Airdock opinions

[Captainkurk72]

I currently have a 10x24 covered slip on a community dock with a 6500lb front pivot lift. I have a slip neighbor that is interested in my lift. There are several things I don't like about my lift so would jump at a chance to upgrade.
I have recently seen some comments about the Airdock lifts and wanted to get more info without high jacking someone's thread. I would be looking at the 7000lb three piece.

1. How far up out of the water does it lift the boat?
2. How does it handle heavy breakers/waves? My slip faces the open lake and gets hammered all day long. Holiday weekends are the worst.
3. About how quick does it lift the boat?
4. When sitting in slip deflated how well does it keep boat from hitting dock? Would I still need bumpers?
5. Freezing water temps? I would want to keep in water all year and at times the water does get some surface freezing.

Many thanks



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[IDBoating]

1. How far up out of the water does it lift the boat?

We generally lift ours such that the keel is a few inches above the water. The running gear (rudder, prop) are still in the water, but that's not a big deal.

2. How does it handle heavy breakers/waves? My slip faces the open lake and gets hammered all day long. Holiday weekends are the worst.

We have surfers going by every day during the summer, with waves that crest over the top of our dock. Not an issue for the AirDocks, they just float along on top of the water like you'd expect.

3. About how quick does it lift the boat?

Ours is lifting about 6000 pounds and comes up in 3-4 minutes. Yours is heavier so figure 4-5 minutes.

4. When sitting in slip deflated how well does it keep boat from hitting dock? Would I still need bumpers?

There are internal airbags within the main chambers that stay inflated to center the boat when you're raising it. Those internal airbags tend to hold the boat "centered" within the bag/frame system. We added a single large bumper to the dock near the aft end of the rear bag, but that was to protect the BAG... the boat never gets anywhere near the dock.

5. Freezing water temps? I would want to keep in water all year and at times the water does get some surface freezing.

A bit of surface ice (stuff you could break up with your hand) should be fine. Hard freezing wouldn't be good as it would probably stress the bag fabric when inflated. Our lake freezes solid almost every year (well over a foot thick) so we remove the bags, deflate them, fold them up, and toss them in the boathouse during the winter. You shouldn't have to worry about that.

[bsreid]

Personally I have no experience with one. But the Malibu guys were just talking about it
http://www.themalibucrew.com/index.p...le-boat-lifts/