Guide for driving pontoon on lift

[aswetich]

I have a Hewitt 3600 lb vertical lift for my 25' pontoon. When I purchased the lift about 8 years ago I went with the kit that lifts the pontoon by the logs, not the deck. Now when I try to enter the hoist on a windy day I always hit one of the upright poles trying to enter the lift ! I have two questions:

1. Has anyone build a cheap homemade guide set up that really works ?
2. Does anyone have the lift kit with the boards that lift the pontoon from the deck ? If so, do the boards extended past the upright support poles and guide you in before hitting the poles ? If this really made a difference I would spend the over $400 to convert it.

Thanks

 

[rdy2go]

Re: Guide for driving pontoon on lift

I am in a similar situation. I just purchased a used 2009 Weeres 18' with a lift, both in great shape. I was used to docking my previous 20' pontoon on the dock, but getting it on the lift bunks is much harder if there is any wind at all.

The manufacturer of the lift, Vibo, does not have any dealers at all, so I assume the getting long guides shipped from them will be complicated / expensive.

I wonder if there are any generic brackets/stands that can be mounted on the lift beams to support some home made centering guides.