drive-on floating lift opinions please

[ryansdata]

hello

i have my eye on a used "sport-port" drive-on floating lift. EZ dock and Jet Dock are other brands, as I have learned.

What are the pro's and con's of this system versus the typical "hydro hoist" system that I see frequently (tank & pump set up)?

My options are only these two; my lake is a reservoir, with slowly fluctuating levels, and a steep slope so a fixed dock is not an option.

For those that have - how long have you had one? Any hull damage?

Thanks

-data

 

[Fireman431]

Re: drive-on floating lift opinions please

I have never used one, but the marina my boat was at used one all of the time. They loved it.

You could put the boat on it and raise it out of the water for maintenance.
You could walk both sides of the boat vs. being at a dock and only get access to a single side without turning the boat around.
It was moveable from place to place as opposed to a fixed lift.

The owner said it was some of the best money he ever spent on a hunch.

 

[JimS123]

Re: drive-on floating lift opinions please

Our Jet Dock has 7 seasons on it now. One cube started to leak, and they replaced it free of charge. The only issue was that it took a man and a boy 3 days to replace the cube because it required almost complete disassembly of the whole dock.

It works good, but it takes practice, practice and more practice to load the boat. Try to be cautious and you only get half way on. Gun her a little harder and you run off the end.

When it's past its service life, it'll be replaced with a stationary hoist.

 

[smallboatlover]

Re: drive-on floating lift opinions please

iv'e seen this on tv and at a marina its cold safe haven it's better and cheaper then the other brands i wouldnt recomend the hoist they take up room and more money they also have more mantince safe haven you can check it out at http://boat-float.com/safehaven.html its worth the money and you don't need to run electical and it helps you marine enviroment around it by alowing growth the gray color also let you walk on it and doesn't burn your feet in the heat

 

[dellsboater]

Re: drive-on floating lift opinions please

What do these run cost wise? Lets say for a 20 foot boat....

 

[apollobeach5]

Re: drive-on floating lift opinions please

I have a sport port that ive used since 2004, works great--no damage at all to hull. slides on & off easily. to load, just drive on till motor pops out of water, shut down...done!

 

[ShadowB]

Re: drive-on floating lift opinions please

I have an E-Z dock and I've had it a little over a year and really like it. It's built well and I have no complaints. I've seen other brands on our lake and think the E-Z dock sits in the water a bit better. My only recommendation regardless of brand would be get one with a roller system where you can adjust the roller height and kind of fine tune how your boat/ski glides on and off. To me makes a difference and can save wear on your hull. Another thing I like about the rollers on an E-Z dock is they have grease fittings. Seems that would be a common feature on these type docks but it's not. Another feature is you can easily add side tie down cleats and solar drop-in lights that are flush mounted. Overall I'd buy another E-Z Dock.

 

[kmarine]

Re: drive-on floating lift opinions please

I currently have two types of pwc docks which I use. The first type was a shore port made by shore station and the other made by ez dock. I like the easy dock better and the cost was about $500 less. Both are floating drive on plastic docks. I do not remove them for the winter, they are frozen in. I have had virtually no maintenance issues. Also have had no issues with hull damage from these products. I use them on the Illinois river with over 5 ft of water fluxuation and they are attached to floating docks.