Does everyone have their boat on a lift?

[MarkL]

I'm up in New England so our boating season is relatively short. We've always kept our boats past (Larson, Stingray, Sanger) in the water on whips for the summer. The Larson and Stingray never had a problem with gel coat blistering. The last boat, an '05 Sanger v215, unfortunately did have the problem despite waxing efforts. The problem slowly progressed but was never dire. This year I got an '11 RZ2 that has spent its previous years on a lift.

Does anyone have gel coat blisters on their late model Tige? I've searched on here about blisters and don't seem to find many complaints after 2007. Maybe Tige improved the gel coat... hence the longer warranty? So either there isn't much of an issue now a days or most of you have these expensive boats on lifts. I'm guessing the latter.

I did spend $8k on a new hydraulic lift for it, but we are located at the windy end of the lake and docking the boat is such a stressful nightmare i find myself choosing not to use the boat on windy days. No one else in my family will even bother and doing it solo is out. The idea of trailing the boat every couple of weeks is also less appealing.

What would you do? I'm thinking of accepting the idea that the blisters can/or will happen and ditching the lift.

Your thoughts are appreciated

[Booms]

We have a lift for our boat. The wind is predominantly out of the north so it is always blowing at us. After trying a couple times with the wind blowing I was frustrated. So I bought the guides. What a difference the guides make. I am not stressed about the boat hitting the aluminium posts. I can come in hot let the guides center me throw into reverse and grab a post. It takes practice. There are still times when I get a sarcastic round of applause after it takes me 5 plus times to get it on the lift.
Buy the guides if you have not and be patient. Practice when it is not windy and when it is. Plus if you sell the boat the phrase stored on a lift will help you get more for it.

Good luck.

[Wakeman22]

I keep mine on a lift. It's windy here in Oklahoma a lot. My technique is to pull up to the dock and get out of the boat and maneuver it in by hand. There are times that I can pull right in without getting out. However I still need to be careful not to scrape the sides and graphics. I am not sure I would want to leave mine in the water for any length of time. I have considered the guides that Booms is talking about. I find that side on wind being the hardest to navigate in.

[MarkL]

We get the wind hitting the full length of our starboard side 9/10 times. Before the lift, we used to just pull up parallel to the dock and let the wind push us against the dock bumpers and then hook up the whips. Now you have to judge the drift to get the bow in w/o hitting the right rear lift leg w/ a tracking fin. Guides might help like you say, but i'm also shrinking the target. If off a bit, muscling it around by hand with the wind blowing is pretty tough.

Thanks for the tips. I guess i'm hoping for someone to say they leave it in for the season and have never had a problem. Not to say I won't be the unfortunate one...

[IDBoating]

Another reason why I like AirDocks. The deflated airbags essentially disappear in the water beneath you, so it's just like pulling up to the dock. Then kick on the blower and the boat just rises out of the water, supported gently all over its hull surface at less than 1PSI by the inflated airbags. Yes, sideways wind is still a pain, but it's exactly like pulling up to the side of a dock because that's exactly what you're doing, and you'd have to do that anyway. Don't accommodate your lift, choose a lift that accommodates you.

[Captainkurk72]

I would not store in water for extended periods. Most boat manufactures recommend not doing this. Seems silly but they are gelcoat versus painted. I have always used a lift and and have wind issues too. With my new to me 22v I have to walk it in by hand cause my tower is taller than the roof entry. It's going to get cut in a few days. Check out www.ryano.com dock rollers. Seen these at a boat show and plan getting some. They are about $300 ea but cheaper than gelcoat repair.


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[Captainkurk72]

I would not store in water for extended periods. Most boat manufactures recommend not doing this. Seems silly but they are gelcoat versus painted. I have always used a lift and and have wind issues too. With my new to me 22v I have to walk it in by hand cause my tower is taller than the roof entry. It's going to get cut in a few days. Check out www.ryano.com dock rollers. Seen these at a boat show and plan getting some. They are about $300 ea but cheaper than gelcoat repair.


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[MarkL]

Thanks for all the responses. I hear what you're all saying.

I was thinking back that I got a $4k quote to repair the blistering and re-gel coat the old Sanger which I never followed up on because the mooring situation wasn't changing. So assuming a similar rate for the Tige, I suppose I could re-gel coat twice for the same as I paid for the lift. Not the best trade-off I agree and the factory hardened gel-coat is likely the best one you can get.

Still waivering on the lift

[Kraut]

I agree with the others that the guides make it a lot easier. The back of our lift faces west and 1/2 the time the wind pushes us toward the starboard side.

We also have bow stops. If I'm coming in too hot I will use reverse to slow down but the bow stops make sure I don't go too far and I don't have to rush to grab a pole.

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[Booms]

Kraut - Nice Hewitt Lift. What lake are you on?