Boathouse Lifts: How to Choose, Operate, and Maintain Your Ideal Lift [A Complete Guide]

In this guide, we’ll walk you through the process of buying a boathouse lift: from preparing your dock and choosing your lift to using and maintaining it.

Let’s get started!

1. Preparing (or building) your dock.
2. Choosing your boathouse lift.
3. Using and maintaining your boathouse lift.

1. Preparing (or building) your dock.

Before your boat lift dealers can install your lift, you’ll need a boathouse to hang it from. If you don’t have an existing dock or boathouse, you’d start by hiring reputable dock builders to create your dream dock setup. If you’re in the Central Florida area, we have a list of great companies we recommend!

The ideal lift starts with a sturdy boathouse.

If you have an existing boathouse, your boat lift dealer will want to inspect it to make sure it’s strong enough to support the lift and your boat, and if not, give you recommendations to shore it up and/or add the necessary support beams that will hold the lift. Your boat lift installer may offer to do this themselves or recommend you hire dock builders to add the needed supports.

2. Choosing your boathouse lift.

Once your dock and boathouse are ready, it’s time to start installing your new lift. The type of lift that best suits your watercraft will depend on the style of boat you have, the boat’s weight, and your budget. But generally, you’re looking at either a strap kit or a cradle kit.

Both options are operated by a 3/4 h.p. or 1 h.p. motor that attaches to a gear plate (sometimes called a boat hoist kit) and uses a large pipe to raise and lower galvanized or stainless steel cables. These cables attach directly to your cradle or straps, raising and lowering your boat from the floor up by rolling and unrolling the cable. 

Strap kits consist of two sets of heavy-duty polyester straps. They hold your boat in a sling and are a safe, affordable option for boats up to 6,000 lbs. Straps also work with a variety of boat hulls, including traditional v-hulls and pontoon or tritoon boats.

Strap kits are a sturdy, affordable, and versatile option for your boat.

Cradle kits use a large aluminum cradle to lift your boat from below. While they are generally a bit more expensive than strap kits, they can lift boats up to 10,000 lbs with ease. Cradles are tailor-made to fit your boat perfectly, with carpeted or poly-coated bunks to support your v-hull or toonrails to lift your pontoon or tritoon from the boat’s floor.

Cradles can support a variety of boats, up to 10,000 lbs!

Once you’ve determined what type of boathouse lift you want, you can customize the lift to suit your needs by adding a Gem Remote system, so you can operate your lift with the touch of a button. You can also add a Power Curtain to help protect your boat from the elements or a bow stop to make docking a breeze — there are tons of great options to make your boathouse lift perfect for you!

3. Using and maintaining your boathouse lift.

After you’ve chosen your ideal boathouse lift and it’s been installed by your lift dealers, it’s time to enjoy time on the water! But first, it’s important that you understand how to operate your lift safely and take care of it for years to come. We’ll cover the basics below, but be sure to check out our full maintenance guide and beginner’s user guide for more in-depth information!

First, let’s review what not to do when using a boathouse lift.

Click here for the full list of things not to do!

Never raise or lower your lift while people are in your boat. Unlike elevators, who have redundant cables to prevent it from falling in the event of a breakage, boat lifts do not. So it’s important to never operate your lift with anyone (furry or otherwise) in your boat!

Next, never leave your boat’s switch unattended while you’re operating it. Certain kinds of lift switches (called maintain switches) can be switched on without someone holding it in place. We’ve heard horror stories of people flipping the switch to raise their boat and walking away for a moment, only to find their boat smashed into their boathouse’s ceiling!

Lastly, never exceed the boat lift’s weight capacity. If you have a 6,000 lb lift, that’s the lift’s absolute limit, not a ballpark estimate or a starting point. So always be sure to empty your ballast before docking!

Now that you know the main don’ts, here’s what you should do when operating a boathouse lift:

Click here for the full beginner’s guide!

When you’re ready to go out on the lake, lower your boat down into the water until it starts to float. Then, board your boat and back out slowly. Enjoy! 

When you’re ready to dock on your lift, be sure to empty your ballast. Next, drive on to the lift slowly and float your boat toward the back of the cradle. Note that there will be more of your boat hanging off the front than the back — this is because your installers center your boat to the lift by weight, not necessarily by the center of the boat.

Have everyone disembark before you raise the boat out of the water. Once the boat is empty, raise it up so your boat is above any potential wave action. You don’t want it being hit by waves and swinging!

If you want your lift to last for years to come, be sure to regularly maintain it. You can do so by greasing the motor, regularly inspecting the cables for wear, and replacing the cables when they start to wear out. 

You’ll need to grease your motor at least once every six months. To do so, first remove your boat from the lift. Then add grease to the grease fittings as shown below. Then, raise and lower the lift multiple times to make sure the grease is properly distributed — but do so carefully! 

You can grease your motor using the guide above.

Cables are like the tires on your car: the more you use your lift, the faster they will wear out. Generally, they will last for three to five years with proper maintenance. You’ll want to regularly check your cables for signs of wear (like surface rust or fraying cables) and replace them as needed.

Check out our complete cable guide, maintenance guide and FAQ page for more information!

If you have any questions about anything we covered or want to discuss lift options for your boat, feel free to contact our team of experts at 352-394-5666. We’re here to help!

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