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Random Quote: Better to have a tragic ending than a never ending tragedy.
I have an 03 25 foot boat with twin 150 HPDI's. It must weigh about 7000. I have a 10000lb lift. Yesterday after finishing up early in the day, I drove it on the lift and put the lift about halfway up. We had a party, and after everyone left, I went out to flush the engines as I always do. I live in a very tidal area. There is always about 2 feet under my dock, even at extreme low tides. Last night was one of those. The boat was about 8-10 feet off the water when I went astern. All of a sudden the whole boat tipped backwards!. Luckily there is just mud behind my dock. The engines sunk till the cowlings were 3/4 covered. I'm not exactly sure what happened, the cables in the front part of the lift were attached but all unwound. The rear part of the lift was down about halfway from where it was to the water. I can't figure out if my 190 lbs was enough to tip the boat backwards. I could swear the boat was on the lift as much as usual. Could the lift just have given way in the rear? My questions are:
1. I had the boat floating again within 10 min. I removed the cowlings and cleaned the muck off the lower unit. There did not appear to be any water under the cowlings and the boat started and ran for a half hour. Is there anything I need to do? Do I report to my insurance in case the motors mess up later? Will the motors mess up later?
2. I restrung the cables and got the lift working again. I have a vinyl piling dock with cement pilings. The 2 pilings not attached to the dock shifted forward about 10 degrees. What has to be done to restore order. Do they need to redo the entire lift? Why did this happen?
Sorry for the long post, any help appreciated
Sometimes, it can appear that the boat is being lifted evenly (particularly at high tide) and one of the cables may not be properly winding. Happened to me the other night and the boat was almost all the way out of the water before I noticed it. Wierd, as it was the first time that happened to me also (to that extent).
I have also placed my boat on the lift in a position where the stern is too far back (apparently, not as far back as you though ) which made the boat appear to bounce like a diving board. I caught it as I stepped off the boat, so I was able to adjust it before dropping it.
As for the pilings, those things are a bear. They are virtually impossible to correct. You will probably have to get them removed and re-sunk. I would doubt insurance will cover the pilings or the lift (I know mine doesn't). Sorry to hear of your misfortune.
From the info you supplied I don't completely understand the lift situation, but if your pilings moved and are now leaning, that is dangerous. If the pilings leaned, taking weight off the cables, it would cause the cables to go slack and "birds nest". If the pilings are now leaning at 10 degrees, they'll likely cave in if you put the boat back on the lift. Sounds to me that the pilings weren't driven deep enough to have the proper retention for the soil they're in. There shouldn't be much side load on the pilings if the cradle is set up correctly - except for wind loads. If the pilings moved forward or aft - thet're simply too short, and should have been driven deeper.
Glad you and the boat are OK - you can get new undies at Target - I'm sure the pair you were wearing need to be thrown out....
I guess its a little hard to picture, but when I went to the back of the boat to flush the engines, the weight shift caused the boat to be stern heavy. The bow popped up 45 degrees or so. If the water behind my dock were deeper, the boat would have flipped backwards. However, the boat got stopped by the motors hitting the ground, burying the lower units in the silt. The cables on the front part of the cradle somehow became unwound. The rear part of the cradle was holding the main part of the boat. I was able to lower it and refloat the boat within 10 minutes. I can't understand why the front cables would unwind and act differently than the rear cables, as they are attached to the same winding mechanism. I also cant understand how 190 lbs would cause a 7000lb boat to shift, as it has never done anything like that while on a trailer.
Call in a professional for an inspection. Lifts can be dangerous things when something is wrong. An annual lift maintenacne plan is mandatory, IMO. Too many lives of family and guests depend on it. My lift company charges me 75 bucks to adjust, inspect and grease everything every year.
When the boat shifted, it took weight off the front of the lift quickly, much quicker than when you simply lower the boat normally, there is alot of tension on those cables, so the immediate removal of weight most likely created a spring type of reaction on the cables, causing them to unwind quickly and create a birdsnest of sorts...., that would be my guess anyways....the boat may have been to far back, as others have said, have the pilings checked before applying weight...that could be dangerous.
Glad you are ok, we keep our grady marlin on a cradle lift, and I always have anxiety about lifting it no matter how many times we've done it.....it has shifted before, but from side to side, not bow to stern...., scary stuff....
Could you have a large amount of water below decks? This would increase the overall weight and when you went to the stern possibly the water "sloshed" to the back of the boat causing the imbalance?
Had my 32 Blackfin slide off my lift this past Sunday, broken starboard rear cable. Always lift or lower boat wiht plenty of water under it. At low tide I only have pluff mudbut tides are 7ft daily. I called the manufacturer he said cables should be up as far as possible at all times this lessens the sway factor on the cables . He said this wasn probably the reason the cables frayed. Looked like the launching of the Queen Mary only Backwards, no damage, but I changedthe underwear.
A quick way to see it the boat is balanced on the lift is to grab the front cable and give it a pull to see how much tension is on it and then go to the rear and pull on it, they should both have the same amount of tension on them if not shift the boat forward or back to even it out. Hope this helps.
Rbutterworth is right on. You're not sure if you had the boat properly centered on the lift. You're 190LBs was all that was needed to tilt the stern heavy boat, (kind of like putting that last weight on a scale). When the boat tilted suddenly, the front cables had no tension/weight which caused the birdsnest. When my lift was installed the boat manufacturer sent a detailed drawing to the lift installer of how the boat should sit on the bunks. I believe 12-18" of hull is all that is sticking out beyond the bunks. Any more and those twin motors of yours become a huge counter weight.
Sounds like you need to start over. Have the pilings re-set. Make sure they are long enough. I believe mine were 40 foot long. Take Glen's advice and have the lift checked/lubed. Check with the manufacturer of the boat for proper placement on the bunks, then use the guide poles as a reference for future placement of the boat on the lift. My forward guide poles line up evenly with my midship cleats when the boat is properly centered on the lift. Sounds like you were very lucky.
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LISA MARIE
28 SOUTHPORT W/TWIN F250 YAMAHAS
LIL' LISA MARIE
17 FT WHALER W/90HP F90 YAMAHA
LIL' GRUMP
15 FT WHALER W/40HP MERC
With twins on the stern and a boat that was not far enough forward on the cradles, I can see this happening. I always try to get the lift cradles to within one foot of the transom. Too much overhang for extended periods, especailly with twins on the rear, can flex your hull and create warpage or worse. Not too sure why the rear cable seemed to unwind, but the front cable could have backlashed as previously mentioned when the weight suddenly came off it. I actually had an 8,000 lb lift I-beam buckle during a storm. Even though the plug was out, rain and waves were coming in so fast she filled up. At 7-8lbs. per gallon, the I-beam buckled into a flat bottomed U-shape. Boat slid off and was totalled. Anyway, I guess what I am saying to all is if you can spend a few extra $$$'s get the next heavier lift beams and cables.
I had a little different situation. I have Dolphin galvinized stem winder lift that was rated at 8,000 lbs. Five years ago, when I bought the Pursuit (10,000 lbs dry) I reseached the lift with professionals. The only difference I found was that the larger lift had 5/16 cables, a bigger beamier cradle, and 1 hp motors. I upgraded accordingly. It worked like a champ even though with all the gear, gas, etc. is probably closer to 14K.
All was well until a buddy with a Donzi 32 wanted to do his bottom on my lift. (+/- 15 K). We lubed the lift, inspected the cables, and tightened the belts. Everything was going well in lifting the Donzi with us checking every once and a while by stopping. Well, the Donzi was tilted so we let it down to straighten it out. My buddy said to stop for a minute so I did. With the power off, the port side stopped but the starboard did not. It began reving up whirling like a helicopter spooling up. The "gear" was turning the "worm!" I then lowered the port side and there was no damage, just some forehead wiping.
I have since learned that when you are taxing the lift to or beyond its limits, when going down, don't stop and the motors will keep it from speeding up. If you want it halfway down, go all the way down then go up half way.
Let the flames begin.
Dry
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Knot for Profit
01 Pursuit Express 3000
If your lift is in saltwater be careful of the tube that the cable winds onto. If you let your lift down and look where the cables wind, it will rust and get thin! I had one tube snap about twelve years ago while lifting a boat about four feet out of the water and the boat dropped and slammed into the pilings, we were lucky no one was hurt. Dry Rot, I had that same thing happen before when I lifted a friends boat , it takes quick thinking to keep it from getting ugly.
Sorry to read this, and regret to tell you that your lift piling must be reset again. Obviously, they are moving and this will happen again. You may need longer pilings that must dig dipper until reach hard bottom.
And as a follow up, drive those pilings, don't pump them in. If you can get those pilings driven into virgin soil or clay they will stay put. Pumping displaces the material from the hole. Once the piling is set, unconsolidated sand and silt tend to fill back in around the piling. This give less support than a driven piling which does not remove material, rather it pushes it to the side creating a compacted perimeter around the piling.
Almost boat lift catastrophy
) which made the boat appear to bounce like a diving board. I caught it as I stepped off the boat, so I was able to adjust it before dropping it.
