Sealegs don't lift high enough with Frame/Canopy setup

[tkvoice]

I have a Bennington 20ft pontoon with 25" pontoons. It has standard 6ft (I think they are around 6ft) Sealegs installed.

On the shore line I have a frame/canopy that I park under. It looks like a lift but does not have any lifting capability.

My problem is I can't get the rear of my pontoon fully out of the water with my rear Sea-Legs fully extended.

I have tried pushing the frame/canopy closer to shore but water depth is to shallow between surface and the frame cross members under the water.

Does anyone have any ideas? Is there some sort of aluminum platform pad available to raise lake bottom by 2ft?

Here is a picture of the canopy frame and a pontoon with sealegs:

 

[Toddk9]

Can you turn the canopy 90 degrees and park parallel to the shoreline? That way the water level change is only over 8.5' compared to the length of your pontoon.. Just a thought

 

[tkvoice]

No because the slope of the lake bed under the water gets deeper as you move away from shore so everything would be tilted. Sealegs don't work this way there are 2 sealegs one at the front and one at the back I can control the height of each leg differently however you can't control the "balance" between the rear legs differently as they move together... look at the rear legs in the picture you will see a big bar joining the two rear legs together where they touch the floor

 

[Jack M]

There are several threads involving sea legs ,you can do a search in the upper right corner.

 

[Vikingstaff]

So, if I understand it right, your problem is the current frame/canopy is NOT height adjustable to raise it high enough to then drive the boat underneath and then raise it up on the sea legs to get it out of the water, correct?

I thought most stand alone canopy systems had adjustable canopy support arms to raise or lower as needed due to lake level and dock height. For example, the canopy system in your pictures seems to have height adjustable support arms to raise the canopy up much higher. Do you have that same set up? If not, you may need to change to something like it as your only option with your sea legs.

OR you can just go without a canopy, and park on your sea legs and cover with mooring cover…

Context: We had a lift and canopy for first 2 years. Switched to Sea Legs in our 3rd year with our tritoon. We simply sold our entire lift and canopy. We just park ours dockside and use the mooring cover. Working pretty well for us these past 6 years.

Resent (last year) set up:



Old Set Up:

 

[Jack M]

Jeff,it sounds like the legs aren't long enough to get the stern out of the water.

 

[Vikingstaff]

Jeff,it sounds like the legs aren't long enough to get the stern out of the water.

Oh…then I totally misunderstood their post.

Yeah, no use putting sea legs on a boat if the water depth exceeds their lift capability. Not really anything one can do about it if it’s that problem.

There are not any pre-made type items I’ve ever come across that would resolve that particular problem, and I have spent A LOT of time on Sea Legs/Ultra Legs research, items, shopping, calls, etc...these past 8 years.

If what you mention is the actual problem, perhaps a cement company/contractor could put in some kind of squared block pads on the lake bottom (if legally allowed) to create an underwater heavy duty platform to support the rear of the boat on the Sea Legs…? It’d have to be robust for the weight and sunk enough to not sink further under the weight.

 

[Jack M]

Years ago my dealer told me they made legs, (I don't recall what brand )that would work in my 10ft deep slip. But our bottom is muck and I would just keep sinking

 

[Pbakk]

From the Ultra Legs website FAQ section “Twin-Tube Extended Rear models are also available, extending the stern reach up to nearly 8' for deeper conditions.”

 

[Pbakk]

Regarding “I have tried pushing the frame/canopy closer to shore but water depth is too shallow between surface and the frame cross members under the water.”
If the bottom is sand, can you dig a little trench with a shovel for the cross members? I have to do this with my jet ski lift at times. The DNR may have an issue with a deep trench, but maybe you only need a few inches?

 

[DiamondDave952]

I have Ultra Legs on my 2021 22' SSBX with the standard legs lengths of 6'. Minnesota got a ton of rain in the Spring and early Summer that raise the lake water considerably. This year, I had to move my pontoon forward due to the lake level. Normally, the stern of the pontoon is near the end of the dock. I know Ultra Legs offer 8' leg lengths as an option; might be worth a check with Sea Legs if longer legs are an option.

 

[tkvoice]

Great suggestions from all of you thanks. I did not know that ultra legs offered 8 ft that may be the way to resolve this issue.

I don't think the DNR will allow me to hire a concrete company to come pour a big pad not only that what if I want to move the lift to a different location there's no way I'd be able to move that.

I was hoping there may be some sort of lightweight aluminum frame like something with big pads on adjustable legs sort of like a 4000 lb boat lift but only about 4 ft wide and 6 ft long that I could just stick under The canopy and it would take the weight and I could adjust it as all I need is about another eight to 12 inches of height.

I am going to try placing some construction cement concrete blocks under it today to see if they can handle the weight they're pretty cheap I'd only two dollars a block so if they get crushed I'll only be out about 12 bucks

 

[Vikingstaff]

Great suggestions from all of you thanks. I did not know that ultra legs offered 8 ft that may be the way to resolve this issue.

I don't think the DNR will allow me to hire a concrete company to come pour a big pad not only that what if I want to move the lift to a different location there's no way I'd be able to move that.

I was hoping there may be some sort of lightweight aluminum frame like something with big pads on adjustable legs sort of like a 4000 lb boat lift but only about 4 ft wide and 6 ft long that I could just stick under The canopy and it would take the weight and I could adjust it as all I need is about another eight to 12 inches of height.

I am going to try placing some construction cement concrete blocks under it today to see if they can handle the weight they're pretty cheap I'd only two dollars a block so if they get crushed I'll only be out about 12 bucks

So now that I understand your problem better….would 8’ legs work for you? Is the difference literally just that 2’ or less in the rear? If so Sea Legs also has an 8’ extended leg option. Since you already have Sea Legs on your boat, I would call Sea Legs directly and talk to them about your system. I would think they could simply remove your 6’ legs, replace with their 8’ legs, and keep the rest of the original system (motor, remore system, electrical, hydraulic lines) intact. That would be a whole lot cheaper than scrapping your sea legs and then switching to Ultra Legs. IMHO that is worth the detailed inquiry with Sea Legs.

Their direct company phone number is: 1 (952) 934-7000
Sea Legs Twin Tube Link. Read the second paragraph just above specs, mentioned 8’ extended leg option: Twin Tube Sea Legs Info

 

[tkvoice]

Wow even easier. I wonder if sea legs can run 8 ft in the rear and 6 ft in the front then I would only have to change out my rear legs

 

[tkvoice]

Also the canopy that I have is an actual Sea Leg product even though it's built by Floe.

The design uses 2"x6" cross members that connect the canopy sides under the water. The cross members are placed vertical so 6" high and 2" wide. If the front cross members were laid flat that would give me 4 more inches of draft get me closer to shore by probably about another 2 ft or more and then the 6 foot Sea Leg on the rear would work fine.

I have tried trenching out the crossmember to get it to sink further into the lake bed but then I have to also trench out the canopy sides and it becomes a huge task. Our lake level changes once in a while and sometimes I need to move the canopy closer to shore or further from shore and really don't want to trench every time.

 

[tkvoice]

I am going to place the concrete blocks to make a 3X3 ft landing pad and then place a rubber mat on top of the concrete blocks this will give me eight more inches and should be pretty easy to move around when my lake level changes. Hopefully they won't get crushed by the way to the rear sea legs or sink into the sand

This is what it will look like

 

[tkvoice]

Success hallelujah!

I had to modify my plan a little bit because the big concrete blocks just sunk into the sand under all the pressure.

I took a second rubber mat and I placed that on the sand first leveled everything out. Then I placed the six concrete blocks. And then I placed another rubber mat on top of those concrete blocks. Now the concrete blocks are not sinking into the sand and they are taking the weight of my pontoon with ease.

It really didn't take me all that long to move them around and get everything into place and I can move them whenever my canopy moves.

Here's some pictures of My success story

 

[Vikingstaff]

Cool beans! Sometimes keeping it to KISS is the way to go. On the flip side, I’d still call Sea Legs just to bounce of them options. Never hurts to know what they are. But, any change to Sea Legs will cost a bit vs this option.

Can you keep us posted if this continues to work over time (that is, doesn’t sink in or crush under the weight with time)?

 

[tkvoice]

Ok Will keep you posted.

One other observation....My lake bottom is sand (no muck at all). I think the constant use of Sea Legs in the same spot ended up carving out a big hole where the rear legs were landing. This solution will also stop that from happening.

 

[NCLakeGuy]

Cinder blocks were a great idea. The other option would have been sand bags and when you are done with them cut them open, dump the sand and it has returned to its natural state!