reelfishin
Captain
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2007
- Messages
- 3,050
Re: Removing boat with an auto lift.
I've used a twin post lift to lift boats quite a few times.
Things to be concerned with are first, protecting the hull from the steel pads, second, due to the shape of most hulls, the arms may want to swing out from under the boat. If your lift has locking arms, this shouldn't be an issue. I've done it two ways, either as in the above pic, with pads on the lift arms, rubber works best, a chunk of old tire tread zip tied to the pad works well and doesn't tend to slide, the other way is to make up two long bunks that span both arms on one side, with the lift's bunk boards attached to the lift arms. This works better to distribute the weight, especially if your forced to lift the boat from what may not be the strongest points of the hull. The largest I've lifted off was a 24' Penn Yan Avenger in which we used the lift to pickup the stern, and a gantry crane to lift the bow with a sling.
I used the lift over doing it with jack stands since it was to sit for a few days on the lift, get a fresh coat of bottom paint, all while the trailer was being painted.
Just keep in mind that those arms will want to slide and move if not placed on a flat surface, even those with a locking device will move some before the lock stops the arm from moving.
You also need to take the weight of the motor into consideration when lifting the boat, it will determine where you can lift it by, and how stable it will be on the lift. I also wouldn't leave it sitting up in the air overnight, I like to put each arm down on a jack stand, and maybe even strap the boat down to the arms just as a safety precaution.
I've used a twin post lift to lift boats quite a few times.
Things to be concerned with are first, protecting the hull from the steel pads, second, due to the shape of most hulls, the arms may want to swing out from under the boat. If your lift has locking arms, this shouldn't be an issue. I've done it two ways, either as in the above pic, with pads on the lift arms, rubber works best, a chunk of old tire tread zip tied to the pad works well and doesn't tend to slide, the other way is to make up two long bunks that span both arms on one side, with the lift's bunk boards attached to the lift arms. This works better to distribute the weight, especially if your forced to lift the boat from what may not be the strongest points of the hull. The largest I've lifted off was a 24' Penn Yan Avenger in which we used the lift to pickup the stern, and a gantry crane to lift the bow with a sling.
I used the lift over doing it with jack stands since it was to sit for a few days on the lift, get a fresh coat of bottom paint, all while the trailer was being painted.
Just keep in mind that those arms will want to slide and move if not placed on a flat surface, even those with a locking device will move some before the lock stops the arm from moving.
You also need to take the weight of the motor into consideration when lifting the boat, it will determine where you can lift it by, and how stable it will be on the lift. I also wouldn't leave it sitting up in the air overnight, I like to put each arm down on a jack stand, and maybe even strap the boat down to the arms just as a safety precaution.
