Mastering The Art Of Lifting Your Boat Safely

Docking a boat on a lift is similar to parking a car in a garage. It is an effective way to store and protect your boat from natural elements and other boats. However, it can be challenging for both beginners and experienced boaters due to varying environmental factors. Here are some essential tips to correctly put your boat on a lift.

Ensure the boat is empty

Ensuring that your boat is empty before placing it on the lift is crucial for several reasons. Firstly, safety is a primary concern. Boat lifts are designed to lift boats, not people. Unlike elevators, boat lifts lack additional safety cables or systems to prevent injury or damage if a cable snaps. By keeping the boat empty, you eliminate the risk of passengers being jolted or hurt in the event of a cable failure.

Secondly, it is important to consider the weight capacity of your boat lift. Boats are already heavy, and the lift's weight capacity can be significantly strained by the weight of the boat alone. By ensuring the boat is empty, you prevent overloading the lift and causing unnecessary strain or wear on its cables. This is crucial because extra strain on the lift's cables can lead to premature wear and even cable snapping.

Additionally, it is recommended to keep any additional gear or passengers on the dock until the boat lift is safely lowered into the water and the boat is floating freely. This further reduces the risk of overloading the lift and ensures the safety of your passengers.

Furthermore, it is important to be cautious when operating a boat lift, especially if it uses cables. Lowering the lift too far, especially with cable-operated lifts, can cause issues. The cables can unwrap and re-wrap improperly when you raise the lift back up, leading to potential damage to the lift and uneven weight distribution.

In conclusion, ensuring that your boat is empty before placing it on the lift is crucial for safety reasons, weight capacity management, and maintaining the integrity of the lift's cables and weight distribution. By following this instruction, you can confidently operate your boat lift while ensuring the safety of your passengers and the longevity of your equipment.

Lower the lift and back out

Once you have ensured that the boat is empty, you can lower the lift until the boat floats above the cradle. Depending on the type of lift, you may be able to lower it with a switch or by manually turning a crank. It is important not to lower the lift too far, especially if it uses cables, as they can come unwrapped and re-wrap improperly when you raise it back up.

Lowering the lift is a crucial step in the process of storing or launching your boat. By lowering the lift, you bring the boat closer to the water, allowing it to float off the cradle. This enables you to back the boat out of the lift and into the water safely. It is important to pay attention to how far you lower the lift to avoid any issues with cables or pulleys.

When lowering the lift, it is essential to ensure that the boat is empty of both passengers and gear. Boat lifts are designed to lift boats, not people, and there are no extra safety systems in place to prevent injury or damage if a cable snaps. By keeping the boat empty, you prioritise the safety of your passengers and reduce the strain on the lift.

After lowering the lift, the next step is to carefully back the boat out of the lift. With the boat floating above the cradle, you and your passengers can board it. Once everyone is seated and the boat's line or lines are secured, put the boat in reverse and slowly back out, being mindful of your surroundings to avoid any collisions.

It is worth noting that the process of lowering the lift and backing out the boat may vary slightly depending on the type of lift you have. Different types of lifts include manual, electric, hydraulic, and floating lifts, each with unique mechanisms for lowering and raising the boat.

Park and raise the lift

When returning to the dock, slow down and carefully manoeuvre the boat into the lift so it’s floating above the cradle. This is similar to parking on a trailer or mooring your boat next to a dock, although individual docking procedures will vary based on the kind of lift you have. Your boat will rest on bunk boards attached to a cradle, which will need to be lowered below the waterline so that your boat is floating freely above it.

Position the boat in the lift so that less boat hangs off the back of the lift than the front. Watch your speed when you’re approaching your dock—if you go too fast and build too much momentum, you might not be able to control your entry, especially if the wind and waves are rough.

Use the lift’s parking guides to help you navigate the boat into the cradle and find the right position. You can make slight adjustments to straighten the boat out as you float above the cradle with the motor off. Be aware of external factors like currents, waves and wind that will push your boat in different directions as you try to park it.

Make sure your boat is spaced evenly between the bunk boards. This ensures proper weight distribution from front to back, which keeps your lift system from wearing out. This requires knowing the centre of gravity for your boat—you should use the manufacturer instructions and spec sheet to determine this.

Once you’ve positioned the boat, you can raise the lift. Be sure to raise it above crashing waves, especially if it will be sitting for a while between uses. If you have a boathouse lift, be careful not to raise the lift too high or leave the switch unattended, as this could cause the boat to hit the roof of the boathouse.

Check your boat's speed

When returning to the dock, it's important to approach at a reasonable speed. If you're going too fast, you might bump into the dock or lift, causing damage. You may also create too much wake, which will push you off course. Going too slowly, on the other hand, may cause you to lose control of the boat, especially if it's windy.

It's recommended that you use short bursts of power to help you easily manoeuvre your boat into the cradle. You can also use the lift's parking guides to help navigate the boat into the cradle and find the right position. Make slight adjustments to straighten the boat out as you float above the cradle with the motor off.

Be sure to pay attention to wind and waves, as well as currents and other external factors that will push your boat in different directions as you try to park it. If you slow down too much before reaching the lift, your boat could be blown or pushed off course and you could miss the lift.

If you're not as experienced at the helm as you'd like to be, it's a good idea to practice pulling your boat up alongside the dock several times before you try to position it in the lift. Try turning the wheel in the direction you want to go before pushing the throttle forward. This can prevent you from moving too fast forward or backward.

Remember, boats usually have a lot of momentum when they're in motion, so it's important to master the momentum of your boat before attempting to load it onto a lift.

Position your boat correctly

Positioning your boat correctly on a lift is crucial for the safety of your boat and the lift. Here are some detailed instructions to help you with this process:

Firstly, ensure that your boat is empty. Boat lifts are designed to lift the boat itself, not people or additional gear. The extra weight can strain the lift and cause unnecessary wear and tear, potentially leading to cable snapping. Keep passengers and equipment on the dock until the boat is safely in the water.

As you approach the lift, check your boat's speed. A slow approach is recommended to avoid accidental collisions with objects or other boats. However, if the wind and currents are strong, you may need to use short power bursts to maintain control and overcome their effects. Be cautious of the current and wind direction, as they can quickly shift and affect your boat's movement.

When guiding your boat, always turn the wheel in the desired direction before applying power. This prevents sudden acceleration and gives you better control. Be mindful of your boat's momentum and turning radius, as these factors will influence how you manoeuvre into the lift.

As you get closer to the lift, watch your speed and be prepared to make adjustments. You want to position the boat over the bunk boards, which are attached to a cradle that needs to be lowered below the waterline. Many boat lift systems have PVC guides to help guide the hull into place without damage. Ensure your boat is evenly spaced between the bunk boards for proper weight distribution from front to back.

Once your boat is correctly positioned over the bunk boards, you can activate the lift mechanism to raise the cradle and your boat with it.

Frequently asked questions