Boat lift help.

[boardman74]

Do the air dock lifts have to be in a sheltered location? Meaning how does it ride in the waves? How is it anchored?

[IDBoating]

Do the air dock lifts have to be in a sheltered location? Meaning how does it ride in the waves? How is it anchored?

No sheltering. Ours are just tied up to the side of our dock. They are made of a Hypalon-type material, VERY tough, like whitewater rafts. I stand on ours once in a while. They are UV and chemically resistant.

One thing I really like about the concept is how little stress it puts on the hull. Trailers and other lifts use bunks that concentrate the weight of the boat onto a very small surface area. The AirDock bags touch almost the entire hull so the weight is distributed over a huge surface area. I believe the pressure in the bags when the boat is lifted is around 1 PSI; the bags are still squishy enough that you can indent them with your foot or hand yet the hull is completely out of the water. I like treating my hull nicely.

Also, if you don't quite get the hull perfectly positioned on the AirDock, it doesn't matter - the bags still inflate and gently cradle the hull. If you get chines up on hard bunks the stress goes up really fast.

As for waves, that's one of the best parts. The boat is essentially floating on a big pillow. It rides out the waves with no stress transmitted to the hull. If the lake level goes up or down, it just floats up and down with it - no adjustments and no possibility of "stranding". And the airbags act like a full-length bumper, keeping the hull from ever touching the dock.

The bags are "anchored" by simply tying them off to the dock. If you have a slip-like dock with ramps down both sides, the corners just tie off and you're done. If you want to have it to the side of a traditional dock (like mine), you use PVC pipe to build a lightweight frame that floats on the surface so the outside corners have something to tie to that keeps the bags pulled flat.

When we first got our lake place, I was thinking of taking an old trailer and putting some chambers on it to fill and empty like a submarine's ballast chambers, hence building my own pneumatic dock. Then I ran across AirDock and never looked back. It's SUCH a better way to do it that there's no comparison. And it costs less too. Like I said, I'd never again even consider any other kind of lift.

Disclaimer: I have no relationship with the company except as a wildly delighted customer.

[Joeprunc]

There is one boat that I see in our area that is on a airdock bag. It seems like every time I drive or paddle by the boat is not level. Either the nose is way down as appose to the stern, or vise versa. Or its not centered on the back and leaning over to a side. Its a larger boat, maybe 24' Searay cabin cruiser. Is it hard to center the boat on one of these, or is this owner just a donkey (or maybe his boat is too large for the bag).

Also with the tracking fins on DD and Vdrive boats, is there a pocket cut out in the back to relieve stress on the running gear? How do you get in an out of the boat? Do you have to lower it? To wipe the boat down after the day do you have to do all the wiping from inside the boat?

I always thought those bags were a cool idea, and a lot more economical, but after seeing the one in our area that seems to never hold the boat correctly made me a little suspect. The two major things I love about my hoist, is I can walk just about all the way around my boat (I can wash and wax it while its on the water), and I also like loading and unloading gear and guests when its on the hoist. The things I dislike about my hoist are, there are 4 air chambers to control when raising and lowering the boat, which requires a little bit of additional attention when lowering/raising. The front mount and U dock lifts have only one chamber, which makes raising and lowering very easy. My hoist being for a 6K boat, it takes my little 3k boat a while to drop into the water. The two side floats are close together, and if its windy it can prove to be a little difficult to not hit the sides when coming back.

My hoist, a hydohoist side tie. (hydrohoist)


My neighbors front mount hoist (polylift)


My neighbors front mount hoist.

[ericinmich]

Do the air dock lifts have to be in a sheltered location? Meaning how does it ride in the waves? How is it anchored?

On our lake they (air/float hoists) wouldn't work. It's about 10 miles by 5 miles and will get some good size rollers during a strong blow. I would estimate 3 foot waves as they crash over the dock. The only types of hoists used are the free standing ones that get the boat a couple feet out of the water and even then waves can touch the bottom of the boat.

[IDBoating]

It seems like every time I drive or paddle by the boat is not level. Either the nose is way down as appose to the stern, or vise versa.

He probably just doesn't have it installed properly. I had a leak in a hose once that caused the boat to tilt over the course of a day or two. Entirely my fault, I just didn't attach the hose properly. Once I did that, problem solved.

Also with the tracking fins on DD and Vdrive boats, is there a pocket cut out in the back to relieve stress on the running gear?

It's actually three airbags. There's a trapezoid-shaped bag for the bow area, and two bags toward the stern that are joined along the keel with a sturdy fiberglass rod that threads through interleaving flaps on both bags. This creates a natural "groove" down the center in which the keel fins rest. A heavy rubber pad sits on top of the bags to protect them from sharp tracking fins when you're using an inboard (I added this pad when we sold our jetboat and got the 24Ve).

The rudder, propeller, propeller shaft, and strut don't actually rest on the bags. In addition to being over that natural groove between the two aft bags, when the boat is on the bags the running gear is actually behind the bags and dangles in air like it would on a trailer. In practice the lower half of my rudder and prop are generally in the water, but those are the only things that are wet. Everything else is above the surface. The rear inside corners of the rear bags are also cut at an angle to open up more space for the running gear.

I really wish I had a photo of my 24Ve on its airbags. It would all make perfect sense if you could see it. "A picture is worth a thousand words." Trust me, it works well. Remember how I like the lack of stress on the hull? I was worried too about stress on the running gear but it's simply not an issue.

I did find this photo on their website. It's not as clear as I'd like but shows what I'm talking about:



You can see the rudder hanging free. The prop is too, hanging in the open space created by the corner cutaways on both aft bags.

The two major things I love about my hoist, is I can walk just about all the way around my boat (I can wash and wax it while its on the water), and I also like loading and unloading gear and guests when its on the hoist.

It's basically the same thing. Both systems raise the boat up off the water. Both have to hold the hull in some manner. The only difference I can see is that on airbags you wouldn't be able to access the bottommost part of the hull. But the sides, and virtually all of the bow all the way down to below the traditional waterline, are all open and accessible and exposed.

You can get into and out of the boat the same as with any other lift, too, as long as the extra height doesn't prevent it. But a "lift" is always going to raise the boat, so that's a constant. BTW, in case it's not obvious, you can drive the boat right onto the airbags and not inflate them, which means during the day the boat is exactly the same location and height as if the airbags weren't there. We deflate ours in the morning, leave it down all day while the boat comes and goes, and raise it when it gets dark. And notice that during the day, there is no framework, no cables, literally nothing above the water's surface anywhere around the entire boat. Compared to many mechanical lifts, access is actually easier this way because everything is at or below the water's surface.

The things I dislike about my hoist are, there are 4 air chambers to control when raising and lowering the boat, which requires a little bit of additional attention when lowering/raising.

There are three chambers here, so yes it requires a bit of attention but it ALSO gives you the ability to perfectly control the attitude of the hull. The fore/aft angle can be controlled with the air in the front bag. The port/starboard angle can be controlled by the air in the two rear bags. No cables to adjust, no tools, no anything. Want it different? Open/close a valve until it's where you want it. Done.

I had all the concerns and reservations you have. I called the manufacturer a bunch of times before I gave them my money, pestered them with questions, nagged and bothered them, and they always had an answer. And in eight years I've never regretted my choice. In fact, when we got jetskis, I immediately called them and ordered two of their jetski versions because it just works so well.

Do your own research and draw your own conclusions. Call them up and ask questions. I did, they got my money, and I'd do it again. In fact, I DID do it again, twice, for the jetskis!

[JohnnieMo]

I'm sold. If I ever need a lift, the airbag is the approach I would use.

My little boat lives in a marina in Shuswap Lake, and if I "cared" enough about it I would put in one of these. They are nice because you can install them in a boat slip you don't own (i.e. a marina) and is easily moveable. My Tige lives in the backyard, so it stays fresh there.

Maybe when Hyperactive builds a Marina in Chestermere Lake (wink wink), I'll rent a slip there and stick in an airbag lift.