to insure it remains level as it moves up and down). The struts on each side protrude above the level of the deck and would need a 6" gap or so the length of the slip to swing down as the lift is lowered.

I do love the idea of the decking under the boat though - I'd find out what type of lift is under there and compare costs.

[Eagleboy99]

On #4 - have you considered a Window Wall-type product?  Friends a couple doors down from us have that on their cottage  and it opens  to thedeck.  Really amazing.  Sorta like this, but theirs stacks to both sides. https://magicwindow.ca/window-wall/#&gid=1&pid=1

[JeffK]

Or you could go the overhead door style.

 

Edited February 5, 2020 by JeffK

[The Hulk]

You could do a front mount floating lift, hinged at front only would allow flooring to have less gaps like side mount swing atm style.. still I'd be cautious of this , two different structures bobbing differently.. think no door on elevator, hang your toe off the edge and go up.. off goes the toes.. chop chop! Probably not a good idea for floating style lifts unless u can lock in place or add lots of sidewalls so it's difficult for something like feet to get under etc.. $$$$$$

[TOAST]

 

28 minutes ago, The Hulk said:

You could do a front mount floating lift, hinged at front only would allow flooring to have less gaps like side mount swing atm style.. still I'd be cautious of this , two different structures bobbing differently.. think no door on elevator, hang your toe off the edge and go up.. off goes the toes.. chop chop! Probably not a good idea for floating style lifts unless u can lock in place or add lots of sidewalls so it's difficult for something like feet to get under etc.. $$$$$$

Good points on safety!  And thanks for pointers on your original reply.  Hadn't heard/seen front mount before.  Will check that out.  The previous owner had a platform they left at deck level and used flaps over the swing arms.   I know we won't be as finished as  deck platform - but looking for something similar (think lift planks on steroids) . . . .AND SAFE.  

@jwl019 it is a floating dock. The water is quite deep with large fluctuations , so not able to use supporting pole. Will check out EZDocks.  

We'll hinge swim floats  to the main house as @bcoppess23 suggests.  

Thanks for other suggestions on window wall, keeping 25', etc.

FYI, the previous owner did NOTuse the lift.  They just stored a kayak on a platform over the lift.  They had simple flap to cover the swing arms. Maybe a flap like that could help??

Keep the pro tips coming!

[TOAST]

Just checked more on front lift online. . . that looks like a very interesting option.   6600 FM. Clean on the sides and maybe single flap up front???

[The Hulk]

U can make them higher capacity with more tanks or larger tanks. 

The difference is the back will Bob up and down compared to the whole thing doing it level, also front mount will be more of a power or drive on lift due to angle when down requires u to rope the boat to hold it from sliding back when lift is raising more so than a 4 swing arm style that will lift more level .

If your in calm Waters maybe it won't be a big deal, maybe start with lift then add platform after to see how it would look and work.