First Time Boat Lift Setup Tips- New Lift Or New Boat, Here’s Some Techniques to DIY! Max Lift Shown

[@robertabraham3999]

How far apart are the bunks?

[@LiftsLaddersAndDocks]

For inboard boats (ski or wake boats), with the Max V-cradle angle we generally start with the outside edge of the bunks around 40" and the outer edge of the lower mounting boot 5-6" wider to start, for I/O V-Hull boats we start narrower since they generally don't need to clear skegs/ fins or the prop shaft and is safer to make sure the deeper style keel of the boat doesn't hit the cradle when first checking, but we also look at pictures of the hull shape of the particular boat to fine tune it a bit to get safe enough for the boat to be pulled in for the first time before evaluating any adjustments. Some people use their trailer bunk measurements as a place to start, but that can be pretty misleading especially on heavier boats (wake boats) since the trailers often have 4-8 separate shorter bunks and even with simple dual full-length bunks, the angle of the V or sometimes frame notch on the trailer frame clearance to get prop/ rudder clearance is far different than the lift cradle V angle. They should have some lean on the angle on the uprights to help match the taper of the hull shape, and should be close enough that the boat isn't trying to fall through or leverage the bunks outwardly (imagine if you are picking up a large, heavy object, putting your arms underneath the object rather than grabbing from the sides and squeezing), but wide enough so that if your boat drifts sideways that you shouldn't hit your fins or prop on the bunks before hitting the side guides or lift frame. If they are leaning too far in, it can put undue stress on the bunk uprights and mounting points and can cause failures in some cases, depending on the lift brand and components used, so the force applied by the weight of the hull should be as close to linear down to the mounting boot or U-bolts as possible, while the slight angle fits the hull and lift frame shape- tough to explain how they can be angled but have the pressure in parallel alignment in text without pictures, but hopefully that makes sense.

[@al3700]

that seems like brutual way to lift it, ive never used a boat lift before but why wouldnt you cutt 4 2x4s and wedge them between the bottom and the top and use the lift to raise the whole roof at once and then tighten up the bolts

[@benbellino3596]

That seems like an interesting idea

[@LiftsLaddersAndDocks]

Great thought, thanks for mentioning it! Long ago, we considered a more sophisticated version of that principle by making brackets to physically bolt to the frame and using secured separate aluminum posts so that one employee could do it alone, but there's several issues with that. Mainly, the cradle (the part that moves up and down) is set inside from where the canopy mounts, so they would all have to have an elbow out and it would be incredibly sketchy at best, even if the aluminum was secured on the cradle it would still be extremely unstable with just wind alone. The way the cradles crank up/ down with the cable geometry is also an issue, since the cradles do not lift up perfectly level, one or two corners end up lifting first depending on the design and the others follow once those cables gain tension (and usually the opposite corners when going down), so it would just cause jamming since aluminum on aluminum has a ton of friction grip, especially on the slotted track uprights as shown in this video (which is a good thing other than during adjustments), plus the weight and position of the canopy frame itself is almost never balanced since they are typically shifted toward the bow end, so that alone makes it unstable and more prone to binding. With that, it would create a really dangerous situation if that friction jam suddenly released and potentially sending the frame flying, or could start breaking things if people unknowingly keep cranking up while it is jammed, especially since this is often done once the boat is in the lift, putting the boat at risk as well as anyone around it. Doing it the tedious but easy, manual lifting way in small increments around and around as needed generally still ends up being just as quick or far quicker than trying to rig up a system to make the lift do the raising, plus is far safer all around.