Advice on boat lift for Pontoon

Mattlock007

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Dec 31, 2020
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I'm buying my first pontoon boat soon (tritoon) either a Sylvan L5 or L3 DLZ. I have a boat lift rated for 6k pounds so no issue there. I just need to rig it for the pontoon boat.

A website indicates that toons 25 ft or greater need a 15ft cradle

Question: Can sufficient cradles be built? anyone ever done that? Just trying to figure out if it is feasible to consider building vs buying.

My support beams on the lift are 10ft apart (fixed). given the layout and the walkway on the right side..... I think backing the boat into the lift will make the most sense with most of the weight (rear) closest to the rear support.

As you can see there is significant overhang but I think with 15ft cradles it would be fine.

Any thoughts or opinions?
 

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Scott Danforth

Grumpy Vintage Moderator still playing with boats
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first, welcome aboard

second, you wont be backing into a lift. motor hits it

third, you may need a different lift if you cant pull yours apart to get the 15' spread.
 

Mattlock007

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Dec 31, 2020
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first, welcome aboard

second, you wont be backing into a lift. motor hits it

third, you may need a different lift if you cant pull yours apart to get the 15' spread.
Thanks. Looking at the “dock 1” pic I think I’ll adding two more support poles to left side about 5 ft which will allow for the 15ft cradle to span exactly 15ft which should allow me to pull in with sufficient weight distribution. I’ll get a lift pro to take a look
 

Mattlock007

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Dec 31, 2020
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Oh and I’ve decided I def need to go with 23ft L3 vs 25 ft ....take 2 feet off the wood pole in pic.
 

ahicks

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2 things. First, the back half of the boat will be roughly 2/3's of it's total weight. The back is half WAY heavier than the front half. Important to consider when considering how you're going to support it without damaging it.

2nd, the boat is going to attract people with it's comfortable couch like seating, even when it's at the dock, on the lift. This coming from somebody that's had a 'toon in his front yard for the last 40 years or so. My point is you might want to keep that in mind when considering your lift setup. It's not unusual for our boat to be completely loaded prior to being lowered into the water.....
 

Mattlock007

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Dec 31, 2020
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2 things. First, the back half of the boat will be roughly 2/3's of it's total weight. The back is half WAY heavier than the front half. Important to consider when considering how you're going to support it without damaging it.

2nd, the boat is going to attract people with it's comfortable couch like seating, even when it's at the dock, on the lift. This coming from somebody that's had a 'toon in his front yard for the last 40 years or so. My point is you might want to keep that in mind when considering your lift setup. It's not unusual for our boat to be completely loaded prior to being lowered into the water.....
Excellent thoughts. Thanks. My lift is rated 6k so I’ll be sure and factor in your points when designing
 
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