Re: Best boat docking system?
Impossible to answer specifically but you have the kind of boat that will do well in any system. Paint the bottom and let it float like it was intended to do; it will be happy! Much cheaper, easier and trouble free than a lift.
If this is a boat at or near your home that you will pull out before a major storm, you have more options than if it's at a remote location you can't get to. If the latter, you have to moor and design for storm tides--and that can affect the height of a roof as well as lift. A lift under a roof is even worse. I have a roof over my sitting area but not over the boat.
If this is at a house, consider how your structures will affect the view--you pay dearly for a view; why block it? I don't understand why waterfront owners routinely crank their boats way up the air and block their and everyone else's view, as if the boat is on display. Boats float, not levitate. Even lift equipment uglies up a well-designed pier and attendant view.
I've used and rigged many mooring systems on tidal water. One factor to account for is wave action (including from boat traffic, a major consideration at my sister's house but none at mine.) Smart design and use of pilings with pulleys, spring lines and weights can give you a good system. What you do not want is a system where the boat is touching anything--fenders are for temporary docking on a boat like yours.
Pier construction is a specialty and many pier builders don;t know the old ways. For example, if you have storm tides, you want your planks widely spaced to alleviate water pressure and prevent damage. Some piers are better low and under the storm waves than in them; some it's better to be higher. You may pay extra to have long pilings, double the bents (pier term) and shorten the length of each run. Look at your potential builder's work somewhere else and see if he left gaps or that he cupped the planks correctly--if not, get someone else.
Consider altering your width and height to accomodate the wetlands areas you cross (here, you have to be as high as you are wide). Consider the option of a shorter pier + dredging v. a longer pier; the shorter it is, the more convenient.
