I recently purchased a used boat that I've been chasing leaks since day one. This last leak requires the motor to be removed to find/fix the cause (according to the marina).
So, for peace of mind I purchased a used boat lift. It's a Hewitt Cantilever.
With no load (boat) on the lift, it comes up almost perfectly level. However, when the boat is on the lift, the lift comes up level for a bit, then it seems like the side away from the winch gets "stuck", and cranking the winch seems to only lift the nearby side.
For a while, we thought the lift was not level, or a pad was sinking, etc. We repositioned the lift, placed concrete blocks under the two rear pads (essentially making a larger pad underneath). Same thing.
Then, I inspected the pulley mechanism and noticed the cable dragging across one of the main frame beams. Investigated further and found the bolts holding the two lifting frame/carriage pulleys were bent and actually sheared inside the pulley holder. So, I replaced both pulleys with new pulleys and used a larger bolt in each that fits more snugly inside the pulley frame (but pulley can still pivot).
After all that, I tried the boat again, and same thing. I'm very hesitant to lift the boat all the way for fear of damaging something, the cable snapping, or something.
I cannot find any places where the lifting frame/carriage would be binding on the vertical supports or any of the angle braces or anything. There seems to be nothing visible locking up the far side.
According to the guy I bought the lift from, the cable was replaced last year, and it seems in great shape.
Please help - I have no idea where to go from here.
So, for peace of mind I purchased a used boat lift. It's a Hewitt Cantilever.
With no load (boat) on the lift, it comes up almost perfectly level. However, when the boat is on the lift, the lift comes up level for a bit, then it seems like the side away from the winch gets "stuck", and cranking the winch seems to only lift the nearby side.
For a while, we thought the lift was not level, or a pad was sinking, etc. We repositioned the lift, placed concrete blocks under the two rear pads (essentially making a larger pad underneath). Same thing.
Then, I inspected the pulley mechanism and noticed the cable dragging across one of the main frame beams. Investigated further and found the bolts holding the two lifting frame/carriage pulleys were bent and actually sheared inside the pulley holder. So, I replaced both pulleys with new pulleys and used a larger bolt in each that fits more snugly inside the pulley frame (but pulley can still pivot).
After all that, I tried the boat again, and same thing. I'm very hesitant to lift the boat all the way for fear of damaging something, the cable snapping, or something.
I cannot find any places where the lifting frame/carriage would be binding on the vertical supports or any of the angle braces or anything. There seems to be nothing visible locking up the far side.
According to the guy I bought the lift from, the cable was replaced last year, and it seems in great shape.
Please help - I have no idea where to go from here.
