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Question for Team Bennington. Using a lift for Pontoon

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dclapp

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I have a lift behind my home that I will use to store my newly ordered 2275 GCW. Is there a best way to support the pontoon with my lift? I need to have the lift modified from the previous V-hull configuration. They want to run the bunks perpendicular to the tubes. Bunks are 2x12's. Will this be ok or should I have the bunks doubled up?

Thanks,
 
dclapp said:
I have a lift behind my home that I will use to store my newly ordered 2275 GCW. Is there a best way to support the pontoon with my lift? I need to have the lift modified from the previous V-hull configuration. They want to run the bunks perpendicular to the tubes. Bunks are 2x12's. Will this be ok or should I have the bunks doubled up?

Thanks,
Click to expand...
You want the bunks to run paralell to the tubes so they are the length of the tubes. Here's ours:

View attachment 368
 
Yes, Carl's photo is the best method, although others will work. It is important to support the bulkheads behind the nosecone, center and at the endcap (also considered a bulkhead). Be sure the lift mechanism can support your "Wet weight" plus 500 pounds. Do not use straps. Do not use the nosecone eyes to lift. Good luck with the project! TB
 
One concern is whether the 2x12's are pressure treated wood, commonly known as "Wolmanized." Some contain liquids compressed into the wood that react unfavorably with aluminum. The best wood to use under a pontoon/tritoon is plain ole Southern Yellow Pine--not pressure treated wood. If wood bunks rot after a few years, you're just out $75 or $100 to put new wood on the lift.

I completed fabricating and installing a 11' x 18' rack under my new Bennington yesterday. I used 4" channel with 5 cross members. It's strong, square and very supportive of my boat. Total cost was about $500, including two 2x8's running parallel under each toon. Now, I've got to engineer some bunk style guides on the sides to keep my boat from floating off center of my frame--to counteract waves.
 
Team Bennington said:
Yes, Carl's photo is the best method, although others will work. It is important to support the bulkheads behind the nosecone, center and at the endcap (also considered a bulkhead). Be sure the lift mechanism can support your "Wet weight" plus 500 pounds. Do not use straps. Do not use the nosecone eyes to lift. Good luck with the project! TB
Click to expand...
My lift is cantalevered. My lift braces are not 8'6 long so running the bunks longways under the pontoons won't work. I need them to run perpendicular to the pontoons. the bunks would hang off the end of the lift by about 6". I guess my question is are the 2x12 bunks standing on end too narrow? Will they dent the pontoons? Should I lay the bunks flat so the are still perpendicular but the pontoons would rest on the wide side of the bunk? The lift will support 8000lbs so that is not a problem.
 
You wouldn't want to put your toons on 1 1/2" wide boards. Hopefully modifications can be made to your present lift to accommodate your boat on flat bunks.

There are 120" candilevered lifts on the market engineered for pontoons for just under $3K. "Google" boat lifts and you can see examples.
 
I also use a Hi-Tide lift, but my bunks are inclined. There are pics of my lift before I got my 2575 RCW ESP. My dealer simply added a third bunk, spaced slightly wider to accomodate the 32" elliptical center tube of the ESP. Gerry

Optimized-hi4.jpg

Optimized-hi5.jpg
 
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I used the 5000 lb V lift my Baja used. Using the specs from Bennington on trailer bunk spacing, I have 6 bunks, 2 per tube, just like a trailer. My middle bunks are actual measure 2" thick poplar, 5 1/2" wide, and 14' long. The Bennington fits and goes on like a glove, and is much better supported than they are sitting in the dealer yard on a couple of blocks. Its not like you are traveling down a road.
 
I think we are missing is that the layout he is asking- perpendicular (left to right)..

Load stress per contact point, I would assume that flat vs vertical would be better but structure wise?
 
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Willb said:
I think we are missing is that the layout he is asking- perpendicular (left to right)..

Load stress per contact point, I would assume that flat vs vertical would be better but structure wise?
Click to expand...
Yes that is what i am asking.My bunks will be perpendicular. I will only have two because of the structure of my lift. Think of it as a fork lift, lifting your boat from the port side. Will this work?

Thanks,

Dave
 
dclapp said:
Yes that is what i am asking.My bunks will be perpendicular. I will only have two because of the structure of my lift. Think of it as a fork lift, lifting your boat from the port side. Will this work?

Thanks,

Dave
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Hi Dave. IMHO, I don't think I personally would lift my boat in that manner. Might work with jet ski lifts as I think you appear to represent your lift, but for such a nice new boat, versus the cost of a lift alteration or new one, I would not take the chance. Just me. Gerry
 
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Dave - It sounds like you need a clearer and more definitive opinion concerning your question from Bennington. They indicate Carl's setup (flat side boards running the length of each pontoon) is best, they also say "others will work". It seems that boards laid perpendicular would work, however you would need at least four boards, not two. Each board would be placed to support the the boat at the points where the pontoon sections are welded together and the endcap. (of course the boards are laid flat, not on edge)
 
I have a 2575 RLi with a Yamaha 150. I use a cable lift with 4 angled 2x8 treated pine boards as skids. The square frame has angled iron to secure the 2X8 boards that run parallel with the tubes. We chose to not put marine carpet on the boards and we have not had any problems with the set up so far. The lift was retrofitted from a sling lift to a cable lift. This biggest challenge we ran into is the original pully's did not swivel which caused stress and put the lift in a bind causing the lift to stall. This was found after much trouble shooting:

1. Motor not strong enough (replaced 3/4 HP, 1HP)

2. Not enough power to the motor (added 220)

3. Bearings in the lift plate worn out (replaced lift plate)

Ultimately, all of the above made for a better lift, but the real solution was to replace all four pullies that had swivels...
 
I'm with Steve V on this one.

I put my pairs of 2x8's flat because of marginal water depth some times of the year. I would have preferred to have mounted the wood boards lengthwise using commercial made V mounts, but I'm trying to keep as low of a profile as possible.

Gerry: The quality of your boathouse is absolutely fantastic. The seawalls, lifts, bunks and even electrics appear to be of the highest quality. I'm sure you're really enjoying it.

My neighbors have flat concrete decks above their boat lifts, and concrete decks 3' off the water. The last neighbor paid $58K for his single 30' dock, including railings and seating above the boathouse. I'd hate to think what a triple concrete boat dock would cost. We're now seeing most 40' to 50' cruisers and offshore racing boats slung out of the water on incredible lift systems.
 
Hi Dave Clapp,

Attached is a visual of the support points we want you to use if you go perpendicular with your supports. It's a small bullseye (landing strip, if you will) to hit each and every time...that's the trouble. It can be done, we suppose. You need to support the stern endcap bulkhead and the bow nosecone bulkhead. Please go to your professional lift maker for further advice! TB

1220 support spacing.pdf
 

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  • 1220 support spacing.pdf
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Team Bennington said:
Hi Dave Clapp,

Attached is a visual of the support points we want you to use if you go perpendicular with your supports. It's a small bullseye (landing strip, if you will) to hit each and every time...that's the trouble. It can be done, we suppose. You need to support the stern endcap bulkhead and the bow nosecone bulkhead. Please go to your professional lift maker for further advice! TB
Click to expand...
I really appreciate the way Bennington treats its customers. You are a resource for the owners that want to do work themselves or just want to know more about their boats. You support the dealers but you support us also. Thank you.
 
Remediation said:
I really appreciate the way Bennington treats its customers. You are a resource for the owners that want to do work themselves or just want to know more about their boats. You support the dealers but you support us also. Thank you.
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+1 to that!
 
Hey, that's great to hear, we appreciate it. We know that customer expectations are very high...
 
Bamaman said:
I'm with Steve V on this one.

I put my pairs of 2x8's flat because of marginal water depth some times of the year. I would have preferred to have mounted the wood boards lengthwise using commercial made V mounts, but I'm trying to keep as low of a profile as possible.

Gerry: The quality of your boathouse is absolutely fantastic. The seawalls, lifts, bunks and even electrics appear to be of the highest quality. I'm sure you're really enjoying it.

My neighbors have flat concrete decks above their boat lifts, and concrete decks 3' off the water. The last neighbor paid $58K for his single 30' dock, including railings and seating above the boathouse. I'd hate to think what a triple concrete boat dock would cost. We're now seeing most 40' to 50' cruisers and offshore racing boats slung out of the water on incredible lift systems.
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Thanks Bamaman. We are very happy with it. Nice to keep the boat up and dry. Even has a remote to raise and lower the bunks while we're out. Thanks Gerry
 
gerry said:
Thanks Bamaman. We are very happy with it. Nice to keep the boat up and dry. Even has a remote to raise and lower the bunks while we're out. Thanks Gerry
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Yup, the remote is the best part, especially when you come back in the dark and turn the lights on from the toon. B)
 
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