I am converting a Lunmar boat lift to raise my 20' Bennington Pontoon. Is there a preferred / recommended type of chocks to use to lift the boat? I can install pontoon chocks to lift the pontoons, or floor lift chocks to lift the floor. Floor lifts should be easier to quide the pontoon into the lift.
Floor Lift vs Pontoon Lift Chocks for Boat Lift
- Thread starter JMB
- Start date
Vikingstaff
Moderator
Do a search in the upper right hand corner on this topic. Extensively discussed in multiple years. Both ways work, so personal preference or ease in redoing your lift are sufficient guides for making the final decision. I had a bunk lift for a few years when our boat was new. Great layout, but it can be a bigger pain to dock on it than a floor support lift that acts as a guide. That said, you can add guide poles to a pontoon lift. Anyway, dig around in here and you will find some robust discussion on this topic over time. In the end, the boat can handle either one, and Bennington is fine either way.
Joeb14
Well-Known Member
I lift from the floor, works well, and yes, they do act as guides. But I still have side guides.
Keep in mind that with the floor lift, you can adjust the supports height so that the toons are just a hair above the lift frame, whereas when using bunks, the toons will be several inches higher than the lift frame, due to the height of the bunks. Could be an issue if water at your dock is shallow.
Keep in mind that with the floor lift, you can adjust the supports height so that the toons are just a hair above the lift frame, whereas when using bunks, the toons will be several inches higher than the lift frame, due to the height of the bunks. Could be an issue if water at your dock is shallow.
Vikingstaff
Moderator
This! Our original lift was a bunk lift. We gave up several inches as a result. Since we are on a shallow lake that loses depth drastically throughout the summer season, this was an issue every year. We had to sink the lift, then eventually move it 220 feet out to deeper water. It is why we switched to Sea Legs. That said, an under frame lift would have provided us much more flexibility annually with the late season lower water depth.