Permanent Boatlifts on pilings, Northern climate???

K

Karl

New member
Does anyone have experience with permanently-installed boatlifts, mounted to pilings, in Northern waters like Lake Erie or Ontario, or, even Champlain?

There are Spring ice floes (flows?), but the lift sellers imply that 12" diameter driven (or, drilled-in) pilings will survive, with no need to remove the boatlift, just raise it way above ice levels. Not necessarily leaving the boat on the lift for the Winter, though, although that is an interesting side-question.

Any actual experience out there?

I'm looking at a Lake Ontario property to purchase, and there is no beach, just cliffs and gradually-deepening water...no possibility of a ramp, or rail system, and I don't want a boat to be in the water all season, eliminating a mooring.

So, I'm thinking an electric lift on pilings, and 40' of floating EZ-Dock to get to the lift. The EZ-Dock sections would be pulled for Winter storage.
 
Not as far north--and not the same ice problem, but a friend in Tenn had some problems with his dock and lifts--I suggested a solution, which I have seen in some other areas. That was to use an outer shell of PVC pipe (8" diameter in tis case)--fill it with rebar, and put an inner 2" PVC pipe in the center, at the tip make a shield of metal, just slightly bigger than the outer pipe, and tightly afixed. Put a little concrete in the very bottom and let it set up before you start jetting in the piling. After you have jetted it in then fill the PVC pipe with concrete. Near the top, drill holes for bolts to hold lift or dock etc. He did this several years ago--using a concrete pumper to move the concrete over the top of his house--over 300 feet--and he has been very satisfied with the results.

I have seen wooden pilings in some lifts in New York etc--but people who live in these climates will have better ideas. Concrete or steel seems to be popular in Alaska. Wood has been used extensively in the past, but the piers seem to decay much faster than in temporate climates.

Just from the lift standpoint, I don't see any problem with taking the cradle well above the ice line (enough so that waves will not slop water to freeze on it. With good fiberglass housings the motors should be OK during the winter. There are many different grades of lifts--the cheapest use belt driven motors (which I have)--some use chains, and the best use spiral gear drives directly to the hoisting tubes, with no belts or chains. Belts seem to last at least 8 years (the age of mine)--and probably longer--but to be safe 8 years is probably a good replacement age.
 
Karl said:
Does anyone have experience with permanently-installed boatlifts, mounted to pilings, in Northern waters like Lake Erie or Ontario, or, even Champlain?

There are Spring ice floes (flows?), but the lift sellers imply that 12" diameter driven (or, drilled-in) pilings will survive, with no need to remove the boatlift, just raise it way above ice levels. Not necessarily leaving the boat on the lift for the Winter, though, although that is an interesting side-question.

Any actual experience out there?

I'm looking at a Lake Ontario property to purchase, and there is no beach, just cliffs and gradually-deepening water...no possibility of a ramp, or rail system, and I don't want a boat to be in the water all season, eliminating a mooring.

So, I'm thinking an electric lift on pilings, and 40' of floating EZ-Dock to get to the lift. The EZ-Dock sections would be pulled for Winter storage.[/quote

Would an inflatable boat dock work?
http://www.airdock.com/
Click to expand...
 
Brent, I looked into air docks and air decks etc recently. We purchased the land next door, which does not have a dock or seawall, so I was considering putting in a air dock, air deck etc for one of the boats. The considerations, are that you need to have pilings or some support structure such as a vertical sea wall, down below the water line, that the airdeck / air dock can attatch to. You have to have a dock or structure to get on and off the boat.
This goes back to some form of pilings.

As far as the air dock/ air lift etc--they are certainly a good way and less expensive than a lift in many cases. One of the problems which I see is the marine growth on the bottom of the air bags (not sure how much of a problem this would be, if any in the great lakes. Also any sharp object can damage a bladder. The PVC fabrics are far more susceptable to Ultra Violet than Hypralon--as they are in inflatables. However, for only a few months a year, the "air dock" should work fine keeping the boat out of the water.
 
We own a cottage on Lake Michigan's ( bay of green bay). We have had ice dams in front of the cottage that were at least 30 feet high and probably 500 ft wide. This doesn't happen every year but when it does,no boat lift would make it. We also own property / boat slip on the Sturgeon Bay canal - there they will bubble the water to keep the ice away. The power of ice is unmatched.
 
Thanks Bob
I have seen a couple of installations in SW FL and this one did not traditional piling but a "stick" in a block of concrete block was what I was told by another person. It was designed to be moved and repositioned. I wish I took a picture but I was busy trying to beat the clock to pickup fuel filter and it was cold, windy and raining that day and was not that interested in it. We went to FL to get warm!

It had a walk board from shore and the boat dock was wide and everyone walked on it to access their boat. I thought it was elegant
It look liked a giant inflatable bed and well done installation but again m2cw

Good points as always about the materials, maintenance aspects and proper fastening
 
I vacation up in the 1000 Islands area a couple of miles from Lake Ontario. The homeowners in the small coves sometimes leave their docks in for the winter, but the ones on the river pull them for the winter. Seems a lot of them use stone/wood cribs for the foundation of their docks, the cribs stayed submerged below the water level during the winter.

Some info on different dock configurations can be found at:
www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/regions/central/pub/d ... 05-eng.htm


Dock building"
www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/regions/central/pub/d ... 04-eng.htm

A cantilever or drawbridge type might be a possiblility with the cliff your talking about.

As far as a boat lift, depending on how shallow the water is, and the size/weight of your boat, I have seen a lot of pipe rack lifts that rest on the bottom and can be removed for the winter.
Take a look at:

http://www.hewitt-roll-a-dock.com/index.html
 
Our friend's dock on Cape Cod is on a fresh water pond that is subject to tides. At least a couple of times in the last 10 years, the ice has pulled their pilings out of the bottom. The pond freezes, the tide lifts, repeat on the next cycle and so on until the pilings are laying on the ice or on the beach. Not sure if this applies in your situation but a consideration if there is tide.

Bill Uffelman
Las Vegas NV
 
I would guess that the reason your proposed property does not have a beach is because the action of waves, wind and ice have eaten it away over the years and have left cliffs in their place. The geography of the shoreline should pretty much tell you the nature of the shoreline. If the neighbors haven't done it and the property owner hasn't done it there is probably a good reason. I'd ask the locals before attempting anything.
 
I'm getting some excellent advice and perspectives from you folks here.

The lack of beach means there is no place to drag/store anything that has to come out of the water for Winter. Sections of floating EZ Dock only weigh 100# which can be carried or wheeled up the stairs, but anything heavier would be a challange.

None of the immediate neighbors have done anything beyond seasonal pipe docks or floating docks, apparently leaving the boats in the water all Summer. Everyone seems to have a sailboat, which are typically moored rather than dry-docked during the Summer, anyhow, because of their draft.

The AirDocks look to have potential. Unlike the rigid drive-on ones by Jet Dock, etc., they weigh nothing...could be carried up to the house in October.
 
We looked into a Jet dock for our 18 foot cat, and it was going to be close to $10,000, plus shipping. A 22 foot boat requres 121 cubes, and each cube weight is 14 lbs--so although the weight of each cube is not that much, you probably would want to take segments apart (not sure how difficult that is) to bring it up the cliff.

Also at least with my cat, the boat would have to be winched off the deck. I would be a bit concerned about the scratching of the hull. Sure the plastic is softer than fiberglass, but there will be some wear on the gel coat.

Our solution was to epoxy and then bottom paint the boat--leaving it in the water.
 
Off topic, but I gotta say it: I'm a newbie, but I was drawn to this forum initially by Google searches that resulted in Thataway comments...your stuff is always "on the money"...keep up the good work.

I may never become a C-Brat officially, but I have become one vicariously via Thataway.

I wish we were both 50 years younger...
 
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