Tips for Choosing the Right Boat Lift for Your Boat

When it’s time to choose a boat lift for your boat, pontoon, or personal watercraft, there are some pieces of information you will need to have in order to make the right selection. In this post, we will take a look at what these necessary details are.

Figuring out the overall weight. What we mean by overall weight is that it’s not just the weight of the watercraft that you have to consider. You must take into account the weight of the boat as listed on its spec sheet as well as the weight of fuel, water, or equipment you may have on board and any aftermarket additions.  You can approximate the weight of fuel by multiplying the capacity of your fuel tank by six pounds. You can also calculate the weight of any water on board by multiplying the number of gallons by 8.34 pounds.

Measuring your watercraft’s widest portion. Also known as finding the beam, it’s important to know what the widest part of your boat measures before you choose a boat lift. After you have determined this number, you should make sure to allow around a foot of extra space as cushion.

Understand your lake bottom and water depth. After you have determined your watercraft’s overall weight and measuring its widest portion, you should know what the lake bottom is like where you will be installing your boat lift. In particular, you should know how deep the water is where you boat lift’s feet will be installed. You should also know how soft the lake bottom is, because if it’s too soft, you may not be able to use a freestanding boat lift and will need to instead choose one that can be mounted to a fixed object.

After you have gathered this information, you can use the design you own boat lift link on our website. You can also give us a call or contact us online to see what your options are. We look forward to working with you for all of your boat lift needs.