positioning on lift

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JerryTx
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Location: Dallas area

positioning on lift

#1 Post by JerryTx » Fri Aug 19, 2022 9:55 am

Howdy Folks,

It's been awhile since on here, and I figured a new topic vs adding it to my handicap thread. We are making progress, kinda working backwards from the water. Had to build a bulkhead, and now our dock is done. I am long distance from project, and sometimes it causes confusion on either end.

I tried searching but did not come up with any good results. We are going to have a ~25ft tritoon, so I told the builder to set for that when installing lift. He finished up, and my neighbor took some pics for me. I had them build a 32' long slip so that everything, including engine, would be covered. Being a dock newbie, I didn't/don't know the correct questions ahead of time sometimes, and this time it bit me on the butt.

The lift is more towards the back and leaves a bunch of space up front. My question for y'all, how much overhang is too much when on lift. I think those bunks are 16' long. My neighbor is standing on the upper level and the poles are different on this side vs the other, only 4 and bigger vs 5 and thinner on the other side. They lined up the two from middle and back, the front poles don't match at all. So it doesn't appear that the lift can be moved, at least w/o great cost, so I will be left with that big front gap.

Since the back end is considerably heavier, is it ok to pull the boat in as far as possible, or is that too much overhang? Any other ideas?

Thanks.
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Marc K
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Re: positioning on lift

#2 Post by Marc K » Fri Aug 19, 2022 11:54 am

Don’t know if this helps. My old boat has full furniture and it is all made from heavy plywood. My small 115 HP motor is the old-style mount with the motor pod/transom being even with both the deck and the pontoons - not extended beyond the stern like modern designs.

My boat hangs on two slings, 10 feet apart, but way off center. There is 10' of overhang from the front strap to the bow and 5’ of overhang at the stern. Even with that 2:1 ratio of overhang, the rig is still NOT front heavy when I feel the cable tension.
Big and ugly but we love our 1999/2000 Crest II DL with a Yamaha F115

JerryTx
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Location: Dallas area

Re: positioning on lift

#3 Post by JerryTx » Fri Aug 19, 2022 1:21 pm

Yes Sir, that does help, makes me feel a little better about the way I will have to be doing mine. It looks to be ~10' of space in front of bunk on mine too, don't know if I'll take it that far up, but you never know. Good thing I was planning on side loading into the boat anyway. Thanks.

Steiner
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Re: positioning on lift

#4 Post by Steiner » Fri Aug 19, 2022 2:03 pm

JerryTx wrote:
Since the back end is considerably heavier, is it ok to pull the boat in as far as possible
Yes. Consider that a 25' tritoon dry weight might be 3000lbs or so. Then you add a V6 outboard, 50 gallon gas tank, and batteries all on the rear quarter of the boat. That's at least 1000 lbs. The center of gravity on it is pretty far back from center.
2019 G3 SunCatcher V322 SS tritoon, Yamaha F200
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Rick McC.
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Re: positioning on lift

#5 Post by Rick McC. » Fri Aug 19, 2022 7:16 pm

JerryTx wrote:
Fri Aug 19, 2022 1:21 pm
Yes Sir, that does help, makes me feel a little better about the way I will have to be doing mine. It looks to be ~10' of space in front of bunk on mine too, don't know if I'll take it that far up, but you never know. Good thing I was planning on side loading into the boat anyway. Thanks.
I’m thrilled to see that you’re getting things done, Jerry!

Looking forward to the first pics of you and the family out on your ‘toon. 👍
Rick

Sights are for the unenlightened.

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steve1313
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Re: positioning on lift

#6 Post by steve1313 » Sat Aug 20, 2022 2:50 am

It seems weird that pilings would be different on one side than the other, but it's kind of hard to tell exactly why they did that.

As far as where the lift is, and how to position the boat, as everyone says it's pretty typical for lift to be to the rear because all boats are a lot heavier aft. My boat (23 tritoon) sits on a similar type lift as yours. I line up the back of the bunk boards with the back of my toons. I'm pretty sure my bunks are 12' long, so that leaves the front 10' of my boat in hanging off the front of the lift bunks.
Steve
"Serendipity" - 2017 Sweetwater 2286 WB Tritoon w/ 150HP Yamaha
Slipped at Lake Anna, Virginia
Primary Residence: Richmond, Virgina
Lake House: Lake Anna, Virginia

JerryTx
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Location: Dallas area

Re: positioning on lift

#7 Post by JerryTx » Sat Aug 20, 2022 10:40 am

Thank you Gentlemen,

Y'all pretty much posting that your setups are close to what I have, has made me a happier man. When I first saw that pic from my neighbor, I was pretty hot, because it didn't match my expectations. As my neighbor said, it will work, it's just different. As long as my motor is truly covered, then I will be a happy man. My worry about the positioning has been relieved by y'all, so now I don't have to go off on the builder. :biggrin2

Steiner - yeah that's pretty much what I thought too, main concern was the overhang. Plus not sure whether I'll be able to use front gate at all, but that's a minor problem.

Rick - thanks. It has been a long haul. We started this odyssey in April '21, and I still don't have final house plans. I am "supposed" to get them this Tuesday. To cut him some slack, we did start out with a 2 story idea, but switched to a one story at least a year ago, since I wouldn't go upstairs much, an elevator was an unneeded expense. He keeps getting swamped with commercial plans and I take a backseat. But we're almost there. My sis and b-i-l keep sending us teasing pics of the sunsets over the water. :censored We are sooo ready to be there.

Steve - I agree with you about pilings, it even goes down to 3 at the outside edge. Thanks again for posting your setup and easing my mind.

I've attached a pic from land, when it was close to done. You see I have ramps between levels, all walkways are 8' wide, I wanted to be able to get by people w/o worrying about falling in. I'm thinking of having him add like 2" "base boards" for another level of safety. Hard to tell, but that's a ramp on the left, it goes down to tie-up spot and a sundeck out front. The ramps aren't quite ADA rule of 1:12, but I wanted the right one to end before middle walkway so I could get to it without adding extra decking. We designed this essentially on the back of a napkin, so I didn't know how all the pilings were going to be set, like to think I'd have caught this if I had a pilings plan. But oh well. The 2nd slip is setup for a small bass boat, even though it is a 32' slip too, my wife wants something she can take out fishing by herself. The bass fishing, which is her passion, is picking up big time at False River, the small lake we'll be on, so she is happy. It used to be a trophy lake but got mismanaged decades ago and it wallowed for years. She also wants to be able to fish all around our dock, a prime spot for fish to hangout, so not sure if/where we'll put handrails.

Thanks Y'all, Jerry
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JerryTx
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Re: positioning on lift

#8 Post by JerryTx » Sat Aug 20, 2022 10:49 am

Oooh, just had another thought, dangerous I know.

If I need just a little more to have my engine covered, what's the thought on moving the bunks more forward, allowing me to get the engine closer to the cross member? Am I now pushing the envelope? Might need a math major to figure out loading for me.

Jerry

JerryTx
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Location: Dallas area

Re: positioning on lift

#9 Post by JerryTx » Sat Aug 20, 2022 12:29 pm

Just got a call from my b-i-l, he made a run over to our place to check out the lift. He says it is setup just like his 6k lb setup for his 27ft ski boat, so no problems on lifting power. His thought was to just scootch the center bunk forward to let my motor get closer, options....

They live directly across the water from us. We tried finding property near them on that side but nothing was a fit for us, so this was the next best thing. Told 'em to watch out, I was gonna get a telescope, so keep it clean over there. :lol3

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Marc K
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Re: positioning on lift

#10 Post by Marc K » Sat Aug 20, 2022 6:23 pm

Jerry,

Which lake? I am down on Cedar Creek.

Marc
Big and ugly but we love our 1999/2000 Crest II DL with a Yamaha F115

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steve1313
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Re: positioning on lift

#11 Post by steve1313 » Sun Aug 21, 2022 4:10 am

I don't think that moving the bunk boards a foot or so forward would have an adverse affect. But other than maybe giving you some peace of mind, it probably won't change much about how the motor is "protected". If there's a storm and it's windy, the motor will probably get wet either way. My motor is only about a foot or so "inside" and it doesn't seem to get wet very often. I think you're far enough forward as it's presently configured.

Also, I'd recommend against the 2" baseboards. While that might give you a bit of added protection, I think it could easily serve as a tripping hazard or a toe stubber for walkers.
Steve
"Serendipity" - 2017 Sweetwater 2286 WB Tritoon w/ 150HP Yamaha
Slipped at Lake Anna, Virginia
Primary Residence: Richmond, Virgina
Lake House: Lake Anna, Virginia

JerryTx
Posts: 33
Joined: Mon May 31, 2021 3:07 pm
Location: Dallas area

Re: positioning on lift

#12 Post by JerryTx » Sun Aug 21, 2022 8:47 am

Marc - we contemplated all the Tx lakes since there's a bunch of good ones. Problem was none of them got us any closer to family. I have a sister and family, and a niece from another sister, with her family, all in around Baton Rouge. My sister and hubby have a house on False River lake which is about 1/2 hour NW of BR, and we've been there many times, so we decided we're gonna leave the great state of Tx. The lake is small, it's only 12 miles long by about 3/4 miles wide, but it will suit us in our sunset years. :biggrin2 It is an oxbow lake, was a part of the Mississippi River hundreds of years ago, until it changed course and left this lake behind. Cedar Creek is a fun lake, have friends with houses there and have visited them a few times.

Steve - I was thinking more along the lines of the motor cowling getting bleached out by the sun if out in the open. May be unfounded don't know, but since I was building new, I figured might as go for broke.

Good input on the baseboards, I'll have to think about it, was mainly thinking on the long runs in straight lines to put them on. If somebody stubs their toe, they're heading in the wrong direction. Worth considering, but I'm at way more risk if I drop a wheel of my wheelchair over the edge.

Steiner
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Re: positioning on lift

#13 Post by Steiner » Sun Aug 21, 2022 2:16 pm

2019 G3 SunCatcher V322 SS tritoon, Yamaha F200
2019 F-150 XLT SuperCrew FX4, 3.5L EcoBoost Max Trailer Tow Package

JerryTx
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Location: Dallas area

Re: positioning on lift

#14 Post by JerryTx » Sun Aug 21, 2022 5:32 pm

True, but I haven't found a floorplan that allows me access to the engine in my wheelchair, so could be a problem. Well, I take that back, I've seen a couple center walk-thru plans that might let me get there, but they are not what we are looking for.

BobL
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Re: positioning on lift

#15 Post by BobL » Mon Aug 22, 2022 9:06 am

Since you are considering making a few more modifications, I would offer one suggestion before the contractor leaves. Add a second cross member on each side of the vertical pilings where the lift is mounted. Had a buddy that had a setup like yours and he came back to half his boat being in the water because the cross member cracked. Now there are hundreds of thousands of lifts setup like yours that have never failed but for a couple hundred extra bucks, you have some redundancy.

Place looks great!
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