OK, so a friend just had his boat lift installed . . HELP!

[Expidia]

Any ideas, suggestions or opinions?
Check out the pics.

The boat is a mahogany Hackercraft. The lift goes up and down but that boat is still a good distance from the dock.

Any ideas or pics to solve his issue of how his family is going to board the boat now???
Besides being helicoptered onboard?

Third pic shows what a hacker craft looks like and how narrow the sides are.

Oh ya, and I personally don't recommend this company as it took them 2 years and a lot of grief to get the system finally delivered and installed finally just last friday (but it's not my boat or setup).

Also, watch the vid as to why the lift cant be installed too close to the dock due to the cover mechanism operation:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ESxaJc7rsk

 

[GA_Boater]

Call the installers and offer a boat ride as a tip for job well done............................. after they figure out to board.

Call them anyway and tell them to re-position the lift. They centered the lift instead of putting it closer to one side.

 

[Expidia]

Great reply. thanks for that quick come back. I already passed it on to him. Makes sense that they should have installed it closer to one side.

I'm still open to ideas incase the installers have a different opinion. These mahogany boats scratch just by breathing on them. Its a jet drive that are tough to slow maneuver even with the installed electric bow thrusters, but I know its going to be a bear just driving it onto a centered lift.

 

[roscoe]

Install a small gangway/finger dock from the main dock.
Lower it into place over the lift frame after the boat is lowered. ? ?

 

[Old Ironmaker]

What a beautiful vessel. If someone was paid to build that dock for that boat I don't know if I want them touching it. With just a few long shot pics tough to tell but I would say that dock should be easily made wider without over engineering it, wood or better steel beams cantilevered from the main dock is my first thought. The entire section then cushioned everywhere the boat can touch it. I wouldn't want the job to dock it.

 

[ahicks]

Maybe install a (reinforced) board you can stand on between the front and rear guides on each side?

I agree, something needs to be done. You're not going to get any use out of a setup rigged like that. Just getting the cover on and off will be a major undertaking.

 

[Expidia]

I added to the first post a youtube vid on how the automatic cover has to operate.

Amazing. I've stopped by this site so very few times since they changed it and amazingly it still works as bad as it did before.
I guess the new owners don't want to put any money into it to correct the issues. Click save and it just says working at the top and nothing happens but it sometimes does save the edit.

Tried to delete the first pic of the boat as pics were dock and it wont let me remove them.

I asked this same "ideas to board the boat now" over at thehulltruth.com and their site has always worked perfectly.
Don't know why this forum cant work the same after all this time. Takes 3 times the effort to post this thread here as over there.

Here are brighter pics which I could not edit my first post:

Haha, it won't even let me do it. For better pics of the issue of boarding this style boat now that there is a lift . . . check over at the site I mentioned above as it was a breeze to post them.

Thx

 

[dingbat]

Boat lifts are no elevators.

They are designed to only lift the boat and the manual warns you against it using it otherwise

Lower the boat in water. Pull along side for passengers to load.

Make a gang plank for the operator to board and disembark

 

[Expidia]

The pics I tried to upload to this site that were brighter but they won't upload and I can't remove the first ones in my first post and add the clearer pics as I did on the other forum. . . oh well.

Error: Invalid file data IMG_1683.jpg

 

[GA_Boater]

The auto cover may be the cause of the boat/lift being so far from the dock. It needs room to swing open and closed. A gangplank of some sort may be the answer.

Here is your video. I don't know how you are trying to add pics and vids, but It isn't the forum in all cases.

 

[Expidia]

The auto cover may be the cause of the boat/lift being so far from the dock. It needs room to swing open and closed. A gangplank of some sort may be the answer.

Here is your video. I don't know how you are trying to add pics and vids, but It isn't the forum in all cases.

The video I was able to link to in my first post. The two darker boat pics that I tried to delete won't delete when clicking on remove.
It uploaded them the first time. Now I just get: Error: Invalid file data IMG_1683.jpg

It deletes both pics but they really dont delete. Like I said this site works flaky ever since it change hands. I left for a long time because this sit was wanky for a year. its just too frustrating . . . which is why I also wrote off buying anything from iboats. I find when users speak with their wallets, it wakes up some companies . . . eventually. But hey, just my opinion.

 

[frantically relaxing]

Echo exactly what Dingbat said- make a lightweight padded gangway (or a retractable one) for the captain to board once the boat's lowered in the water, he pulls the boat out and ties up to one of the other sides of the dock. I've never even seen a boat lift in person but I always assumed that's how it's done...?

 

[Expidia]

Echo exactly what Dingbat said- make a lightweight padded gangway (or a retractable one) for the captain to board once the boat's lowered in the water, he pulls the boat out and ties up to one of the other sides of the dock. I've never even seen a boat lift in person but I always assumed that's how it's done...?

Sounds like that would be a sensible enough, but its only inches of water on each side. They probably had to dredge some sand just to get the lift installed where it is. A jet drive boat is awful to maneuver at low speeds even with bow thrusters. Once he backs out of the dock area he needs to keep going out into the bay or he could suck up sand into the jet drive. Same for coming back into the dock.

 

[Expidia]

This one he texted me last night from various ideas looks like it could be his solution as it comes in a sliding model that he can probably push back or grab while are in the boat with a boat hook:https://thedockdoctors.com/boarding-step.html