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MARINA DOCK AGE / JUNE 1999 |
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Okay,
here are the options for storing that cute little personal watercraft
or pontoon boat: There’s always a last one: tying it off and letting the watercraft smash to pieces against the dock every time a wake goes by. |
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That’s all boat lift manufacturers, such as Minnesota-based ShoreMaster, need to sell their products. ShoreMaster deals in predominately the standing lifts, which raise boats vertically or cantilevered out of the water using a winch. These lifts are especially popular because of their strength and ability to be taken out of the water during the winter months. Those two points
have led to a boom in the market. |
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“Oh, gosh we’ve doubled in (sales) every year for the last three years,” said Donavan Rasmussen, owner of Lake Erie Dock and Lift in Minnesota. “It will taper off a little, but it used to be that the pontoon boat was a poor man’s boat. That’s not how it is anymore, like I’ve got a 24-foot pontoon to take care of. Now pontoon owners have nice waterfront homes and somebody taking care of their lawns, so it’s as much for looks as anything.” |
Some lakefront property
owners go for a summer room right over their boat. |
Floating boat lifts use a set of air tanks that raise and lower depending on the amount of air in the tanks. These are relatively easy, although they present a similar problem to tying the boat off at the dock – the tanks ride the water, whether rough or smooth. Mounted boat lifts are the final type of lift, attaching directly to a seawall or boat house. These use the attached structure for strength and commonly a motorized winch to lift the watercraft up for the night, the season or the year. |
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Click
here for more info on this product >>
