Do You Have Guide Ons On Your Boat Lift?

Yianni

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We recently got a lift so I'm new to the whole lift thing. They installed guide ons on my lift. The problem is with the guide ons it reduces my slip opening from 11' to approx 9'. I really have to thread the needle. With wake boats etc going by it's not an easy thing with a 25' boat. I'm thinking of removing them. I can bring the lift up slowly and center the boat. The lift can stop at any height. The installer tells me I really need to leave them on.
Looking for any feedback before I remove them.
 

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We recently got a lift so I'm new to the whole lift thing. They installed guide ons on my lift. The problem is with the guide ons it reduces my slip opening from 11' to approx 9'. I really have to thread the needle. With wake boats etc going by it's not an easy thing with a 25' boat. I'm thinking of removing them. I can bring the lift up slowly and center the boat. The lift can stop at any height. The installer tells me I really need to leave them on.
Looking for any feedback before I remove them.
Man…I’d lean towards taking them off. I don’t see them working the same way as they do on a trailer at a boat ramp in a no wake area if you are in a normal wake area (or exposed to adverse weather area).

I had a bunk style lift originally with a canopy with our tritoon. I had a little more wiggle room, but still felt I was threading a needle with the support arms for my canopy. In bad weather (waves and wind) it was NOT an enjoyable task. Stressful and very challenging because of the lack of wiggle room.

And with what I see in the pictures, it is hard to imagine powering through those guides in bad weather without scraping or damaging your rub rail and potentially side skirting depends on water conditions.
 
Maybe I’m seeing this differently but the guides are there to ensure you get the toons on the lift. I have rollers acting as guides and they make the entry narrower but for a purpose, to keep me straight into the slip.
 
If you have multiple parties on the boat and some can get off and manually position it as you lift, then fine. But if you can't do that, you WILL want the guides.
 
They will help get him on the lift in normally or docile conditions. If he is on a lake that gets more extreme conditions cutting sideways against his boat, then he could easily get wedged and stuck causing cosmetic damage - the longer the boat, the easier it would be to get squeezed/wedged by big wind/waves. Really comes down to the conditions and typical wind/wave direction.
 
If you have multiple parties on the boat and some can get off and manually position it as you lift, then fine. But if you can't do that, you WILL want the guides.

I know when I go out alone, the guide posts are what makes it easy for me to dock it alone. Sure pontoons get displaced easily by wind, but they are also easy to move by yourself, while on the water, while using guide posts for leverage.

I bought the expensive Boat Loop based on recommendations on this forum and its a life changer. I get the boat close to the slip, go to the front, hook the guide post with the loop, and pull it in with ease; versus no guide posts and risk getting crooked while in the slip and not getting a clean lift
 
They will help get him on the lift in normally or docile conditions. If he is on a lake that gets more extreme conditions cutting sideways against his boat, then he could easily get wedged and stuck causing cosmetic damage - the longer the boat, the easier it would be to get squeezed/wedged by big wind/waves. Really comes down to the conditions and typical wind/wave direction.
Jeff is exactly right. I have rollers on each corner and prior to the lift with guides getting the boat into the slip was a breeze. I just sighted down the side of the boat. If I got hit by a wave or pushed by wind I could hit the roller even at a bit of an angle and it would right me into the slip. Now when I hit the roller, I have another obstacle getting in-between the guides.

I was just curious what others were doing since I was unclear of the installers reasoning to leave them on. As busy as those guys are, I could probably leave a message but wouldn't hear back until September.
 
Yup we have the guides. Haven't had any problem getting our boat in or out. It's in a No Wake zone and the water is pretty calm.....20210406_132411.jpg
 
You might try re-positioning just the most rearward guides farther apart. I added guides to our lift to ensure I got the toons in the bunks when lifting. The two out at the opening are farther apart so that I can at least get the boat nosed into the slip. The next two are a bit closer together. The last two pairs toward the front end of the slip are set only an inch or two beyond each side of the Benny, but by this point the boat is pretty well lined up and these forward pairs of guides keep it all straight so that the toons settle into the bunks perfectly front to rear when lifting. The whole process is still new to me, but seems to work pretty well. Just be sure to put a leash on her. :)
 
Ha, a leash for sure after reading some of the floating away stories. My installer told me one of his customers had the remote in her purse and didn't realize the down button was being pressed. The boat was gone when she got back.

My guide ons are as far apart as they will go. I think at this point from the advise I've gotten here I'm going to leave them be and give it some time and practice.
 
Well, I'm back to say I answered my own question. I'm following up in case any one down the road has the same question.
I tried it with the guide ons then decided to take them off and see what happened. I pulled into the slip just fine but when it came time to put the boat on the lift it was nearly impossible. Even light wind or waves and I couldn't get it straight. If the front was on the back was not etc.
The guide ons were back on the next day and are there to stay.
 
Yeah, they sure help keep everything where it needs to be.
 
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