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Bullitt
01-18-2004, 12:21 PM
Does anybody have experience with High & Dry marinas? I am about to purchase a new boat and had anticipated docking it at out home on the water. (canal) I have been investigating having a boat lift built, but it looks as though it might be more difficult than anticipated. The canal is narrow and gets pretty shallow at low tide. I am now investigating high & dry marinas. Does moving the boat in and out of the water damage the hull or are the employees performing these moves at larger full service marinas generally well trained enough to do the job well? Are boats with 24 degree deadrise and 7' beams more likely to get damaged by these moves. Thanks for your answers.
Ken

OGShocker
01-19-2004, 02:25 PM
This site has a heavy leaning to the west coast crowd. Most of us just don't know the answer to your questions.
To find out how your boat will react to jerking it in and out of the H2O, contact the manufacturer directly.
My .02

spectras only
01-19-2004, 05:01 PM
I've seen it in Kelowna b.c . The machine they use has an adjustable bunk system for any boat. They picked up 18 foot maxums to 30 + offshore boats while I was there ,with same tractor. The operator said it cost somewhere around 250K . The owners who I talked to using this service said ,it's the greatest thing since sliced bread.

uvindex
01-20-2004, 07:19 AM
Since moving to Florida (from Southern California/ Havasu) four months ago I've kept my boat in a high and dry -- it was new to me too, but now I love it. :)
I keep my boat at Tierra Verde Marina High and Dry (St. Petersburg, FL.) The place has two (maybe three) big-ass forklifts. The operators are great guys, they take your boat out of storage and either put it right in the water, or on a work rack if you want to spend some time farting around on it before taking it out. The forks (tines) on the lift adjust in and out to accommodate different beam boats.
One cool thing: if you're in a hurry after boating, you simply tie up to the dock (there are even dock hands to grab your boat as you're coming in), tip them a fiver or so, and they'll flush the motor(s), wash it, then put it away for you -- a great service.
One thing I wasn't ready for: I expected my boat to stay clean (other than maybe some dust) since it is stored indoors in the high and dry -- unfortunately, it gets some soot from the diesel fork lifts -- I may end up covering it.
To your original questions: I've never seen a scratch or mar on my boat from the forklift -- as mentioned, the forks are well padded. Having launched and retrieved my boats a million times via trailer in Havasu and other places, let me tell you that a high and dry is a breath of fresh air from ramp rage, long lines, needing a launch buddy, etc. (it's cool being able to easily get the boat in and out of the water while singlehanding too.)
Happy boating!

Outnumbered
01-20-2004, 02:14 PM
What about a Hydro Hoist (sp?) Seen a few here on Arrowhead and they seem to work well. No big lift structure to construct. Its like a pontoon boat that you pump the water in an out of to lift your boat. Move it with you if you move. Maybe you could custom fit your bunks to your boat with this set-up.
OL

Thunderbutt
01-21-2004, 02:15 PM
I'm with RD on this, it is important to have the bunks fit the boat. I have my boat on a lift and I added two more bunk, and made sure they were exactly like the tralier. Everyone here(LOTO) has two bunks even the big boats, some times the bunks are under the strikes.