Boat Lift Innovation Project

[jaredg]

Hi,
We are students at Lakeview technology academy, taking an engineering design and development class and were wondering if we could get some feedback on our idea. Our idea is to make a system to lift a boat lift up onto wheels to wheel it out of the water for the winter and back into the water for summer, with easy installation onto an existing boat lift. Would you be interested in such a product? And how much would you be looking to pay for such a product?
Thank you for your time!

William T

Jared G

 

[RotaryRacer]

Re: Boat Lift Innovation Project

It seems that a product like this already exists. In fact most of the major boat lift manufacturers offer a wheel kit for most of their lifts.

The wheel kits available are typicaly just simple wheels on axles that allow the owner to pull the lift out with a which or truck or several friends.

The applications where a product like this works well are pretty limited. For this to work you need a gradual sloping shoreline and a place on the shore that allows you to get the lift all the way out of the water easily.

Keep in mind the lift should only have to to move 2 times a year. Any innovation would have to make the effort to move the lift much easier to convince people it is worth any significant investment.

 

[26aftcab454]

Re: Boat Lift Innovation Project

Jared & Wm I wish you well but do not think that would be a practical, needed, profitable product. There are so many boat trailers, travle lifts and such. My marina has a dozen or so trailers to pull any type of boat out. Boat lifts in my area are rarely pulled out of the water.
Good luck on your project.

 

[5150abf]

Re: Boat Lift Innovation Project

Ther is already quite an idustry set up around getting lifts in and out of the water, most use pontoon boats with small cranes on them.

Also most people who have lifts also have sea walls so there is no way to get them onto shore, add to that the wheels would settle into the bottom over the summer and I don't think you are going to get it out without a wrecker pulling on it.

Almost all river/lake bottoms are soft mud and I just don't know that wheels would work.

 

[smclear]

Re: Boat Lift Innovation Project

I'm in the same area where 5150 is and concur with everything he said. I'll add that in a lot of channels, you don't even need to take the lift out as there is little if any water movement. We haven't taken any lift out for as long as we've owned/used them. Still, I have to believe there would be a market for them somewhere.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Boat Lift Innovation Project

I can't understand why anyone would want to take their whole lift system out. As for taknig a boat out on wheels, too late; someone invented the trailer already.
Seriously, the high cost of a device of marginal utility would keep it from being economically viable.

 

[DBreskin]

Re: Boat Lift Innovation Project

I can't understand why anyone would want to take their whole lift system out.

Northern lakes such as Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire get more than 12" of ice in some areas. The ice heaves during the winter, producing ridges of ice sometimes 5 feet in height. Boat lifts are always removed for the winter to avoid having them destroyed by the ice. Many of the lifts are on wheels for easy removal from the lake.

 

[Mr-T]

Re: Boat Lift Innovation Project

Thanks for getting students involved in some sort of boating project. Last year I bought a wheel kit that uses a threaded rod inside of a aluminum tube . You just use a ratchet to either lower the wheels or raise them, wheels and all stay on the lift forever. Some people may wonder why take the lift out? In Minnesota when the lake freezes it turns your lift into twisted metal that is unrepairable if left in the water. Good fishing!

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Boat Lift Innovation Project

yikes! Y'all have sea monsters, too, up there?

Our biggest ice problem is when it melts too fast in a mint julep

 

[scoutabout]

Re: Boat Lift Innovation Project

Great to see your group is interested in designing products for marine applications, however, I concur with everything said. Anyone who must remove a boat lift either has bought the wheel kit or has enough buddies to pick the thing up and schlep it to dry land.

My problem is a variation on the theme, however, and while I don't think there's a huge market for it I'd love something that would help me remove the 30 or so feet of track on my marine railway for the winter.

Our frontage is on a windward shore of a large lake and leaving any track in over the winter that's not at least 3 feet under water or well above the ice's iron grip is inviting expensive aluminum origami come spring.

Problem is, by the time I need to disconnect, lift and store the track, the water is about 5 deg C. Not fun!

So, in this pic I remove the length of track starting at the highest cross member visible, running to about 10 feet past the boat. It's heavy and awkward and I'm still trying to find the best solution. Care to turn your attention to that problem?

Requirements are:

• strong, but quick release method of connecting track sections underwater (as opposed to the finger numbing bolt and nut connection method currently employed)
• one person handling
• capable of moving all the disconnected track up and out of the water, well past the shoreline
• capable of facilitating spring replacement and connection
• inexpensive
• collapsible
• corrosion-resistant

Whether this thing is permanently affixed to the track or some kind of dolly that fits under it is debatable.

 

[NYBo]

Re: Boat Lift Innovation Project

Our biggest ice problem is when it melts too fast in a mint julep

Having nearly broken my hip last night falling on ice, I only have this to say: Shut up!

:redface:

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Boat Lift Innovation Project

nybo, actually I hurt myself right bad, and could have had a serious injury, slipping on front on the gunnel--it was invisible.

We've had an unusually cold, windy and snowy winter, starting early, ourselves. Last day of Rock season, I shovelled the snow in my boat into the fish locker instead of buying ice!

So I just had to throw out that dig. whoever decided February should be a short month was a genius. Come on, spring!

 

[1980Coronado]

Re: Boat Lift Innovation Project

I'm in the same area where 5150 is and concur with everything he said. I'll add that in a lot of channels, you don't even need to take the lift out as there is little if any water movement. We haven't taken any lift out for as long as we've owned/used them. Still, I have to believe there would be a market for them somewhere.

Are those pictures of Conklin Bay Wawasee?

 

[1980Coronado]

Re: Boat Lift Innovation Project

On lake George on the Michigan Indiana boarder we have to take out the dock and lifts every year. If you leave them in they could end up a crumpled pile of steel on your sea wall. You can get away with leaving them in back in the protected channels but not on the open lake. The way we take them out is easy...for $60 a guy with a modified pontoon boat with forks and a winch, picks the lift up and sets it up on the sea wall. We used to do it by floating the lift on those thick foam floats the kids like to play on, to get it up to shore. Then we used homemade wood ramps on the sea wall, come-along winches, chain, and a bunch of muscle. I like the $60 option much better!

 

[smclear]

Re: Boat Lift Innovation Project

Are those pictures of Conklin Bay Wawasee?

Yes, they are.

 

[1980Coronado]

Re: Boat Lift Innovation Project

Thought so....I know right where you're at....lots a good memories and fun down at the Frog! Did a lot of skiing just out front of your place back in the 80's.

 

[1980Coronado]

Re: Boat Lift Innovation Project

Hi,
We are students at Lakeview technology academy, taking an engineering design and development class and were wondering if we could get some feedback on our idea. Our idea is to make a system to lift a boat lift up onto wheels to wheel it out of the water for the winter and back into the water for summer, with easy installation onto an existing boat lift. Would you be interested in such a product? And how much would you be looking to pay for such a product?
Thank you for your time!

William T

Jared G

As others have posted, there are already wheel kits available for most lifts.

http://www.boatliftanddock.com/p-620-shoremaster-roll-in-wheel-kit-with-poly-tires.aspx

The problem with rolling a lift in this area is that many of the lake bottoms are very soft. The pads on the lift spread the load out somewhat so that the boat lift doesn't sink to far in, but they do sink in a bit. Wheels would likely sink in under the weight of the lift making them impracticle IMO. I've always thought that it would be interesting to use compressed air in tanks to float the lift so you could just pull it in. Once you get to shore the wheels might be useful if you have a beach to pull it up on. If you have a sea wall you still need someway to get up over that. Pontoons with forks and winches work really well!

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Boat Lift Innovation Project

Necessity is the mother of invention

this is all very interesting and shows how differently things are done around the country. The lifts that are being discussed are free-standing frames that sit on the bottom. On the mid-Atlantic and South coasts, a lift is permanently mounted on pilings driven into the bottom, usually sharing the pilings for the pier, which is also permanently mounted. The notion of removnig the whole structure is foreign; one would only remove the lift machinery for repair or replacement at great expense.

Carry on; I can't be of any help and would only get in the way!

 

[64osby]

Re: Boat Lift Innovation Project

Interesting that the OP has not been back.

If they want a good project, how about an inexpensive Power tilt & trim unit.

 

[jaredg]

Re: Boat Lift Innovation Project

Thank you for the responses and suggestions. We believe that taking out the boat lifts are needed in order to preserve the quality of the lift itself. According to our surveys in the general area (Wisconsin), most people do not own wheel kits and don't have the availability of cranes attatched to pontoon boats. Either way, cost efficiency is the main concern aside from ease of removal. We want to remove the lifts because the ice will literally destroy the aluminum that the lift is made of. Please keep the feeds coming, we appreciate everyone's opinion.

Will T.
Jared G.