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Overhead lift pics for wake boat


GForce

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We're upgrading to a 23 LSV this winter, and have to redo our overhead lift in our boat house to accommodate the extra weight.  Lifts at our lake are done custom by the local dock builders, and so there's a lot of variety in the details. I'm looking for thoughts on the different overhead lifts the Crew here have their wake boats on.  I've looked at everything that came up in the search function, and that was a lot of help.  But i thought I'd ask directly.  Plate drive? Sealed direct drive? Single or dual motor? Something better? 

Pics would help.

This is not mine, but is pretty much what mine looks like now. 

4612437163.jpg

 

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I upgraded my lift motor at the same time as Ronnie to the 8500lb Flat Plate Dual Belt model.  Mine's a compound system as well.  Definitely get stainless 7x19 5/16" cables for peace of mind.  A couple things I've done on my lift.  The galvanized swivel shackle snatch blocks on my lift froze up after about 12 years of use.  Since I needed to replace them I put in these 3" 2 Ton Swivel Shackle Snatch Blocks.  I like them because they include a grease port and were only like 10% more expensive and have a lot higher weight limit.  If you get them, run the lift up and down a BUNCH of times so the blue powder coating in the wheel groove will flake off into the water and onto the floor instead of into the boat.  Messy.  Also, I'm a big fan of the Split Aluminum Boathouse Cable Winder.

I've also got the KFLS Flat Plate Limit Switch and the Gem Remote GR1A Single Motor Lift Remote - Auto-Stop System.  This is sweet because I keep the remote in the boat and can lower the lift if needed after a day out, and start it up without climbing out of the boat.  That's handy when the lift is WAY down due to low lake levels and getting out requires serious climbing skills.  The Auto-Stop is sweet as well because you don't have to sit there and hold the lift switch the whole time.

Last but not least you'll want a drip pan for that flat plate to keep the grease from dripping onto your boat cover, boat, and deck.  I'll take some pictures on my setup in a while after this crazy storm front blows through.

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As an aside to this - get the biggest pulleys you can fit.  Most of the premature wear/failure on wire rope is caused by the diameter you change directions on.  Which I think is why typical boat lift cables fail so frequently.  20x cable diameter is the typical recommendation for max life.  That translates to a 6.25" pulley for a 5/16 wire rope.  16:1 is specified by ANSI B30 for lifting pulleys  (5" pulley for a 5/16 wire rope)

Now this is for cranes, but a boat lift is really just a little crane ;)

http://www.gunnebojohnson.com/wp-content/uploads/Rigging-Combined1.pdf

 

Edited by oldjeep
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31 minutes ago, oldjeep said:

As an aside to this - get the biggest pulleys you can fit.  Most of the premature wear/failure on wire rope is caused by the diameter you change directions on.  Which I think is why typical boat lift cables fail so frequently.  20x cable diameter is the typical recommendation for max life.  That translates to a 6.25" pulley for a 5/16 wire rope.  16:1 is specified by ANSI B30 for lifting pulleys  (5" pulley for a 5/16 wire rope)

Now this is for cranes, but a boat lift is really just a little crane ;)

http://www.gunnebojohnson.com/wp-content/uploads/Rigging-Combined1.pdf

 

+1

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7 hours ago, Slurpee said:

I upgraded my lift motor at the same time as Ronnie to the 8500lb Flat Plate Dual Belt model.  Mine's a compound system as well.  Definitely get stainless 7x19 5/16" cables for peace of mind.  A couple things I've done on my lift.  The galvanized swivel shackle snatch blocks on my lift froze up after about 12 years of use.  Since I needed to replace them I put in these 3" 2 Ton Swivel Shackle Snatch Blocks.  I like them because they include a grease port and were only like 10% more expensive and have a lot higher weight limit.  If you get them, run the lift up and down a BUNCH of times so the blue powder coating in the wheel groove will flake off into the water and onto the floor instead of into the boat.  Messy.  Also, I'm a big fan of the Split Aluminum Boathouse Cable Winder.

I've also got the KFLS Flat Plate Limit Switch and the Gem Remote GR1A Single Motor Lift Remote - Auto-Stop System.  This is sweet because I keep the remote in the boat and can lower the lift if needed after a day out, and start it up without climbing out of the boat.  That's handy when the lift is WAY down due to low lake levels and getting out requires serious climbing skills.  The Auto-Stop is sweet as well because you don't have to sit there and hold the lift switch the whole time.

Last but not least you'll want a drip pan for that flat plate to keep the grease from dripping onto your boat cover, boat, and deck.  I'll take some pictures on my setup in a while after this crazy storm front blows through.

Or just purchase galvanized without powder coat.

 

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18 minutes ago, Ronnie said:

Or just purchase galvanized without powder coat.

 

Thought about it.  But those are1550 lbs rated.  And I had them.  It took 10 years, but they froze up and the wheels would not spin.  So the cables just slid over the grooves.  It abraded the cables, and had enough friction that when the boat wasn't on the cradle the weight of the steel cradle wasn't enough to hold the cables taught.  So they got slack on the axle of the hoist and would cross-lap when winding back up.  More cable abuse.  And the snatch blocks would spin on their hook twisting the cables, abrading them more if you didn't untwist them fast.  

$32 for a 3/4 ton snatch block with no grease port or $36 for a 2 ton snatch block with a grease port.... I went for the second.  I'll post again in a couple few years to see if there's a problem. :)

Mostly though I was thinking of that 8500lb hoist and how only 6000lbs of rated snatch blocks were holding the cradle in the air.  Admittedly we're past the weight of the boat... maybe.  But I didn't want anything weaker than the hoist holding 6 figures in the air.  Now the snatch blocks supporting half the compound cabling arrangement could be 1550lb rated since they're only taking half the weight.  But since 3 of those 4 were also frozen solid I swapped them out so I could at least have a grease port for maintenance. 

While I was at it I also changed out the 1 TON 3/8" anchor shackles attaching the snatch-blocks to the chains and the chains to the cradle.  I've got 2 ton 1/2" stainless steel shackles now (I can't find a link at the moment, I sourced them from other than BH-USA).

My last observation is that cables are a wear item.  So inspect them every year for fraying.  And replace them if needed.

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6 hours ago, GForce said:

Looking at Slurpee's, his lift is compounded despite having an 8500 motor/gearset.  It's not needed for lifting capacity, so why compound it? 

easier on the cables, but half the speed, although you can change the 2-10" standard pulleys to 2-7" or whatever combo you want to gain that back etc.. 

 

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7 hours ago, GForce said:

Looking at Slurpee's, his lift is compounded despite having an 8500 motor/gearset.  It's not needed for lifting capacity, so why compound it? 

The bigger motor was in response to how the 4500lb hoist plate did over 10 years. 

The bigger motor isn’t that much more. And it has two belts spreading the load to the gears. It can also run longer before getting too hot. Not normally a problem for me on a level lake. That year that it was 12’ down though had the motor very unhappy at the end of the lift. 

Compounding the lift makes it easier on the cables and on that top snatch block. It does get a wee bit slower. BUT the cable winder guide increases the diameter of the hoist axle nicely speeding things up. It’s just a couple minutes to go up or down all the way. I mean, are you planning on dropping it a dozen feet or something? Doubling a small number is still a small number. Until a good drought that is. :)

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16 hours ago, Slurpee said:

Thought about it.  But those are1550 lbs rated.  And I had them.  It took 10 years, but they froze up and the wheels would not spin.  So the cables just slid over the grooves.  It abraded the cables, and had enough friction that when the boat wasn't on the cradle the weight of the steel cradle wasn't enough to hold the cables taught.  So they got slack on the axle of the hoist and would cross-lap when winding back up.  More cable abuse.  And the snatch blocks would spin on their hook twisting the cables, abrading them more if you didn't untwist them fast.  

$32 for a 3/4 ton snatch block with no grease port or $36 for a 2 ton snatch block with a grease port.... I went for the second.  I'll post again in a couple few years to see if there's a problem. :)

Mostly though I was thinking of that 8500lb hoist and how only 6000lbs of rated snatch blocks were holding the cradle in the air.  Admittedly we're past the weight of the boat... maybe.  But I didn't want anything weaker than the hoist holding 6 figures in the air.  Now the snatch blocks supporting half the compound cabling arrangement could be 1550lb rated since they're only taking half the weight.  But since 3 of those 4 were also frozen solid I swapped them out so I could at least have a grease port for maintenance. 

While I was at it I also changed out the 1 TON 3/8" anchor shackles attaching the snatch-blocks to the chains and the chains to the cradle.  I've got 2 ton 1/2" stainless steel shackles now (I can't find a link at the moment, I sourced them from other than BH-USA).

My last observation is that cables are a wear item.  So inspect them every year for fraying.  And replace them if needed.

Same snatch blocks as yours but rated for more or less weight with no paint.

Anchor shackels

BTW...all of this is available locally in Cresson from BH-USA but cheaper.

 

Both of these setups that Slurpee and I have are rated for more than our boats weigh, empty. Add up the weight of fuel. gear and in an emergency, the weight of ballast. You'll soon see how much these boats can actually weigh. 

Warning from BH-USA

Wire rope size guide with warning.

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