Tri Toon Boat lift

kenttaylor

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Just bought a Tri-toon and looking to add a lift to my boat slip. Do people generally support just the outside toons or support all 3? It would be easy to just lift the boat with cross bars if the toons are the same height/level??? Thoughts..
 
I looked at many pontoon manufacturers before I just purchased a 2013 Bennington 2550 RSR.

All recommended supporting the center toon.

I modified my lift to add a center support and had it installed ouffset toward the back by two feet to get as close to the motor as I could. The back transom area is where most of the weight is concentrated.

I have a 6000 lb lift but i wanted to insure that the boat would be supported as best as possible since it was a big investment.
 
Do you have 3-25" tubes or center elliptical version?

I believe 3 25's can be supported at the standard points recommended by Bennington, with cross bars.

If I remember correctly, they say support at rear cap, and front where tube changes diameter.

You should be able to verify with your dealer.

If its elliptical package, you may have to support lengthwise, also supporting center toon.

This is all based on info I've read in numerous posts, so you should still verify with dealer, unless TB comments on this.
 
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Look in my gallery. There are pics of our lift which supports all 3, 25" tubes.
 
kent, I set mine up with cross bars, it has three 25" tubes. If it's in the slip, it's on the lift. My lift is only a two tanker and my front tanl developed a very small leak. Unfortunately this was after they dropped the lake for the winter and I can't get my boat off the lift. Surprised me but I was able to float the whole lift, barge and all with just the rear tank. It has a 150 Yammie. No matter which way you go, I would support the center tube. Steve
 
You don't say enough about your lake and your water depth variance. Does your lake require floating docks, or are fixed piers and boathouses okay?

My boathouse is located on a rock bottom lake, and our water depth varies only about 3' per year. Our dock is on the river channel, and we have "big water" waves during the winter. The Corp of Engineers allows fixed piers and boathouses set on steel pipes driven into the ground about 4'--to bedrock. Most of the newer boathouses have concrete roofs 12'-15' off the water and the docks beside the boathouses are also concrete--3' off the water. We built our boathouse reasonably with a conventional shingle roof and our 10' x 30' dock is 5/4" x 6" decking.

We use Ace style overhead lifts with four 5/16" cables. Our pontoon boats set on 10' by 18' steel racks, and most owners set their boats on two 2x8 runners under each toon running lengthwise. Any high performance tritoon with an oversize center toon would require the outside runners to be elevated a few inches.

If a Bennington tritoon is a Express Performance hull (3/4), it does not require the center toon to be supported. Any full length center toon would require full support, however.

If you have to use a candilever style lift on your lake, they usually are supported sideways--as noted above.

There's nothing like a boathouse to keep your boat in top shape and make it last many, many years. My old toon is 26 years old, and just needing upholstery work. The key to longetivity is to keep'em dry when they're not in the water.
 
Most of our customers choose the "pontoon rack" style lift, meaning that the boat is lifted & supported by the deck crossmembers between the tubes.

This works well with 2 or 3 tube boats.
 
I just bought a used 26' tritoon and have tidal water that gets very shallow, so every inch counts. I have a boathouse with existing heavy duty lift, and can either run a 2x10x16' flat board with carpet under each toon, but that would leave a lot of bow hanging over.

I am intrigued by the "rack" mount. It would seem this would take all stress off the toons, and the deck supports could be built much beefier since size and thickness wouldnt add to my minimum water depth needed to get on the lift. Driving on would also seem easier, and I have seen trailers that do this. What is the downside to lifting in this manner (by the deck rather than toons)?

I called Bennington, and they sent me to 3 people,none of whom had suggestions about the best way to do it, they referred me here.

Thanks in advance
 
I just bought a used 26' tritoon and have tidal water that gets very shallow, so every inch counts.
Since vertical travel is paramount, I would suggest a "vertical" style lift rather than a "cantelever" style.

A typical vertical will have over 5' of vertical travel.
 
My rack is built with 4" channel iron, and when you add 2 x 8's on top, they end up taking 5 1/2" depth. I bolted the boards lengthwise under my toons flat. I would have like to have used V shape hardware under the boards, but it would take up another 6" or more.

I've got about 3' of my toons hanging off the back of my rack, and the front of the boards are on the back of the nose cones--about perfect.
 
Here's our lift with the same set up as Bamamans'. The 2"x8"s are flat which give you more depth.
DSC00033.jpg
 
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There you go Carl. Your crossmembers look triple first class. And the pulleys double your lift capacity. That's nice.

I prefabricated a 11' x 18' rectangle rack with 5 crossmembers out of 4" channel. My steel cost about $500. My rack is put together with 4" angle iron and 1/2" class 8 bolts--requiring drilling of dozens and dozens of holes. I disassembled my rack and took the pieces down to the boathouse on a PWC trailer before reassembling. Most pontoons on our lake have racks fabricated and welded off site, then brought in on a barge/tugboat with a full crane--$2500+.

My next door neighbor's new concrete deck 32' boathouse and concrete lower deck cost $58K 3 years ago. Ouch! And to think many 30' to 50' boats are kept hung out of the water now.
 
Thanks for the compliment Bama.
 
Sorry for being a newby but I just noticed my model (2575 I think 2001), has lifting strakes and a "keel" running down the center of all 3 toons. It is about 3/4" tall and 1/2" wide. If I set the boat on flat boards it would rest only on the keels. Is this OK?

Most toons are round, but I bet most that have some sort of performance package would be the same.

The other option would be a 2x4 laying flat at a slight angle on each side of the keels, touching the tube body but not the keel. I see trailer like this (I have no trailer).

This would be far harder to make, and would seem flimsier at the ends beyond the galvanized frame. Also the boat would have to be dead center to keep the keels in between the flat boards.

What do most do?
 
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If you look at the pic of our lift above, that's the way our boat sits on the boards We also have the keels on the logs and it's been just fine. You'll have no problems.
 
You can park your boat on the boards as shown above. The sharp keel is solid, and it's strong.

I put two 2x8's side by side, and left 3" between the boards for the keel to drop into. But when you do that, you've got to have guides (lengthwise) on either side of the toons or tightly between the outside toons to "center" the boat over the boards. My guideboards are 30" above the rack to hit the toons midway when the rack is under the water..
 


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This is my lift before I added the third bunk for my RCW ESP. I just had to space the center bunk slightly wider for the wider width of the elliptical tube. Not sure if this would work in your situation, it appears water depth is critical for your application. It does allow for cradleing the tubes so they don't sit flat. Mine requires a tad more water depth so it seems Carl & Suzi's flatter bunks allow for that. Gerry
 
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Thanks to all, I think the flat boards are the way I will go. I will have about 3' of toon hanging free off the back and 6' of toon off the bow as the boards are 16' 2x10s and I plan on running a 2x6 vertically below the middle of each board to limit flexibility (or is this overkill?). The dealer seems to think this is fine.
 
Thanks to all, I think the flat boards are the way I will go. I will have about 3' of toon hanging free off the back and 6' of toon off the bow as the boards are 16' 2x10s and I plan on running a 2x6 vertically below the middle of each board to limit flexibility (or is this overkill?). The dealer seems to think this is fine.
Yes, it's overkill. The flat boards like I have are fine.
 
I too am purchasing my first Bennington 2575 RCW.....I am having my lift re-worked......I would think it would not be good to have the keel sitting on the boards......as well, not good to have the ass end hanging off.....I do know on my fiberglass bottom boats in the past, this was not good, as over time, you would get a hook in the bottom......

I would think that the safest solution is to have the toons in a craddle, just like on a boat trailer.......

Am I off base on all this.....I really need to know, as I within three weeks of getting work started on my lift

opinions welcome :)
 
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