How To Choose The Right Boat Lift For Your Boat
When trying to navigate the dizzying world of different types of boat lifts it can be tough. There are a lot of options out there, all of which can be confusing when trying to decide on the perfect boat lift for your boat, so we took the time to break down the most common types of boat lifts and which lifts are best for your type of boat.
Types of Boat Lifts:
Wanting to protect your boat is completely natural, it’s your investment, your “baby” even, and you do not want to take the painstaking time to do maintenance on your boat every offseason, cleaning and polishing the hull, or even worse having to get it refinished. After one or two seasons of all that work it will make you think long and hard about investing in a quality boat lift, but what is the best type of boat lift for you or maybe you stumbled onto this post and are thinking “What is a boat lift anyway?”
Universal Boat Lifts
These types of boat lifts are going to be able to hold a wide variety of boats from PWC’s, to pontoon/tritoon/ski boats, to large console boats. They are best for someone or someplace that is going to be hoisting more than one kind of boat out of the water.
Freestanding Boat Lifts
These boat lifts are perfect for folks that do not want to or can not permanently mount a boat to a dock or pilings. They are not as heavy as floating lifts, and thus not as costly, but still offer the versatility of not having to be mounted. The freestanding here means they are mounted/rest on the bottom of the lake or harbor, which clearly is not for all water depths and lake/harbor bottom types but works great for folks in a lot of situations.
Floating Boat lifts
This kind of boat lift is ideal for docks and situations where you can not have a permanently mounted boat lift in one place or you have large seafaring craft as the boat hoists can hold substantially larger (and heavier) craft. Just like the title indicates, this boat lifts simply float in the water and are moored to a dock or piling, great for any water depth and a wide variety of boats, making it very versatile. These of course are not the exact same thing as HydroHoist UltraLift Series boat lifts that also float, although they do offer a floating lift. Floating lifts that are not moored to a dock also allow for easy removal in areas prone to flooding or hurricanes.
Pile Mount Boat Lifts
This style of boat lift may be perfect for you if you have a dock that may be less than desirable to mount a boat lift to or you are looking to hoist your boat substantially out of the water to avoid water low and high extremes. Much like the title indicates these lifts are mounted directly to piles that are either part of a dock or specifically installed for the lift itself.
Pontoon Boat Lifts
Pontoon boats are a great and fun way to enjoy the water in lots of ways, but chances are you don’t use it year round and marine buildup, among other things, can really shorten the lift of your pontoons. That is why you are going to want to invest in a pontoon boat lift that can be mounted to a standard dock or one that is front mounted, great for odd shaped docks. This will get your pontoon boat out of the water when not inuse, saving you time, and money, on the enjoyment of your boat.
Ski Boat, Tow Boat, & Wake Boat Lifts
Whether its a ski boat, a wake boat or a tow boat you are going to want to keep the hull in tip top shape to help skim across the lake and slingshot that gaggle of kids in the tow tube as hard as possbile. With a bunch of marine buildup and corrosion on your boat hull you are going to have a tough time doing that, that’s why getting a boat lift is a great idea. For these types of boats a standard E Series boat lift from HydroHoist is a great bet that should work for most folks parking their ski boat at the lake.
PWC / Jet Ski Lifts
Personal watercraft (PWC’s) AKA Jet Skis/Sea Doos are a great time, but you know what’s not great? Having you lug the PWC in and out of the water every time you want to have some fun, especially if you do not have to. That’s why picking up a PWC lift is a great idea, the one I just mentioned is a great choice, or if you want something a little better the Extreme PWC Lift is an even better option. These PWC platforms are specially made for getting personal water crafts out of the water effortlessly, functioning more like ramps that you can basically drive up and off of, beats having to tow it out every time you use it.
Center Console and other Seafaring Boat Lifts
Just because you have a larger center console boat or something parked at the harbor doesn’t mean you can’t get a boat hoist, if anything, it behooves you to purchase a boat lift to help stave off things like; salt water corrosion, scum, and barnacles just to name a few. It is also important to note that not all boat lifts are created equal, a stainless, cable, galvanized steel lift is going to corrode over time in the salt water, That is why investing in something like a floating boat lift from HydroHoist is a great investment because their parts are made of marine grade aluminum material. A floating lift is ideal for larger seafaring crafts like center console boats, that don’t need to be permanently moored to the dock and is made from aluminum and polyethylene, great for resisting that salt water corrosion.
Fishing Boat Lifts
Taking care of your fishing rig is super important, you can’t chase those bass without a well taken care of boat. When looking for a boat lift for your fishing boat there may be a few obstacles, the shallow draft of the boat and the potential shallow waters it may be docked in. If this is the case, the shallow water boat lift from HydroHoist is the perfect solution for you, it’s specifically designed to be used in shallow waters and accommodates a wide range of boats, the ideal solution to keep your fishing boat out of the water and looking good.
I hope you enjoyed our post on the different types of boat lifts, we hope it helps you better navigate the world of boat lifts, and aides you in getting a better idea on how to properly maintain your pride and joy.
