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Proper Siting On Lift

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Zinnut

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I am new here and came across this forum while trying to find some answers. I own a Premier 24' PTX Tritoon and use a Hatteras electric hoist lift with two crossbeams and two flat boards where the two outer toons rest. Recently the guy who I use to do annual inspection and maintenance told me that I had flat spots on the toons at the point where the rear cross beams are located. He said the rear crossbeam should be no more than 1' from the rear of the toons and mine are about 4.5' which puts too much unsupported weight on the rear of the boat. It has been that way since I had it installed over 10 years ago by a reputable dock company who now refuses to fix this. I cannot pull my boat any further onto the lift because my dock walkway sits in front of the boat for loading. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.IMG_7757.jpeg IMG_7758.jpeg
 
One option is to run your support boards lengthwise (parallel underneath the toons) as opposed to crosswise (perpendicular underneath the toons). That give support for almost the entire length of the toon. I was the first pontoon on a lift at my marina and worked with them to modify the lift. I copied CWAG's setup and it was easy and worked great (show your picture Carl). During my research I saw Bennington has specs for where crosswise supports need to go to give the proper support and avoid the flat spots, and I recall the back crossplank did indeed need to be close the rear of the toon.

Lift

Lift

 
JTaylor said:
One option is to run your support boards lengthwise (parallel underneath the toons) as opposed to crosswise (perpendicular underneath the toons). That give support for almost the entire length of the toon. I was the first pontoon on a lift at my marina and worked with them to modify the lift. I copied CWAG's setup and it was easy and worked great (show your picture Carl). During my research I saw Bennington has specs for where crosswise supports need to go to give the proper support and avoid the flat spots, and I recall the back crossplank did indeed need to be close the rear of the toon.

Lift

Lift

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Thanks JTaylor. But my support boards do run parallel to the toons. They run the length of each toon. I would love to see the specs for Bennington that you referenced. I am having trouble obtaining that info from Premier.
 
Is it my imagination that your boat sits on an angle? Looks as if all the weight is forced to the stern.
 
So for clarity, your cross beams run UNDER the support boards, and your support boards run the length of your outer toons? And also, your outer toons then sit on the support boards running their entire length?

If I am understanding things, the above answers are “yes”.?. If that’s true, then you cross beams don’t come into contact with your toons, so I don’t understand why they’d be putting pressure on your toons and creating flat spots that might destabilize their structural integrity.

Am I missing something above?
 
Vikingstaff said:
So for clarity, your cross beams run UNDER the support boards, and your support boards run the length of your outer toons? And also, your outer toons then sit on the support boards running their entire length?

If I am understanding things, the above answers are “yes”.?. If that’s true, then you cross beams don’t come into contact with your toons, so I don’t understand why they’d be putting pressure on your toons and creating flat spots that might destabilize their structural integrity.

Am I missing something above?
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Yes. The cross beams (I Beams) are under the support boards which run the length of the two outer toon. But that support board is not functioning as intended because it is drooping between the two cross beams. It is about 11 years old and I am guessing the board is shot. So the weight of the boat is concentrated at the cross beam and since that cross beam is too far forward there is way too much weight at that point. My lift guy and Premier are both telling me that the rear cross beam should never have been more than 12" from the back of the toons. I need to reposition my lift so that the rear cross beam is much further to the rear. But then I am not sure if the forward cross beam will be in the proper positioning. Since I cannot pull my boat any further forward (Dock Walkway) I am going to have to pull the pilings and move them back to allow me to pull forward when going onto the lift. At least that is how I am seeing it. The original dock/lift contractor should never have positioned my lift this way. And now he is basically telling me tough cookies.
 
The Wanderer2 said:
You may need to switch from wood support boards to aluminum boards to eliminate any bowing and even support for the toons. I would go with three support boards.
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I was thinking the exact same thing as this after reading the reply.

The main problem seems to be the support boards are not structurally strong enough at there age to maintain rigidity. Probably needed replacement awhile ago.

Your cross beams are the secondary issue in my mind, as they are there to support the support boards. They are doing their job, the support boards are not due to age and bowing. Not to let the lift person off the hook, but my guess is that is what he is thinking; that and covering his behind.

I would absolutely recommend switching to aluminum support boards, with a plastic protective glide strip. I’d do so soon as once the toons are compromised, you could compromise their entire stability.

Although mine are set up as “cradles”, I will post a picture anyway to give a sense of what I mean. For you, just mounting “flat” aluminum boards running in replacement of your current wood boards might do the trick perfectly. In the short run, at least replace the wood support boards with new wood support boards asap.

Also, if a triple toon, I’d 100% have support boards for all three toons. An unsupported center tube is a lot of dead weight dangling beneath that pontoon when up on an lift.

E6B9FF94-14B7-4258-BEDC-04DDD1977A87.jpeg
 
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Thanks Viking. Can you tell me how long your boat is and how far apart your cross beams are from each other?
 
Here ya go. "I" beams are 10' apart. 2 1/2' to rear of boat. Boat is 22' long.
 
I did some hunting and found this drawing. It lists support points but doesn't say how far off you can safely be. Can your lift be modified to add another crossbeam back by the rear of the toon? Replacing your supports sounds like the best option. Mine are 3" x 10", 16 feet long (probably overkill). Since they are pressure treated wood (couldn't get southern yellow pine) they are clad with the gray vinyl bunkwrap.

Pontoon Spec

Pontoon Spec

 
Another option is to lift the boat from the underside of the deck, not the toons. I have a Tri-toon on a Hewitt lift that is supported this way. The beams are aluminum square tubes 4” I believe. The beams sit on a height adjustable vertical column, which is bolted to the lifts two cross members.
 
Zinnut said:
Thanks Viking. Can you tell me how long your boat is and how far apart your cross beams are from each other?
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My boat is a 24’ SSBXP. I think it technically comes in a smidge under 24’. I’d have to double check my paperwork, which is all up at our cottage.

For the lift, I’d have to measure the distance on those cross beams the nexts time I am up at our cottage to get you a number. Ballpark is somewhere around 12’ apart form one another - front to back.

I will be up there in 2 or 4 weeks depending on our families schedules. If I remember, I can try to take measurements as the lift is sitting beside the cottage waiting for summer install.
 
My crossbeams are only 8.5' apart. They do lift the boat with a flat board on top of the crossbeams and not directly on the toons. So if I can reconfigure my lift so that I can pull the boat forward to position the rear beam at approximately 12" from the rear the front beam will only be about 10' from the rear and that seems way to far back.

I am amazed at the schematic from Bennington that shows the beams at extremes on the back and front. But with a 3" thick board on top that would be a ton of support along the length of the toons.

And there is no room to add another crossbeam.

I think that this lift was not the correct lift to begin with. It should have been a much longer lift so those crossbeams would be further apart. More like 10'-12' instead of 8.5'. Plus my center toon is not currently supported and I would have used much thicker boards or aluminum.
 
JTaylor said:
I did some hunting and found this drawing. It lists support points but doesn't say how far off you can safely be. Can your lift be modified to add another crossbeam back by the rear of the toon? Replacing your supports sounds like the best option. Mine are 3" x 10", 16 feet long (probably overkill). Since they are pressure treated wood (couldn't get southern yellow pine) they are clad with the gray vinyl bunkwrap.

Pontoon Spec

Pontoon Spec

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I have a 21 SLXP triton on order for early May delivery. I am getting quotes to have my current boat lift modified (have a two tube 20' pontoon in the boathouse now.)

My lift person offered to get in touch with my dealer to get the specs and I was just going to let that happen without being involved. Several on this forum were great to show me their configurations (probably going with three v- bunks (where tube actually rest) like what Vikingstaff has.) But I was more focused on supporting the length of the tube than on where the cross beams (I beams/support beams for the bunks) would be located.

As I read this, I think I need to get something in writing from Bennington so that I know and understand the Bennington requirements to be sure my lift is correctly modified to meet the Bennington requirements . Did this drawing come from Bennington and if yes, do you remember the year - should I get something like this from my dealer or is there some onsite information that I haven't found. I've combed through their website and catalog but this is the first official looking specification that I've seen.

Thanks.
 
I can't recall where I first got it while working with the marina, and had to do a deep google search to find this latest one. I couldn't find anything official from Bennington either. This drawing is likely a few years old -- in the lower right in the Application block it says "2013 and previous model years." Best to get something more current/official.
 
JTaylor said:
I can't recall where I first got it while working with the marina, and had to do a deep google search to find this latest one. I couldn't find anything official from Bennington either. This drawing is likely a few years old -- in the lower right in the Application block it says "2013 and previous model years." Best to get something more current/official.
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Will do - thanks, John.
 
I'd buy an old trailer cheap, cut off the axles, wheels, fenders, and most of the tongue. Then lay that on the lift, and put your boat on that.
 
Macon_a_Splash said:
I have a 21 SLXP triton on order for early May delivery. I am getting quotes to have my current boat lift modified (have a two tube 20' pontoon in the boathouse now.)

My lift person offered to get in touch with my dealer to get the specs and I was just going to let that happen without being involved. Several on this forum were great to show me their configurations (probably going with three v- bunks (where tube actually rest) like what Vikingstaff has.) But I was more focused on supporting the length of the tube than on where the cross beams (I beams/support beams for the bunks) would be located.

As I read this, I think I need to get something in writing from Bennington so that I know and understand the Bennington requirements to be sure my lift is correctly modified to meet the Bennington requirements . Did this drawing come from Bennington and if yes, do you remember the year - should I get something like this from my dealer or is there some onsite information that I haven't found. I've combed through their website and catalog but this is the first official looking specification that I've seen.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

I hope you will share what you hear from Bennington about this. I am still agonizing over what to do to fix my lift. I am thinking that if I just go to aluminum V Shaped bunks to support all three toons that offer support the entire length of the toons that it probably doesn't matter all that much where the I-Crossbeams are located.
 
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