Hydrolic boat lift from Dock Doctors
 

I am planning to buy a hydraulic boat lift for my tritoon from a compony called Doc Doctors in Vermont. The price seems much lower compared to that for SunStream. Anyone has experience with Doc Doctors? Also my house is on broads. It gest very choppy sometimes. Is a hydraulic boat lift a good solution to keep the boat in all weather conditions?

Add-ons??
 

I've been looking at Dock Doctors for a new dock and lift next year. Spoke with someone from the company and had a great, informative conversation. It was a treat to talk to someone who was willing to listen to all my questions patiently.

Regarding lower price, just wanted to mention to make sure you look at all of the add-ons such as tri-toon bunks, guiderails, etc. Based on my quote, that adds on about 2k to the base lift price.

Thanks for the response. I have a catalog from them. My boat is around 4K pound. The price without triton kits and solar charging is around $10K in the catalog. I asked the prices around Gilford and the prices are more than $ 20K for similar items.

Dock Doctors is a very well respected company, and they do a lot of industrial work. I would not hesitate to work with them...

With that said, something to be have in your thoughts is that a pontoon boat can be a bit like a sail.... putting it up in the air, could be concerning if you experience a lot of wind...

With that said, have you thought about whips.... I have found they work very well for my pontoon boat....

Make sure that you upsize the lift accordingly. Don't base sizing just on dry weight, make sure you add in for full fuel, gear, and some bodies. If the boat is 4k, I would plan on a 6k lift. My Supra is 5800lbs, it was suggested I use an 8k lb lift.

The dry weight of my boat is 2550pound. I have 150hp Mercury. I assumed total 4K pound based on that

We are on the broad and gets windy. I have a grill on my deck. I found it on the other side of the deck one day due to wind. The wind and waves are my concerns but not sure it can move the boat from the lift.

My dock is seasonal light aluminum dock. I dot think it is strong enough to hold the boat with whips.

I would get a lift larger than your anticipated weight for several reasons.

As some have said don't forget fuel, gear, Etc. If you are on the Broads you may find it easier to load people onto a stable boat on a lift rather than a bouncing boat in the water. You also may decide someday that you want a larger boat and if you go big now you won't need a new lift.

I have a 12,000 pound lift and a boat with a dry weight of 8,400 pounds. I usually lower the lift to the dock level and have guests board while the lift is still supporting the boat. It is much easier for people who are not used to boarding a boat to get in while the boat is not moving. When everyone is onboard and the motors are running it I lower the boat the last foot or so with the lift remote and back out.

With regards to lifts, in the winter I know of people who leave in all year and some ,remove them. In speaking to different contractors it is becoming more and more expensive to remove and reset in spring, something to consider with a lift, I too have a 24 triton and last estimate I got for one was $18,000 was from watermark and a similar one from center harbor.

I talked to a sales person from Doc Doctors today. Hydrolic lift has a lower profile compared to vertical lift. He told me that people get hydrolic lifts so that they can leave it in the lake in the winter, if the water is deep enough. He said it is risky but many people do it.

I also received a quote around 18k from watermark. If i get similar quote from Doc Doctors, i would rather go with watermark. Since they are are local and also very helpful.

I think mooring is the most economical solution. I can install it every season without paying anyone. I think it is also safe for the boat. However it is not as easy to go boating.

It is risky to leave the lift in the water in the winter, and there are several avenues to mitigate the risk.... I know a person that does it... Their lift stays in place, they have a protected crib dock with a break water.... with the bubbler in place it seems to do ok, as an added bonus one year he put the swim raft on the lift and secured...

I have also heard of people using air bags to move the lift out into deeper water.....(This to me seems the safest way to go)

If I was going to leave a lift in the water, I think I would talk to my insurance company to make sure if something happened it was a covered loss...

Understand many have no other choice but to leave it in the water, but when I speak with local suppliers the first things they say to me are a permit is required and it is illegal to leave lifts in the water over the winter. Do people not care or are they just wrong?


Sent from my iPhone using Winnipesaukee Forum mobile app

Something to do between thanksgiving and December, before the snow hits.

Attach a powr-pull to a sturdy tree, and pull the boat lift up & out, over a make-shift ramp built with a few, ten foot 2x6's and 2x4's, to git it across the rocks. One determined person can remove a 500-lb lift with a $50 Maasdam Pow'r Pull........ arrgghhh! ... :laugh: ..... no problem ..... so EASY to do it! ... :D

Better to have two pow'r-pulls attached to two trees and then you can inch it up the ramp with better control to keep it from falling off the narrow 6" planks.

Plan B. ......... Down in the basement at Step-Ladder's Thift store in Plymouth, is maybe possible to find a big white mooring ball and chain for $20 that may still have a yearly state permit on it.

How's about that big weekend wave action with big wakes rolling in all day, Saturday? Do the continuous waves have any bad effects on your moored boat?

Maybe you just want to totally forget-a-bout motor-boating, and get a stand-up paddle board with a long paddle, and a good pair of Speedo water shoes and become very balanced and energized for 'walking' across these Winnipesaukee waters? ... ;)

Big weekend, big wakes or tropical storms were not a problem for my mooring so far :)

So correct technically it is illegal to leave the lift in the water through the winter... better to ask forgiveness then permission.....

Honestly the problem is most people get the lifts, and don't understand the yearly costs or effort to get the darn thing in and out of the water..... The cheap solution is to leave it in, or use air bags to float it out deeper..... where the ice will not get at it....

Now what you have to realize, is that in NH your supposed to remove the lift, other states have different laws, so some places it is legal to do....