For those who recently acquired a boat and want to dive right into the boating life, securing a boat lift for the dock is your next step. With searching for a boat lift, you may find yourself asking a few questions. “What type of lift should I get?” “How much does a boat lift weigh?” “How much weight can the lift hold?” Making your decision on a boat lift after considering your boating needs will help narrow your options. In the content below, we answer common questions about boat lift weight and weight capacity.
Understanding the Lift’s Weight Dependents
Unfortunately, there is no specific weight attached to aluminum boat lifts as the weight entirely depends on additional factors.
Platform Width and Length
The platform width and length of your boat determines both its own weight and the boat weight capacity. The larger the platform your lift has, the heavier it needs to weigh in order to better lift a larger sized boat.
Lift Height
With the lift’s height generally ranging from 42 inches to 58 inches, the lift’s weight needs to also fit accordingly. Like the width and length of the boat lift affect the weight and its distribution, your aluminum boat lift will increase in weight as the height builds.
Considering an Aluminum Lift’s Weight Capacity
Acknowledging the weight capacity of an aluminum boat lift is crucial when pairing it with your boat. Though most aluminum boat lift weight capacities range from 200 to upwards of 1,000 pounds, you need to ensure that you select the right lift to handle the weight of your boat and its additional specs. Once you have found the overall weight of your watercraft, you can then determine the correct boat lift weight capacity needed for your watercraft. It is best to add in a 20% margin of safety and then select the next higher capacity for your lift.
Below are some factors that count towards the aluminum lift’s weight capacity:
The Dry Weight of a Watercraft
To begin calculating to total weight capacity needed for your aluminum boat lift, consider the dry weight of your watercraft. The dry weight of a watercraft is usually provided in the brochure or specification sheet for the watercraft. However, please note that a pontoon’s boat lift needs differ from other boats and watercrafts.
The Fuel
Depending on the type and blend of your boat fuel, gasoline typically weighs approximately 6 pounds per gallon. To calculate how much weight your fuel contributes, multiply 6 pounds by the number of gallons of gasoline your boat can hold.
Gear
Consider any additional element of your boat: your gear consistent of water skis, wakeboards, and scuba equipment. Add the total weight of all the gear on your boat to see how much contributes to your total boat weights.
In addition to gear, remember that water weighs approximately 8 pounds per gallon. Take into account any drinking water, freshwater tanks, waste tanks, and any live wells as you calculate additional boat weight.
Non-Factory Additions
The weight of non-factory additions like wakeboard towers, bimini tops, additional seating, generators, air conditioning units, coolers and swim platforms should also add to your overall boat weight calculations.
SVI Recreational: Supplying the Right Boat Lift Repair Parts
Regardless of the boat lift you decide on, as time passes you will eventually need replacement parts to maintain upkeep of your equipment. That is why our high-quality boat lift repair parts are available for immediate, same day shipping. Here at SVI Recreational, we dedicate our time to manufacturing quality boat lift kits and repair parts that extend the quality and life of your boating equipment. Contact us today to receive a quote on our kits and repair products!