What’s the Difference Between all the Boat Lift Styles?
Are you in the market for a new boat lift? Are you overwhelmed by all the different choices of boat lifts? No need to worry, because we will simplify things for you, so that you can make an informed decision.
The first thing that you will need to know is the minimum capacity required for your watercraft. Simply put, you need to determine the total wet weight of your watercraft and then choose a boat lift with a capacity greater than the total wet weight. Please see this blog post “How to Choose the Correct Capacity Boat Lift for your Boat” for more information and use our simple capacity calculator to help you determine the minimum capacity required for your watercraft.
The minimum capacity required for your watercraft may limit your choice of boat lift style (i.e. a jet ski will work best with a PWC style lift and a capacity of 75,000 lbs or greater will require a Titan yacht lift). However, most of the time, the boat lift style that will work best is determined by the waterfront conditions at the location where the boat lift will be installed. So, what are the various types of boat lifts? There are vertical, elevator, PWC, boathouse, yacht, decked, beamless, Trident and marine railway boat lifts. Read on to learn more about the various types of boat lifts.
Vertical Boat Lifts
In general, it is best to choose a “Vertical” boat lift style because they are the most efficient, economical, and their design is the most flexible (i.e. they are the easiest to customize). Vertical boat lifts have aluminum top beams supported by pilings. The watercraft rests on bunks supported by aluminum cradles that are raised (and lowered) vertically using cables that wind onto drive pipes inside the top beams. This design allows you to keep all of the boat lift components out of the water, decreasing corrosion and eliminating electrolysis. Even when you know that you want a vertical style boat lift, you still have to select an Alumavator, Platinum or Superlift trim package which are available in lift capacities ranging from 4,500 to 66,000 pounds.
The IMM Quality vertical Alumavator boat lift has a chain drive system and uses carpeted wood bunks. The chain drive system was designed to replace the slow and unreliable flat-plate drive (i.e. rubber belt drive). The Alumavator represents the boat lift industry’s best price to performance and is popular with customers looking for tremendous value.
The IMM Quality vertical Platinum boat lift has a double reduction gear drive system and uses aluminum bunks covered with non-marring vinyl. The Platinum package also uses NASA developed tribopolymer bushings in all pulleys and bearing blocks. These bushings are self-lubricating and require no grease. The Platinum package is best suited to customers that want a simple, maintenance-free boat lift experience in a robust, durable product.
The IMM Quality vertical Superlift boat lift uses a cycloidal drive system. The cycloidal drive system has no gearing with teeth that can shear, and its 99% efficiency makes it the fastest direct drive system on the market. The Superlift was engineered to run all day, every day, in high use marinas. Due to these qualities, we are able to offer a lifetime warranty on the cycloidal drive. If only the absolute best will do, the Superlift is the obvious choice.
Elevator Boat Lifts
It is best to choose an “elevator” style boat lift when either local municipalities will not permit the installation of pilings or when local conditions (like a hard rock sea floor or deep water depth) make the installation of pilings impractical or too expensive. Elevator boat lifts use long I-beam tracks that are attached to the dock (or seawall) at one end, with the other end driven into the sea floor. Elevator boat lifts have an “L” shaped carriage that rides along the I-beam tracks. The watercraft sits on bunks attached to the carriage. Due to the extra metal and additional labor involved with their construction, elevator boat lifts are more expensive than vertical boat lifts of similar capacity and trim package. Also, the I-beam tracks are permanently installed in the water, making them susceptible to corrosion and electrolysis. Elevator boat lifts can be made in the Alumavator, Platinum or Superlift models and come in lift capacities ranging from 4,500 to 50,000 pounds.
PWC Boat Lifts
It should be pretty obvious that PWC boat lifts are designed for personal water craft, but what is the difference between the models? The kayak lift can be manual or powered by electric motor and has features like a ladder and platform that make it easier to launch a kayak from the lift. The PWC1500 is designed for a single jet ski and has the ability to rotate more than 180 degrees, making it convenient to launch a jet ski from a dock or seawall. The PWC3000 is designed to attach to a single piling and has the capacity to handle larger PWC’s and light boats like a Carolina skiff. The PWC4500 is designed to bunk two jet skis side-by-side on a 4,500 pound capacity vertical or elevator boat lift.
Boathouse Boat Lifts
Many people realize that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, so protecting your boat from damage caused by the elements is a wise idea. Given the increase in property value that comes with a boathouse, it is not hard to understand why boathouses are so popular. There are many ways to install a boat lift into a boathouse. The simplest is to attach a canopy to the top beam of a vertical lift. Next, you can add pilings to the boathouse and install a vertical lift on top, or you can side-mount a vertical lift to existing pilings. Finally, an elegant way to install a boat lift into a boathouse is to use hanger brackets to hang a boathouse lift from structural beams. This can even be done with existing boathouses. Boathouse lifts come in Alumavator and Platinum trim packages with lift capacities ranging from 4,500 to 20,000 pounds.
Titan Yacht Lifts
The IMM Quality Titan yacht lift was engineered to exceed all other boat lifts. No other boat lift with yacht weight capacities is faster than the Titan. Made with unbreakable cycloidal drives that have a lifetime warranty, the Titan is exceptionally durable as well. The Titan has custom made lift controls with Siemens components, Siemens variable frequency drives with soft start and stop, self-leveling, programmable multi-stop features and smart phone integration. To protect the drive system from the elements and to make sure that the lift looks beautiful, the top beams are fully enclosed and are powder coated to match any color the customer desires. Fully custom bunk and cradle systems are engineered in consultation with the yacht manufacturer to provide the perfect fit and proper hull support. As you can see, the Titan yacht lift comes standard with all the bells and whistles, which is why it has earned its reputation as “The best of the best”. Typically configured in weight capacities ranging from 75,000 to 350,000 pounds, it is possible to custom design a Titan for even larger yachts.
Decked Boat Lifts
Deck boat lifts, also called platform boat lifts, add versatility and convenience to your boating experience. These boat lifts can be custom built to fit nearly all IMM Quality Boat Lift styles and capacities. Each platform has an aluminum frame that is attached to the boat lift cradle. Heat-resistant, anti-slip decking panels, which are available in various colors, are attached to the aluminum framing. These maintenance-free panels have an environmentally friendly open grate design that allows sunlight, wind, and water to flow through, keeping vegetation alive and allowing the decked boatlift to easily move into and out of the water. You can also attach the same decking that was used on the dock to create a seamless look.
Some people prefer decked lifts because of the walk-around access they provide to the boat, making boat maintenance and cleaning much simpler. Some people like to use decked lifts with PWCs because it provides an easy way to launch and recover their vessel. Some people simply like the aesthetics of a decked boat lift. Some people use a decked boat lift as extra dock space when the boat is not on the lift. Whatever the reason, custom decking can be designed for any boat lift style and any slip.
Trident Boat Lifts
Trident boat lifts are a special type of vertical boat lift. Typical vertical boat lifts are installed on four piles (Eight piles for larger capacity lifts). The Trident boat lift is installed on three piles, which creates a triangular shape for this boat lift. The unique shape of the Trident boat lift makes it useful for homes at the end of canals where their water rights are often pie shaped. Tridents are sometimes useful in crowded waterways, where the removal of a piling will open up space, making docking the boat easier. The Trident boat lifts are available in capacities of 7,000 and 10,000 pounds.
Beamless Boat Lifts
Beamless boat lifts are similar to vertical boat lifts. They both use four pilings, but the Beamless boat lift eliminates the top beam while adding two more powerheads. Generally, people use beamless boat lifts for aesthetic reasons. They simply don’t like the look of metal top beams, and the beamless boat lift removes this structure. Our Beamless boat lift uses four powerheads which provide more power, speed and was designed so that all of the boat lift components are raised out of the water with the boat on the lift. Other manufacturers have beamless lifts with only two powerheads, forcing them to permanently install lifting components underwater, increasing the likelihood of damage by corrosion or electrolysis. Beamless boat lifts are available in lift capacities ranging from 7,000 to 30,000 pounds.
Marine Railway
Last but not least, is the marine railway. The marine railway uses long aluminum I-beams to make a railway track. A sled with bunking for the watercraft rides along the railway. This lift uses a push-pull drive system, so that the sled does not simply use gravity to descend. This allows the sled to easily travel underwater along the railway. Marine railways are best suited to waterfronts where there is a very gradual slope up to the shoreline, which often causes water depth issues with other styles of boat lifts. Other people use marine railways because they want to drag the watercraft onto land. Many people install marine railways to pull their boat (or sea plane) inside a garage that is up on land. Marine railways are custom designed products that can be adapted to a variety of waterfronts and watercraft.
Conclusion
After reading this post, we hope that you understand that there is a lot of variability in the real world and that the purpose of the different boat lift styles is to accommodate this variety. Full-service boat lift manufacturers have all these styles so that the sales team can find the boat lift that best suits your needs and your budget. Be wary of garage shop boat lift manufacturers that only focus on lift capacity because they are trying to force their limited product line into use in all situations (square peg into round hole). Although it is very important to get a boat lift with enough capacity to safely lift your watercraft, we hope that you now see that you have a lot of choice in boat lift styles for 10,000 pound capacity. And having choices is a good thing, because that way you can select the boat lift style that best suits your waterfront conditions, your budget and your aesthetics.
Thank you for taking the time to read this blog post, and we hope that you found it useful. If you need any help choosing a boat lift style, please don’t hesitate to contact our sales team at (800) 545-5603. Happy boating!
