Boat Lift Distributors, Inc. - help determining capacity

i'm in the process of purchasing a house that has a boathouse lift that noone can tell me the capacity. basic motor, drive pipe, single pulleys, and straps. there are no manufacturer markings that i can find. any help would be appreciated before i try and lift my boat. and any advise on what i can do to increase capacity. thanks

Great question, I get this often. OK if you have a single motor in the roof of the boat house & it's a 3/4hp then you're either rated at 3,000-lbs or 6,000. A 1hp motor will be 4,000 or an 8,000-lb rated lift. if you have a 1.5hp motor it's either 8,500 or 12,000-lbs. If the cable goes straight down to the sling & ties off that's a single line pull lift which will = the 1st number posted. If the cable is a double line meaning the cable goes down to the sling, through a pulley on the sling & then back up to the roof to tie off that's a double line pull which = the 2nd rating posted.

So at a minimum if your boat lift is a double line pull & you're using the smallest motor (3/4hp) then the minimal rating you currently have is a 6,000-lb boat lift. Your signiture states a "Cape Horn 24", can I assume this is what you're lifting up? I would think that would be right at the limit but you'll have to advise me on that.

If you're at the limit you will probably need to change cable out to a bigger size & replace the motor & gear assembly to a greater lifting capacity. Let me know what hp motor you have & that will tell us what we need to do.

Happy Thanksgiving,
Michael Fulweber
Boat Lift Distributors, INC.
800-657-9998

Thanks so much! Great explanation. I'll check it out this weekend and when I close on the house, I'll be in touch to figure out what my options are. I am guessing my boat weighs about 6000 to 6500, but i plan to buy another that will come in around 8500 fully loaded. At that time, I think I'll want a cradle.

Is there any "standard" as to mounting the brackets for the pulleys. I guess what I'm trying to ask is what is the load parameters for 2x6's doubled up?

Thanks so much! Great explanation. I'll check it out this weekend and when I close on the house, I'll be in touch to figure out what my options are. I am guessing my boat weighs about 6000 to 6500, but i plan to buy another that will come in around 8500 fully loaded. At that time, I think I'll want a cradle.

Is there any "standard" as to mounting the brackets for the pulleys. I guess what I'm trying to ask is what is the load parameters for 2x6's doubled up?

In the roof of a boat house you always want to hang off 2x10 or 2x12's. You can use single 2x10's or 12's up to 6,000-lbs, beyond that you need to double up the joist or use "C" channel. It's important that the joist are also though bolted into your pilings, the backbone of the boat house.

Tight Lines,
Michael Fulweber
Boat Lift Distributors, INC
800-657-9998
www.liftboat.com (http://www.liftboat.com)