The heat of the summer is quickly approaching which means more days out on the sea in your boat! As a boat owner you know that the summer is peak boating season. Since you’ll be out on the water so much this season it is important to make sure that your boat lift is properly maintained! First off let us mention what could happen if you aren’t taking care of your lift. If you are not ensuring that your boat lift is in tip top shape, you are risking damage to your boat and even potentially injury. Let’s be honest, no one wants to be injured or embarrassed at the dock when their boat lift fails in front of friends and family. Keep reading to learn about keeping your boat lift well-maintained.
Routinely Inspect Your Lift
No matter what type of boatlift you use, your lift needs to be inspected on a regular basis to ensure that every working part stays in the best condition possible. When inspecting your lift make sure that all of the nuts and bolts are tightened, and that parts are properly fastened together, take note of things that may be wearing slowly so that you can keep an eye out to make sure they don’t need to be replaced.
Lubricate, Lubricate, Lubricate
Like anything with moving parts that grind against each other, it is extremely important to grease your cables, bearings, and pulleys often. At the very least, your lift should be greased around every six months. Make sure that when oiling up the motor and its parts that you use an anti-corrosion lubricant. If you noticed frayed or broken parts while lubricating your lift, stop what you’re doing and get the lift repaired immediately.
Rinse Your Lift
We know what you’re thinking, we always talk about rinsing your boat. This is because it is so important to rinse your lift, especially if you are using the lift in salt water! The salt can slowly eat away at your lift causing it to malfunction the next time you go to use it.
Additional Tips
A few other things to keep in mind when maintaining your boat lift are as follows:
1) Check the cables for wear spots and replace them immediately if there are burs.
2) If the cables are “backlashing” and begin to spool out of alignment make sure that you are adjusting the cables immediately so it doesn’t flatten.
3) ALWAYS make sure you get proper weight distribution when picking up the boat. If not this could cause severe damage to your lift.
