Getting your boat in and out of water is more important than you think. After all, how are you going to scrape all the barnacles off, fix the malfunctioning engine, and perform some basic inspections on the boat? Also, how are you going to keep the boat out of the water (and prevent all the water damage that will unnecessarily erode the vessel?
For all of this and more, you need the right boat lift. Still, which boat lift is the right one?
Well, here’s your ultimate guide to four major types of boat lifts, what they’re the best for, and what are their downsides. Read on to learn how to pick the right one for your own boat.
This is, arguably, the simplest lift of them all. There’s a platform on a lever which, when lowered, drops into the water and allows the boat to float free. It operates on a simple lever system that can be either hand-operated or used by an electric motor. Even when hand-operated, they require minimal effort, and their simple nature makes them easy to maintain. After all, there are fewer parts that can malfunction.
This is great for small or medium-sized boats, and it’s often used for pontoons and fishing boats. Ideally, they’re used in areas with shallow water and regions where waves are not too high. Soft lakebeds are where these lifts shine the brightest, seeing as how their base is quite wide, which produces their base with more stability.
As already stated, they’re maintenance-friendly and quite durable. Their most appealing aspect, however, is probably the fact that they’re inexpensive. The problem is that they’re only useful for the smallest of boats and operate admirably in only the shallowest of waters. This limits their versatility quite a bit. Also, manually operated ones are found to be impractical and too labor-intensive by so many people.
This is probably what most people think about when they hear the phrase boat lift. It’s a lift that operates by a set of cables that lifts the boat straight up out of the water. The boat is positioned on a platform that rises and falls vertically, and it can be powered by either an electrical or hydraulic motor.
These lifts are great for boats ranging from small personal watercraft all the way up to some heavier boats. Unlike their predecessor, they’re useful in deep water and areas with significant level changes. Tidal regions and lakes with fluctuating levels are probably the first two examples that come to mind, but there are other circumstances where they could be useful, as well. For instance, in areas with rocky or uneven lake beds, these types of lifts could provide some extra stability.
Now, their biggest advantage is in the fact that they could work with virtually any depth. They’re also stable when handling heavier loads, which makes them great for some bigger vessels (provided that the measurements are done right). At the same time, they are complex machinery, which means that they’ll require more maintenance. The installation, as well, will be quite complex.
The hydraulic boat lifts work fairly simply; you have a system of hydraulic cylinders and pumps that raise and lower the boat without any manual effort on your part. The boat is positioned on a platform, and the cylinders lift the platform out of the water. This type of lift is quite powerful, and it’s used for some of the heaviest boats out there.
In fact, these hydraulic boat lifts are so potent that they’re used on cruisers and yachts. In other words, if you are planning to buy a yacht, this is the type of lift you’ll need. They’re used in commercial marinas and by owners of some of the largest vessels on the open seas. Now, due to the nature of these boats, it’s only logical that they’ll operate in areas with significant changes in water levels.
The biggest advantage of hydraulic boat lifts is that they are incredibly powerful, which means that you probably won’t have to worry about their capability to lift the vessel in question out of the water. They also don’t rely on manual labor of any kind. The biggest downside is that they’re complex. As such, they’re expensive, difficult to install, and challenging for maintenance.
Just think about the definition of what it means for a boat to be out of water. If it was lifted on another boat, would you classify it as out of water? Probably! So, what if, instead of another boat, it was on a floating platform? It’s the same thing, really, and it’s the closest thing you’ll get to a simple explanation of a floating boat lift.
This type of lift works on the simplest mechanical principle possible. What it does is use buoyancy to lift the boat out of the water. It’s a floating platform secured by guideposts. The way it lifts the boat is by air being pumped into the pontoons, causing them to rise. When the air is released, the boat is lowered. It’s that simple.
Ideally, you would use a floating boat lift in tidal waters, which are suited for medium-sized boats or even very small ones (like jet skis). They’re also quite versatile and great in marinas or docks, where you would be unable to install a traditional lift.
The advantage of these lifts is that they’re simple to install. After all, they don’t even require a permanent fixture. You just set them up and inflate them. On the other hand, the downside of these is that they’re not as stable as fixed lifts, which could cause problems further down the line.
As you can see, your boat and the type of external conditions you’re leaving it in are two key factors when it comes to picking the right type of boat lift. This means that you have to start by understanding your needs and the type of lifts out there. Also, bear in mind the cost-effectiveness in the long run since repairs and maintenance on some of these lifts can cost a fortune, not just the acquisition. Most importantly, always get your boat lifted by a reliable vendor. Saving a few bucks is never worth potentially damaging your expensive boat.
