Choosing a lift or a cradle for your pontoon can get a little bit too technical, and if you are a beginner this can be quite overwhelming. Or at least that was the case for me when I got my first lift. I ended up spending more days researching pontoon lifts, than the actual boat. But now, I know exactly what to look at when I want to get a new lift or cradle.
In order to help out people that want to get a lift or a cradle for their boat, I decided to make this beginners guide in which I will cover, what are the different types, at what you should look when choosing one, what are the benefits, and what you should expect to pay.
Let’s begin with the lifts, and after that we will cover the cradles.
Table of Contents
The Different Types of Pontoon Lifts
There are 2 main types of pontoon lifts that you will find on the market, they are: free standing lifts and floating lifts. Both of them do the same thing, but the way they do it is a little different.
Free Standing Lifts
Free standing lifts stand freely on the ground beneath the water, and they aren’t attached to anything.
Due to their weight they are extremely stable. But due to their weight they can’t be moved. So once you put in the water it will stay there.
Free standing lifts also divide in two types: Vertical and Cantilever
Free Standing Vertical Lifts
Vertical lifts come with mainframe spreaders and adjustable legs, making them the ideal choice for lakes with uneven terrain.
The adjustable legs keep the lift from inclining and the mainframe spreaders create a box-like frame which greatly increases the stability of the lift.
In the picture above you can see a very good example of vertical lift, which has the spreaders attached.
Free Standing Cantilever Lifts
Unlike the vertical lifts which were good on uneven terrain, the cantilever lifts are good for shallow waters and sandy bottoms, so mostly flat terrain.
The cantilever lift has a full length cradle which supports the full weight of the pontoon, thus preventing any structural damage when it’s used for long periods of time.
Usually this type of lift has an aluminium frame, and the bunks are covered with either carpet or vinyl, so the bed won’t get scratched.
Overall
Overall free standing lifts are a great choice if you don’t want to move them. They offer great stability, and your pontoon will be completely safe on them. But if you won’t be keeping your boat in the same place, this isn’t the best choice for you.
Floating Boat Lifts
Floating boat lifts are gaining a lot of popularity lately. At first they were used by the US Navy, but in the last few years they started gaining a lot of popularity among boat owners.
Floating boat lifts can come in many shapes and sizes, and just like the free standing lifts, they are classified in two subcategories: Air/Water Displacement and Hydraulic.
Air/Water Displacement Floating Lifts
Air/Water Displacement lifts come in many shapes and sizes, here are just a few examples:
But as you can see all of them work on the same principle. They use tubes filled with air to displace and float on the water.
Those lifts come with an electric blower that blows air in or out of the tubes. When the tubes are empty they will sink in the water and allow you to place the pontoon over the lift. After that you will have to use the blower to blow air inside the tubes which will raise the lift and the boat.
This system is very simple and efficient, but it comes with a few disadvantages that can make it unusable.
This lift needs a minimum of 4 feet of water depth, which is not too much. Unfortunately it can’t raise the boat too much, on average they can lift the boat around 4 feet.
Hydraulic Floating Boat Lifts
Hydraulic floating boat lifts are a new and improved version of the previous one.
These models use hydraulic floating lift rams which lower or rise the boat.
One of the biggest advantages of these lifts is that they can be used on floating lifts as well as fixed docks. They can be attached to piers and even moorings and buoys. So they offer quite a lot of flexibility. And moving them from a lift to a dock is not too complicated.
Overall
Overall the Hydraulic Floating lifts are superior to the standard air/water displacement lifts. But they can be quite expensive. So if you have the money to get one and you know that you will be using it you should get a hydraulic lift.
But if you don’t have the money right now, or you won’t be using it too much, you should get the displacement lyft. The displacement lyft is not bad, but the hydraulic type is superior in most situations.
What to Look at When Choosing a Lift for Your Pontoon Boat
Now that we discussed the different types of lifts, let’s take a look at what you should look at when choosing one.
Size
The first thing that you should check is if your pontoon boat will fit correctly on the lift.
Some manufacturers will say that the lift is universal, but if your boat doesn’t fit correctly it will suffer structural damage. In general you will want a lift that is at least 10 inches wider that the beam (width) of the boat.
Weight
The next thing that you want to look at is the weight the lift can hold.
Now you should add up the base dry weight of your boat (which can be found in your boat specification sheet), the approximate weight of the gas in the tank, batteries weight, water sports equipment, and anything else you may put on your boat.
After that you should multiply the number with 1.20, this will give you a 20% increase which will cover any unexpected weight that might appear later on the boat.
Material
Another thing that you should look at is the material that the lift is made out of. Even if the metal is able to support the weight of the pontoon, it might rust easily. In general aluminium is what you will want, but even then, if you will be using the lift in salt water you will need to attach a few anodes to it to stop it from rusting.
Here you will find a useful guide that tells you how anodes work, the different types, and which one you should use: Do Pontoon Boats Need Anodes?
Local Restrictions
Even if you rent a spot on the dock, sometimes they will have restrictions on lifts, sometimes they don’t allow certain types, and sometimes they don’t allow one at all and other times they might require you to properly signal that a lift is being used.
So make sure you ask before you get one.
What You Need
While thi is the last one on the list, it’s probably one of the most important. Before you get a lift you have to think exactly where and how you will be using it. As you will spoon see there is quite a difference in price range, and there is no reason to pay $8,000 for a hydraulic lift, when a simple standing vertical lift will cover all your needs, and it only costs $1,500.
SInce we already started talking about the price, let’s move to the next topic, the price of a lift.
The Price of a Pontoon Lift
The price of a lift will differ a lot from company to company and from model to model. For this article I looked at multiple manufacturers and multiple models to give you an average price range, but it’s possible to find cheaper lifts, as well as more expensive ones.
The average price of a free standing vertical lift is between: $1,500 and $2,500.
The average price of a free standing cantilever lift is between: $2,500 and $3,500.
The average price of a floating air/water displacement lift is between: $3,000 and $4,000.
The average price of a floating hydraulic lift is between: $6,000 to $12,000.
Keep in mind that those prices are for average models, if you want a high end model, you will most likely have to pay at least $8,000 for a standing lift or $20,000 for a hydraulic lift.
Should You Buy a Used Pontoon Lift
Lifts can get quite expensive, so you might be asking yourself if it would be a good idea to buy a used one.
The answer is yes, if you find one in a good condition and the price is right. But if the lift has signs of rust or the frame looks beat up and you see a lot of bumps and scratches on it, it won’t last too much and you shouldn’t buy it. It’s better to pay a few extra dollars for a new one that will last you a lifetime, than buy one that will become useless in a couple of years.
The Different Types of Pontoon Cradles
Now that the lift is completely covered, let’s move to the next part, the cradle.
Cradles are stationary boat lifts that are attached directly to the dock and can’t be moved. And they come in three different types: Center lifts, Bunk Style and Sling Style.
Center Lift Cradles
Center lifts are not the most popular choice among pontoon owners since this type of cradle applies a lot of pressure to the center of the pontoon deck, which can lead to a lot of structural damage over time.
If you won a triton (a pontoon with 3 tubes), this shouldn’t be a problem for you, but for a regular pontoon this is not the best choice. If you own a triton the center lift cradle will offer great support, and it’s definitely a good choice.
In general they are made out of either wood or aluminium, and they are either covered with vinyl or carpet, in the areas that come into contact with the boat to protect it from scratches.
Bunk Style Cradles
Bunk style cradles are almost the same as the bunks that you will find on a trailer.
This is the most popular type of cradle used for pontoon boats, it has a lot of stability, it won’t do any damage to the boat, and it’s very simple to use.
The sides of this cradle is also covered in vinyl or carpet to prevent any scratches.
In my personal opinion this is the best type of cradle that you can get for a pontoon boat, since the other types have been known to cause structural damage.
Sling Style Cradles
Sling Style cradles used to be the most popular choice for pontoon boats, but people noticed that they caused structural damage.
Unlike the other cradles that support the pontoon from beneath, the sling style holds the boat from above. The added pressure ended up bending the pontoon slowly over time.
At the moment I don’t think that anybody is still using this method, but I wanted to include it on the list so that you know and stay away from it.
What to Look at When Choosing a Cradle for Your Pontoon Boat
Choosing a Cradle is not that different from choosing a lift, you have to look at the exact same things, the only difference here is that in my opinion you should only look at bunk style cradles since they are the only ones that don’t damage the boat.
Size
Just like before, make sure that the boat can fit correctly on the cradle, and that you get one with at least 10 more inches than the length of the beam (the width of the boat)
Weight
TThe same formula applies here. Add the base dry weight of your boat (which can be found in your boat specification sheet), the approximate weight of the gas in the tank, batteries weight, water sports equipment, and anything else you may put on your boat.
After that you should multiply the number with 1.20, this will give you a 20% increase which will cover any unexpected weight that might appear later on the boat.
Material
Aluminum is again the best choice, and depending on the water type you might want to take a look at this guide that tells you how anodes work, the different types, and which one you should use: Do Pontoon Boats Need Anodes?
Local Restrictions
Unlike lifts, cradles are fixed on the dock, so you must definitely talk to somebody and ask them if you can install one. Even if you see other people around you that installed one, you should still talk to somebody first, since there can be some restrictions, or some paperwork that has to be taken care of before you can install the cradle.
The Price of a Pontoon Cradle
And now let’s take a look at the price range for each type of cradle.
The average price of a center lift cradle is between: $2,500 and $4,500.
The average price of a bunk style cradle is between: $2,500 and $5,500.
The average price of a sling style cradle is between: $1,000 and $3,000.
Final Thoughts
With this guide you should be able to make the best choice for you and your pontoon.
Just keep in mind that you shouldn’t choose a lift or a cradle based on the price or the extra features that it offers, instead choose it based on your needs. Cradles and lifts are already quite expensive, there is no need to pay more than you should.