cwag911
Moderator
It is easy............................unless you miss.
Boat lift
- Thread starter Matt Ribble
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- boat lifts
Vikingstaff
Moderator
I am new to owning a boat/Tritoon, so docking our boat on our 3 toon cradle lift is intimidating. However, you don’t really dock “into” the three cradles. You have the lift all the way down, and really are just coming in between the support rails for the canopy. When you raise the lift the pontoon pretty much “settles” into the cradles on its own.
The tough part is docking between the outside canopy supports, which I am assuming would be the same challenge with any tritoon style lift. That’s the challenging part.
The tough part is docking between the outside canopy supports, which I am assuming would be the same challenge with any tritoon style lift. That’s the challenging part.
Macon_a_Splash
Active Member
I've not had lots of practice docking - I'm still challenged steering my old boat with an 8 foot beam into the 10'6" boat house slip. My current lift isn't anything I drive on, if I'm in my boathouse slip, the lift just lifts up in between the two toons and pretty much centers the boat onto the lift. Other than the stress of making it into the boathouse, (which for my boating experience is still a stressor) no other precision work is necessary. Seeing the three v-bunks/cradles in your lift just looked like an impossible "target" to me. More "stuff" to line up, way less margin for error. Haha - clearly need some practice!
So thanks for the encouragement that I'm not really having to line it up onto the three cradles. Sounds like I'm just needing to thread the outside supports and the rest will take care of itself. (No small feat for me, but easier than "landing it" on the three narrow bunks.)
Thanks again for the info - you've been so good to answer so many of my questions on this forum!
ILLINOIS AVE
Well-Known Member
Macon_a_Splash Would that Second option be the Shorestation Toon Rail System ? If so that's what my Dealer recommended, Bennington says no to that option?
Willb
Well-Known Member
Been using mine for 6 years with zero problems. Winter it is stored by dealer and they lift it out with forklifts the same way.
I use vertical rail with 2x5 cap mounted like a l. 3rd toon sits in the middle and only supported that way.
Very heavy boat. On of the longer ones out for a long time with no issues so far
I use vertical rail with 2x5 cap mounted like a l. 3rd toon sits in the middle and only supported that way.
Very heavy boat. On of the longer ones out for a long time with no issues so far
Jmeadows49
Member
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Hydro Hoist! Works great up to 8000 lbs without cables.
lakeliving
Well-Known Member
I'm using a 10,000lb hi-tide lift.
CanoeU70
New Member
For some strange reason, I could not post using my iPad as I sat on my dock admiring the completion of my "boat lift mods."
But my desktop works fine so here we go.
Thanks to Bennington's technical documentation (to wit a PDF file on the spacing dimensions and seperation distance of the tritoons) AND to the wonderful patience and support of my local dealer (WAY TO GO Ocean Marine Ocean Speings=WTGOMOS, MS!!), I was able to practice an old Navy engineering habit: "you get what you INSPECT, not what you EXPECT."
Accordingly, I was able to physically VERIFY the dimensions provided on Bennington's PDF (they ARE ACCURATE).
Being a little bit "SCOT-ish," I was not willing to fall on the latter side of a "make-buy decision."
Again, with wonderful help from my dealer (WTGOMOS), they arranged for me to purchase thru them and pick up on my car-carrier trailer some 5" marine grade aluminnum "C-channel" used by a local custom trailer manufacturer way over on the west side of Mississippi's HW 90 close to the Louisisiana state line. This trailer maker even cut the standard length 25 ft pieces for me so that I had three clean cut foundation pieces along with 3 pieces of scrap.
I subsequently made 12 cuts of my own on the scrap pieces making the necessary braces to clamp the tritoon bunks to the main frame of my boat lift. Those cuts required 12 (I say again 12 as in ONE EACH), "saws all" metal blades. Turns out that marine grade aluminum (6000 series) is pretty tough and strong. By the time I had cut thru the second (last) thick portion of the 5" C-channel, the teeth on the blade were GONE or filled with melted aluminum "saw dust."
As Rear Admiral Fiske once told me, "look CDR, it couldn't have been that hard because YOU did it and YOU are NOT that good." So let me quickly stipulate that any one of YOU can do this if you own a tape measure, wrenches and a saws all.
It was tedious but not hard.
Hoping to basically replicate the Road King Trailer bunks, I looked into buying the same PVC material which is used to "slick top" the bunk pads. Again, due to my "SCOT-ish" habits, I passed on paying nearly $600 for that exact material. Instead, I used PVC door jam purchased from Home Depot. I had to drive to Alabama to buy additional 10 foot sections because my local Mississippi Home Depot was not due to restock those lengths till APRIL! The boat may be here by then. Total cost for the Home Depot PVC door jam pieces: < $200.
Gathering the raw materials took me 5 days longer than building/assembling/installing the bunks, 15 days versus 10.
Most difficult was finding the proper SS hardware whose male threads matched the female nut threads. !@%$#@*&^$ is all I'm gonna say about that.
After 4 sets of rejected nuts & bolts, I finally found that 1/2" X 3" carriage bolts fit perfectly into the tritoon bunk pad galvanized braces which have exactly that dimension (1/2") to properly seat the carriage bolt's head securely.
While the elapsed time it took me to start and complete this project was 15 + 10 days, I estimate that it took me 80-100 hours to find and obtain material while the actual work to assemble and install only took me ten 5-hour days.
The most challenging (but also exciting to COMPLETE) obstacle was wrestling (wrangling?) the completed bunks which weigh over 100# each (close to 130#) onto the boat lift using the old V-hull bunks as a fulcrum while balancing myself on a swinging boat lift frame. Periodically, I had to violate the "one hand for the man, one hand for the ship" as boatswain mates would say, and act like a NY City sky scraper monkey to move the assembled bunks another inch or so.
Those of you without varsity trampoline and spring board diving skills along with aerobatic flying may want to use a chain fall or several neighbors but YOU can STILL DO IT.
But my desktop works fine so here we go.
Thanks to Bennington's technical documentation (to wit a PDF file on the spacing dimensions and seperation distance of the tritoons) AND to the wonderful patience and support of my local dealer (WAY TO GO Ocean Marine Ocean Speings=WTGOMOS, MS!!), I was able to practice an old Navy engineering habit: "you get what you INSPECT, not what you EXPECT."
Accordingly, I was able to physically VERIFY the dimensions provided on Bennington's PDF (they ARE ACCURATE).
Being a little bit "SCOT-ish," I was not willing to fall on the latter side of a "make-buy decision."
Again, with wonderful help from my dealer (WTGOMOS), they arranged for me to purchase thru them and pick up on my car-carrier trailer some 5" marine grade aluminnum "C-channel" used by a local custom trailer manufacturer way over on the west side of Mississippi's HW 90 close to the Louisisiana state line. This trailer maker even cut the standard length 25 ft pieces for me so that I had three clean cut foundation pieces along with 3 pieces of scrap.
I subsequently made 12 cuts of my own on the scrap pieces making the necessary braces to clamp the tritoon bunks to the main frame of my boat lift. Those cuts required 12 (I say again 12 as in ONE EACH), "saws all" metal blades. Turns out that marine grade aluminum (6000 series) is pretty tough and strong. By the time I had cut thru the second (last) thick portion of the 5" C-channel, the teeth on the blade were GONE or filled with melted aluminum "saw dust."
As Rear Admiral Fiske once told me, "look CDR, it couldn't have been that hard because YOU did it and YOU are NOT that good." So let me quickly stipulate that any one of YOU can do this if you own a tape measure, wrenches and a saws all.
It was tedious but not hard.
Hoping to basically replicate the Road King Trailer bunks, I looked into buying the same PVC material which is used to "slick top" the bunk pads. Again, due to my "SCOT-ish" habits, I passed on paying nearly $600 for that exact material. Instead, I used PVC door jam purchased from Home Depot. I had to drive to Alabama to buy additional 10 foot sections because my local Mississippi Home Depot was not due to restock those lengths till APRIL! The boat may be here by then. Total cost for the Home Depot PVC door jam pieces: < $200.
Gathering the raw materials took me 5 days longer than building/assembling/installing the bunks, 15 days versus 10.
Most difficult was finding the proper SS hardware whose male threads matched the female nut threads. !@%$#@*&^$ is all I'm gonna say about that.
After 4 sets of rejected nuts & bolts, I finally found that 1/2" X 3" carriage bolts fit perfectly into the tritoon bunk pad galvanized braces which have exactly that dimension (1/2") to properly seat the carriage bolt's head securely.
While the elapsed time it took me to start and complete this project was 15 + 10 days, I estimate that it took me 80-100 hours to find and obtain material while the actual work to assemble and install only took me ten 5-hour days.
The most challenging (but also exciting to COMPLETE) obstacle was wrestling (wrangling?) the completed bunks which weigh over 100# each (close to 130#) onto the boat lift using the old V-hull bunks as a fulcrum while balancing myself on a swinging boat lift frame. Periodically, I had to violate the "one hand for the man, one hand for the ship" as boatswain mates would say, and act like a NY City sky scraper monkey to move the assembled bunks another inch or so.
Those of you without varsity trampoline and spring board diving skills along with aerobatic flying may want to use a chain fall or several neighbors but YOU can STILL DO IT.
lakeliving
Well-Known Member
Nice! I appreciate the attention to details and creating a solid work product.
sottemail@yahoo.com
Active Member
We have a Shore Station 6000 lb vertical lift, (not a pontoon length) Very happy with it.
We added the vertical/ horizontal side guide on package. My east shoreline is open to 8,000 acres of water and we get a lot of cross wind. The added on horizontal side guide ons can be slid out 3’6” plus past the lift and Ive adjusted the height so they catch our front end. My goal in most cases is to come into our lift as slow as possible and get the front toons to touch the guide ons on either side, then slowly turn myself in as needed with the wind issues.
When they first installed these they set them to the height of the standard bunk mount side guide ons, when its just me and my wife in our G25 it sits much higher in the front and would alway hit the lift or even get us caught up in the side, the toons were going over the top of the side guide on. This was really start punishing my toons and rub rail.
Got a lot of good advice from this formum about docking into a lift and the consencous was slow is best. All of last year was a test year with the new benny.
Hope this helps, have a great season!
See pictures
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sottemail@yahoo.com
Active Member
Wow nice job!
Looks like you used 2x6? I'm trying the same configuration showed here but with a carpet covering. Just wanted to confirm that 2x6 sitting on 3-v shaped brackets was safe. Thank you!
Vikingstaff
Moderator
The person you were replying to hasn’t logged into the forum since March of 2018. You are unlikely to get an answer from them. Sorry…
Yianni
Well-Known Member
I don’t know if this will help but here are pictures of my lift.
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Bill N
Well-Known Member
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I prefer ShoreStation's ToonRail to bunks.
Vikingstaff
Moderator
Personally, not from a technical perspective. I am hoping others with technical knowledge will chime in.
I had cradle bunks on my original vertical lift before switching to Sea Legs. However, my cradle bunks were metal, and covered in plastic.
I think 2x6 would be fine in that type of configuration so long as they are well supported. However, that is simply an educated hunch on my part based on seeing others with vertical lifts with wood support boards.
BigKahuna
Well-Known Member
The lift, slip, roof set up and of course your boat all look great Yianni!!! But my big question is .....Does that owl make a good bird deterrent?!? Ha! I've been looking for one.
BigKahuna
Well-Known Member
Yianni what about that owl?!? Worth getting 1 or 2 ?!? We had those herons crap on my nice black cover last year and I want to deter them this year.....