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Pontoon Lift Advice Needed

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DM1052

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Just had the dock and cantilever pontoon lift installed for the season and my Bennington 20 foot SLi is coming next week.  I am concerned because the lift rails are quite hight above the water line. I am afraid I won't be able to get the pontoon on the lift with the rails this high. The lift is at its lowest level and the top of the rails appear to be about 6 to 8 inches above the water level.    The Bennington has 25 inch pontoons.  Thanks for any advice you can give.  I live on a river and the bottom of the river shifts year to year.   
 
Pics would be good to know what you're talking about.
 
DM1052 said:
Just had the dock and cantilever pontoon lift installed for the season and my Bennington 20 foot SLi is coming next week.  I am concerned because the lift rails are quite hight above the water line. I am afraid I won't be able to get the pontoon on the lift with the rails this high. The lift is at its lowest level and the top of the rails appear to be about 6 to 8 inches above the water level.    The Bennington has 25 inch pontoons.  Thanks for any advice you can give.  I live on a river and the bottom of the river shifts year to year.   
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I think you will be fine, I don't think they would have designed it so it was in way of boarding especially you say it is a pontoon lift.  
 
Never had one,but  I looked at Shore Masters web site. I guess your planning on the lift supporting the boat from the underside of the deck. If so, how much lift can yo get out of the lift the way it's configured currently? I would say you need at least 30" to be out of the water safely. 


As cwag said,post some pics. And welcome to the forum!
 
I am attaching two pictures.  The water depth is about 35 inches.  It is getting the pontoon into the lift that I am concerned about when it is delivered next week.    As you can see from the attached photos, the top of the water to the top of the lift rails is about 11 inches.  Will the 20 foot Bennington be able to get onto the lift rails with the rails this high?  The lift is at it's lowest level.  The rails do not go any lower.  Please advise as the pontoon is supposed to be delivered next Tuesday and we are keeping our fingers crossed that we will be able to get the pontoon onto the lift rails.  Thank you very much for your advice.

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If you're saying that the lift is down as far as it will go, I think you'll have a problem.
 
Thank you very much, CWGA.  How low do you think we need to get the rails so that the pontoon will go on?  We have our dock/lift guy coming back to dig to lower the lift, but we are wondering how low it should go.  Any advice you have would be very much appreciated.  We live on the Mississippi River and the bottom of the river changes from year to year.  Also, the river levels change.  Thanks again for your advice on how low the lift should go so that the rails are low enough to allow us to get the pontoon on it.  
 
Do those rails go between the pontoons and lift from just beneath the deck of the boat?
 
Yes, that is correct Kaydano.  My 20 foot SLi Bennington has 25 inch toons and a 50 HP Honda motor.
 
I'll bet it lifts from the bottom of the deck. If this is as low as it goes I would be very concerned as you say the river levels change, if it went down much you would have a problem.  I would definitely voice your concerns with whoever installed it.
 
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We don't have a lift (so I can't say for sure) - but friends with a cantilever lift lower theirs all the way to just barely touching the water to get drive onto it. It's up slightly more If we go out and think it'll be dark when we return - either case, MUCH lower than your pix. 
 
I have a Hewitt lift with the same type of support rack. On mine, the vertical members of the racks were adjustable, i.e. multiple holes. I was able to lower the racks so that the toons were just above the lift crossmember. For example, if the height from bottom on toon to underside of deck is 25", I adjusted the racks so they were 25.5" from top to lift crossmember. 


If you do this, and the racks are still to high, can you push the lift further out, into deeper water, without getting past the end of the dock?
 
DM1052 said:
I am attaching two pictures.  The water depth is about 35 inches.  It is getting the pontoon into the lift that I am concerned about when it is delivered next week.    As you can see from the attached photos, the top of the water to the top of the lift rails is about 11 inches.  Will the 20 foot Bennington be able to get onto the lift rails with the rails this high?  The lift is at it's lowest level.  The rails do not go any lower.  Please advise as the pontoon is supposed to be delivered next Tuesday and we are keeping our fingers crossed that we will be able to get the pontoon onto the lift rails.  Thank you very much for your advice.


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It's obvious that the lift is designed to lift your boat by supporting your boats deck. I realize that the top of the lift rails are 11" from the water. But how high does the lift rails raise above the water at there highest point? I believe the lift will work the way it's configured currently, if it raises high enough. Call your dealer on Tues. morning and ask how high the deck sits above the water to make sure the clearance works.
 
Thank you to all for your great advice.  I have contacted our lift installation guy and also our pontoon delivery guy.  They will both be here at the same time on Tuesday to remedy the situation.  We can't move the lift out into the water any further as there is a steep drop off, so possibly digging to lower the lift will work.  Thank you again!  
 
I looked at my boat this weekend, I have at least 16" between the deck and the water up front and probably 12" in the rear. I would think with 25" toons and a 50hp you'd be fine pulling over them. The overall lift height as mentioned may or may not be an issue. Sounds like you're under control with the lift installer and the dealer on board I'm sure it'll work out!
 
Adkboater, Thank you very much!  This is exactly what I was looking for--the measurements between the deck and the water.  So appreciated!!!   Thank you!!
 
DM1052 said:
Adkboater, Thank you very much!  This is exactly what I was looking for--the measurements between the deck and the water.  So appreciated!!!   Thank you!!
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Don't forget that if your water level drops you could be screwed.  Sometimes you can drill more holes to allow for more adjustments, not sure about your lift.
 
Not to mention when you load the boat up with people. Is this a vertical lift? If so can't the uprights just be cut down if needed? They look like they are just bolted on. Trim 4" off, drill new holes and reattach.
 
Had the pontoon delivery guy and the lift installer out before bringing the pontoon to the lift.  The lift installer dug a trench down about 8 inches and moved the lift into it which lowered it (and the rails dramatically)!  The pontoon delivery guy gave his approval and delivered the pontoon.  All is well!  Yay!  We checked and it appears the pontoon needs about 12-13 inches in the rear of the pontoon (between bottom of pontoon deck and the water.  As of now, with the lift lowered and knowing the measurement of our specific pontoon between the bottom of the pontoon deck and the deck rails, we are good!  If the river goes down 5-6 inches we should still be good  Thank you everyone for your kind and helpful assistance.  By the way, the rails are installed as low as they can go.  Any lower and the pontoons won't fit...they would rest on the cross bars instead of the rails.  Thanks again!  Happy boating!  Love our Bennington!!!
 
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