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How Much Buffer on Lift Capacity


DAI

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Is there a rule of thumb for lift capacity?  I’m looking at a lift for my 2021 G23, which has a dry weight of ~6,000 lbs.  Would 7,500 lbs be enough?  I have 550 lbs of lead on board, which gives me just under 1,000 lbs buffer before accounting gas (~400 lbs) and minimal gear (won’t leave much on the boat since it’s at a private marina).

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i don't know of a rule of thumb, but you just described a 7000 lbs min case (dry + fuel + lead)...if you have a few coolers and a couple people inside as the lift goes up, you are over 7500 easy.  That said, I don't think at 7501 the lift will collapse, so probably a little margin and if the idle case is all gear at home i'd say you are ok.  for insurance/safety, i'd just get in habit of emptying boat before you lift rather than giving a large crew an elevator ride for fun.   If you think you may upgrade in the future, then i'd consider (i.e. get a quote) for the larger size just to see.

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21 minutes ago, CaptainMorgan said:

i don't know of a rule of thumb, but you just described a 7000 lbs min case (dry + fuel + lead)...if you have a few coolers and a couple people inside as the lift goes up, you are over 7500 easy.  That said, I don't think at 7501 the lift will collapse, so probably a little margin and if the idle case is all gear at home i'd say you are ok.  for insurance/safety, i'd just get in habit of emptying boat before you lift rather than giving a large crew an elevator ride for fun.   If you think you may upgrade in the future, then i'd consider (i.e. get a quote) for the larger size just to see.

Thank you.  Ideally I would go with a larger lift, it’s more an issue of what is readily available.

Definitely would not give elevator rides on the lift.  I don’t foresee more than 1 person on the boat when raising it or when raised (e.g., putting cover on).

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I have a 2022 M220 with a dry weight of 6200.  No lead but have a 7k lift and don't have any issues.  I think that is fine but definitely depends on lift maintenance.  My boathouse lift is an overhead type and the belt was slipping so now I'm in the habit of NOT stopping it once it lifts the boat b/c starting is the hard part.

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I think it depends on the lift brand.  I recently mentioned in another thread that Floe says it's only rated at 85%........so an 8000# lift should be able to handle a 6800# boat.  Something to do with equal weight distribution across the whole lift and how difficult that is to do with a boat.  When I was getting quotes some of the other brands that were rated at 7000 I specifically asked if that meant I could put 7k on it and it should be fine, and the salesman said yes, it would handle 7k no problem.  I guess I'd ask the sales guy or read the manuals.  If you buy new it should come with some sort of warranty as well to ease your mind.  Ever weighed your boat @DAI?   I put my 23 LSV on a CAT scale last week and I was surprised a bit.  According to Malibu it's a 5200# dry, plus trailer, batteries, full tank of fuel and I was only at 6520.  Made me feel good about what my lift should be able to handle.  When I get into my lift I only raise it up until it stabilizes the boat, then we unload people and gear (as others have mentioned) to keep from over-taxing the lift.  Doesn't take too many big dudes to get an extra 1000#.  

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Speaking from personal experience, we purchase a 2015 Axis that was well under our lift capacity. However, we didn't know or think about future boats. Fast forward, we traded the 2015 in for a 24' MXZ and it was significantly heavier. After purchasing the new boat, I wasn't too excited to fork over another 25k to upgrade the lift. Well, after this weekend, we had our screen lock up which indicated the ballasts were empty but they were not. So we lifted the boat about a foot out of water and the cable snapped. Fortunately we were off the boat and nothing was damaged. But if you think that you will always be perfect and make sure all coolers are off, people are out of the boat, ballasts are empty, think again. It happens to be the best of us!

We had a 5500lb boat, 1/2 tank of gas = 200lb, batteries and misc stuff = 300lb. In addition to that, we had the center ballast full and the front ballast 50% full. We were told by the dock guys that they do go over the rating from time to time and don't have problems. But we must have been 1000lbs over.

We are hoping to keep using the existing lift for the rest of the season and upgrade next year. But with talks of a 26' boats coming, I'd plan for the potential of a larger boat in the future. At that point, what's a little more poundage capacity? $2000-3000? Beats 25,000.

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  • 1 month later...

Nearly all loft mfgs (excluding floe) assume ppl could be 500# over..

many cable lifts are at least "tested" structurally to a minimum  20% over... but  i highly doubt any mfg will specify this for liability/safety 

For cable lifts it's always worth going 1500# larger than your dry weight IMO to hande gas, gear, some ppl etc.. although the bigger the better to some extent if you ever consider upgrading boats in your lifetime as boat lifts cost a lot more than they use to and upgrading size is sometimes minimum in the grand scheme of things.. 

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Most lifts (at least when I was shopping last year for a floating lift) don't allow you to move up in small lbs increments.  Hydrohoist, for example, was either 4400, 6600 or 8800.  I have an older Bu which is only 3900 dry, so I went 6600.  I'd get the 8800 for your G and know you're good without worrying about it.  Very pleased with my Hydrohoist lift so far in it's first season.   

 

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I have had a Hydrohoist 6600 for several years and it lifts my 03 WS23LSV fine with 850 lbs of steel/lead and ballast 1/2 empty (still dumping when we pull into slip). Its lifted newer 23 LSVs without issue also.

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13 hours ago, EchelonMike said:

Most lifts (at least when I was shopping last year for a floating lift) don't allow you to move up in small lbs increments.  Hydrohoist, for example, was either 4400, 6600 or 8800.  I have an older Bu which is only 3900 dry, so I went 6600.  I'd get the 8800 for your G and know you're good without worrying about it.  Very pleased with my Hydrohoist lift so far in it's first season.   

 

Because floating lifts are very cheap in comparison to a free standing cable lift per capacity.. just longer or more floats or larger volume floats the larger you go. . So doesn't make much sense to have smaller increments for inventory vs costs .. boat house cable lifts are similar as well..the dock or boat house is the major cost (not the boat lift itself).. 

 free standing lifts need structure to handle the specified weight thus why so many incremental weights/cost/difference.

Also if you overloaded a floating lift it just doesn't float or.. float as high.. if it breaks you just slowly sink... Cable lifts especially fee standing is a whole different story for overloading.. 

Edited by The Hulk
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18 hours ago, The Hulk said:

Because floating lifts are very cheap in comparison to a free standing cable lift per capacity.. just longer or more floats or larger volume floats the larger you go. . So doesn't make much sense to have smaller increments for inventory vs costs .. boat house cable lifts are similar as well..the dock or boat house is the major cost (not the boat lift itself).. 

 free standing lifts need structure to handle the specified weight thus why so many incremental weights/cost/difference.

Also if you overloaded a floating lift it just doesn't float or.. float as high.. if it breaks you just slowly sink... Cable lifts especially fee standing is a whole different story for overloading.. 

I've been on a few boathouses with overhead cable lifts and the sound of the cable tension and weight creaking make me fear for my life.  :-)  Our home lake is so deep I forget some don't have the depth for a floating lift.  Not sure if @DAI does or not but I think they're the best solution if you can make them work in your slip.  

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Ended up getting the Bulmann hydraulic 7,500 lift.  Really like the guide set up on it.  I just need to mindful of the getting human weight off before lifting the boat out.

20220717_100323.jpg

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On 7/17/2022 at 6:07 PM, DAI said:

Ended up getting the Bulmann hydraulic 7,500 lift.  Really like the guide set up on it.  I just need to mindful of the getting human weight off before lifting the boat out.

20220717_100323.jpg

Hydraulics. Very forgiving you'll be fine 

 

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