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Boat Lift Sizing???


pdxrob

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I'm looking at getting a lift for my 23LSV and have found a few options. The boat has a dry weight of 5,000 lbs and one of the lift options can hold 6,000 lbs. Is this too close to the line? The next option up is significantly more expensive. Thanks in advance for any feedback and guidance. 

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I had a 5500# lift and it worked fine with my 23 LSV.  You never want to overload your lift, but they definitely put a safety factor in the rating.  That said, I did upgrade to a 7000# lift this year, which will be just barely enough for the new 25 LSV we are ordering.  I won't raise it out of the water completely with a crew on board, but boat only weight should just cover it.  I ordered mine from Lakeside Lift in Michigan, and it was affordable.  You have to put it together yourself though, which was quite a job.  

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I had a 4k, upgraded to a 5600, upgraded to a 7k, now 8k or 10k (still deciding) ... buy the biggest lift you can stomach.  Will 6k work ... yes but a little insurance is always good.

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15 hours ago, guitarcrazy said:

I had a 5500# lift and it worked fine with my 23 LSV.  You never want to overload your lift, but they definitely put a safety factor in the rating.  That said, I did upgrade to a 7000# lift this year, which will be just barely enough for the new 25 LSV we are ordering.  I won't raise it out of the water completely with a crew on board, but boat only weight should just cover it.  I ordered mine from Lakeside Lift in Michigan, and it was affordable.  You have to put it together yourself though, which was quite a job.  

I have the same lift.  I ordered it when we bought our 2017 22 VLX a couple years ago and I ordered the 7,000# with the understanding that I would be upgrading boats.  It handles our 2021 23LSV with ease just as it did with our VLX.  The new 25 LSV is pushing the limits, though.  I'd be interested to hear what Lakeside said about pushing it to the maximum.  I'm planning on reaching out to them as I too am considering a new boat.  Not sure if I'll get one this season or next, but do plan on ordering one.  

 

@pdxrobI would suggest you get the biggest lift you can manage as @pauley71said.  In retrospect, I wish I would have bit the bullet a little harder 3 years ago and purchased a 10k simply due to the safety factor there.  While it may not be necessary, it seems to me that the longevity of the heavier lift is worth the expense.  If you go the route that @guitarcrazyand I did with Lakeside, you'll want some assistance with assembly.  The components are heavy.  I've been pretty happy with the build quality and performance for the money.  I have a manually operated 4,500# lakeside for my RLXi as well and while I purchased it used, it's been performing well for the last 4 seasons.  It was 2 seasons old when I purchased it.  

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20 hours ago, guitarcrazy said:

I had a 5500# lift and it worked fine with my 23 LSV.  You never want to overload your lift, but they definitely put a safety factor in the rating.  That said, I did upgrade to a 7000# lift this year, which will be just barely enough for the new 25 LSV we are ordering.  I won't raise it out of the water completely with a crew on board, but boat only weight should just cover it.  I ordered mine from Lakeside Lift in Michigan, and it was affordable.  You have to put it together yourself though, which was quite a job.  

Thank you very much. I'll definitely get the crew off the boat before lifting it out of the water. I appreciate your feedback. 

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4 hours ago, Slayer said:

I have the same lift.  I ordered it when we bought our 2017 22 VLX a couple years ago and I ordered the 7,000# with the understanding that I would be upgrading boats.  It handles our 2021 23LSV with ease just as it did with our VLX.  The new 25 LSV is pushing the limits, though.  I'd be interested to hear what Lakeside said about pushing it to the maximum.  I'm planning on reaching out to them as I too am considering a new boat.  Not sure if I'll get one this season or next, but do plan on ordering one.  

 

@pdxrobI would suggest you get the biggest lift you can manage as @pauley71said.  In retrospect, I wish I would have bit the bullet a little harder 3 years ago and purchased a 10k simply due to the safety factor there.  While it may not be necessary, it seems to me that the longevity of the heavier lift is worth the expense.  If you go the route that @guitarcrazyand I did with Lakeside, you'll want some assistance with assembly.  The components are heavy.  I've been pretty happy with the build quality and performance for the money.  I have a manually operated 4,500# lakeside for my RLXi as well and while I purchased it used, it's been performing well for the last 4 seasons.  It was 2 seasons old when I purchased it.  

Thank you! I think the 6K lift will be too close to the line but the 10K lift won't fit at the dock. I'll track down something in-between. Hydrohoists are really common out here in Portland so I'll likely go that route. 

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34 minutes ago, pdxrob said:

Thank you! I think the 6K lift will be too close to the line but the 10K lift won't fit at the dock. I'll track down something in-between. Hydrohoists are really common out here in Portland so I'll likely go that route. 

I was going to pipe in earlier about the differences between floating and those resting on the ground, but figured those of us in the floating market were few and far between. Guess I was wrong.

All the advise about giving yourself safety margin is incredibly good advice for lifts that hold your boat up with cables etc. Floating lifts are a different story. For example the steel structure in a 4400 Hydrohoist vs 8800 is exactly the same. The bigger one just has more tanks. So no real margin of safety, or potential overloading. If it's overloaded the boat just won't come completely out of the water. No danger to the boat or dock. I'm not saying you should buy an undersized lift, just saying safety isn't a factor. For a 5,000 dry weight boat, a 6600 Hydrohoist will be fine. However, if you every plan to get a bigger boat, get the bigger lift.

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12 minutes ago, barefootpaul said:

I was going to pipe in earlier about the differences between floating and those resting on the ground, but figured those of us in the floating market were few and far between. Guess I was wrong.

All the advise about giving yourself safety margin is incredibly good advice for lifts that hold your boat up with cables etc. Floating lifts are a different story. For example the steel structure in a 4400 Hydrohoist vs 8800 is exactly the same. The bigger one just has more tanks. So no real margin of safety, or potential overloading. If it's overloaded the boat just won't come completely out of the water. No danger to the boat or dock. I'm not saying you should buy an undersized lift, just saying safety isn't a factor. For a 5,000 dry weight boat, a 6600 Hydrohoist will be fine. However, if you every plan to get a bigger boat, get the bigger lift.

Got it. That may change things for me then back towards the 6,000 lb lift. The refurbished 6,000 lb lift is $10K vs. the new 6,600 lb lift for $15K. Seems like a lot for an extra 600lbs of float

 

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1 hour ago, pdxrob said:

Got it. That may change things for me then back towards the 6,000 lb lift. The refurbished 6,000 lb lift is $10K vs. the new 6,600 lb lift for $15K. Seems like a lot for an extra 600lbs of float

 

Are those installed prices? Seems like almost double what they should be. I bought a 6600 BoatFloater (Hydrohoist dealer here is a huge flake) for about $8k before installation two years ago.

You can also add air tanks to make them higher capacity. Tanks themselves aren't that expensive, but shipping a killer unless they can put it on an existing load. Give Hydrohoist a call. They were super helpful when I was looking at used lifts.
 

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15 minutes ago, barefootpaul said:

Are those installed prices? Seems like almost double what they should be. I bought a 6600 BoatFloater (Hydrohoist dealer here is a huge flake) for about $8k before installation two years ago.

You can also add air tanks to make them higher capacity. Tanks themselves aren't that expensive, but shipping a killer unless they can put it on an existing load. Give Hydrohoist a call. They were super helpful when I was looking at used lifts.
 

Agree, I just got a quote for a 6600 lbs Hydrohoist with installation and it was $9.2K.  Which seemed like a lot to me...a few years ago when I was shopping, it was about a buck a pound.  :-) Damn inflation/supply-demand!

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3 minutes ago, EchelonMike said:

Agree, I just got a quote for a 6600 lbs Hydrohoist with installation and it was $9.2K.  Which seemed like a lot to me...a few years ago when I was shopping, it was about a buck a pound.  :-) Damn inflation/supply-demand!

Good news is they will last forever. And essentially no maintenance. Occasionally I see a deal on one. Last summer I bought a 4400 Hydrohoist for a grand. It is sitting in the yard until I find more dock and a boat to sit on it :)

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18 minutes ago, EchelonMike said:

Agree, I just got a quote for a 6600 lbs Hydrohoist with installation and it was $9.2K.  Which seemed like a lot to me...a few years ago when I was shopping, it was about a buck a pound.  :-) Damn inflation/supply-demand!

Wow! The 6,600 lb one is new and that includes installation. $11,500 for the lift, $3,300 for install. I'd much rather pay $9,200!

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4 hours ago, pdxrob said:

Wow! The 6,600 lb one is new and that includes installation. $11,500 for the lift, $3,300 for install. I'd much rather pay $9,200!

OK you make me feel better about my purchase.  :-) 

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