Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

I am having a lift installed and was curious why someone would not have the boat (bi or tri toon) sit on a flat slats as opposed to the traditional bunks (like on a trailer)? Seems to me it would be much easier to park/line up plus much easier to get under and work on the boat (i.e. clean the under side or run LED light or ___).

Many dealers store their new boats on a floor so I don't know why this would be any different.

The only reason I can think of is the possibility of the lift floating but if the platform is not solid (using 2x8's or 2x10's with maybe 6-10" space in between) then maybe it wont float.

It seems better to have the pressure in two different points, rather just on the curvature of the bottom.

My boat is in a boat house sitting on a frame that looks like a boat trailer slung from the boathouse ceiling with 5/16" steel cable. Each of my toons is sitting on a pair 17' 2 x 8's bolted flat on the framework lengthwise. I left about 3" between the 2 x 8's so the solid keel can sit between the boards.

I have padded 2x4's on each side of the boat 4" wider than my boat, and they are about 3' off the framework. They flare out the last 4' of the boat. When I come in, the frame centers itself, and I'm always in perfect position when I hit the switch on my Ace lift.

If I had chosen to use V shaped supports like what's on my boat trailer, I would have needed another foot of water depth. That would be difficult since the front of my boat is in marginally deep water already, and it's a rock bottom lake.

I just think you get more support when the length of the boat is supported--at least to within 3' of the rear of the toons and within 4-5' of the front of the toons.

This is ours and we've never had a problem.

Carl - thanks for the pic. My idea/thought/question is take what you have and ADD several 2x10 (or perpendicular to what you have - this would basically create a floor.

All the pontoon lifts on my lake look like this

\ /

or this

/ \

running the length of each log (just like bunks on our trailers). I agree with the point that the above configuration supports the entire length of each toon whereas my idea would have 6-8" (maybe more) gaps.

.....just thinking out loud.

Thanks for the feedback!

A lot of those on Lake Tenkiller. It works great as you can stand on deck to clean or cover your toon. A few have a slot in back where lower unit fits so you have complete access.

I've always liked Carl's triple first class lift, and with the pulleys he's doubled the lifting capacity.

Mine is a budget version of that with double boards flat under each toon.

Keeping boats out of the water and dry result in a very long lifespan. My last pontoon boat lasted 27 years until the upholstery needed replacing. We don't plan on buying another boat.