Any Known Disadvantages to Lift-Keeping a 45' DA ???

[Maybe A Dancer]

Live year round on a canal with a dock in SW Florida.

Lots of growth here - zebra mussels especially.

Bare spots, unpainted metals, + hot summer water 3-5 days those tiny zebra mussels would appear.

Had my previous 33' 10 Meter Trojan lift kept for 21 years-reduced costs for bottom paint & underwater zincs.

That lift went with the boat, the pilings are relatively new - 2017

Thinking about a new 40,000 lb boat lift.

Published dry weight on the 1996 450 DA is 23,000 lbs, however I've heard of indntical boats coming in at 32-33,000 lbs

She's a balsa cored hull - I'd run the bunks directly under the center stringers.

Of course we'd avoid any underwater gear and fittings, however should I have any concerns regarding the balsa core?

Initial cost aside, the only downside I am aware of is that I can't run the HVAC/humidistat.

This is MY LAST BOAT - I am being proactive with her care and baseline issues, hell, she gets detailed 4x a year

This is a BIG BOAT to be lift kept.

Also a big boat to keep clean and bottom paint

With the Trojan, I really liked having a perfectly clean bottom and clean props 100% of the time. I have a 4x8 work float that I used to replace zincs and polish props - I liked that too.

Looking for comments and opinions.

BEST !

RWS

 

[LattitudeAdjustment]

I think you need to look into your bottom paint if you have traditional anti-fouling bottom paint on your hull. That paint is designed to stay submerged all the time... assuming that is what you have on. Maybe you don't and have a nice clean gel-coat finish. You can get a couple extra knots compared to the bottom paint and marine growth.

Best of luck to you.

Vince

 

[Maybe A Dancer]

We did her with ABLATIVE paint that can be submerged 100% of the time OR removed from the water 100% of the time with no ill effects.

This paint was chosen based on the assumption that she would be lift kept after I sold the 10 meter.

 

[Stee6043]

That would be one heck of a lift!

Here's what Sea Ray would tell you:

 

[Blueone]

My boat was lift kept its whole life until I bought it…. It had original ablative from the factory. Still looked okay but it was kept in fresh water.

 

[ASH]

I have similar boat on a lift. 38,000 lb lift. Diesels & about 33,000 lb

It works great

 

[hottoddie]

I bet you could rig an external shore powered pump that would circulate sea water thru the AC in order to run the AC system while on the lift.

 

[Maybe A Dancer]

I bet you could rig an external shore powered pump that would circulate sea water thru the AC in order to run the AC system while on the lift.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Interesting concept.

I have added garden hose quick disconnects for freshwater flushing of the engines, genny and HVAC systems.

THe plumbing part would not be an issue.

Perhaps this needs to be explored in more detail.

Surely someone's been through this before me

BEST !

RWS

 

[Tim Fila]

If you have shore power, why can't you just plug in a dehumidifier and drain it out?

 

[Maybe A Dancer]

That is the quickest, easiest, and most likely solution

However it will involve loading/unloading the machine, and the advantage of cooler temperatures in the cabin will disappear.

 

[FootballFan]

I don't remember where exactly, but do remember passing by on occasion - somewhere on the ICW.

Someone kept a 42 or so SR Aft Cabin - one of the sneaker boats - on a lift.

 

[fr8dog]

I kept my 46 Dancer in the water all year long in Cape Coral. It was very convenient to just tie it up, plug in shore power and go in the house. I would not want to give that up. I had a diver once per month for most of the year and every 3 weeks during the worst of summer. Had Trinidad hard paint on the bottom which held up to the frequent cleaning. Propspeed on the running gear also held up well. A neighbor kept his 40DA on a lift. He had a de-humidifier, but his boat still had that musty type odor. For me it was just better in the water.

 

[becnme]

I just purchased an 09 31,000lb 45 Formula that was lift kept since new. The hull, bottom and pods were in great shape
and the A/C units are like new because they never ran. The interior was cooked and moldy to the point much of it has been replaced. I will never buy a lift kept boat of this style again. Florida is too hot to not have A/C.

 

[Maybe A Dancer]

I didn't see the above post until AFTER I posted this.
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My 45', currently in the water seems to be (but I have no way to tell) cooler than the Trojan was on the lift.

I ran a small fan 24/7 in the Trojan when on the lift.

Never had any musty/mold/mildew or odors whatsoever.

Just thinking about the ambient cabin temperatures, and the life of the interior soft goods.

Perhaps the trade-off is not a big deal.

 

[ttmott]

I like the lift idea as long as the boat is well supported. Also, you wouldn't want to make it a career to get the boat on and off the lift. If you have a swimming pool I would consider circulating the pool water through the HVAC - cool the boat and heat the pool right?

 

[Maybe A Dancer]

I like the lift idea as long as the boat is well supported. If you have a swimming pool I would consider circulating the pool water through the HVAC - cool the boat and heat the pool right?

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Tom,

Creative plumbing aside, this is a BRILLIANT IDEA !

I've got all the raw water systems, including the HVAC plumbed to fresh water flush, pumping aside, the challenge would be the two overboard drains - or I could simply TEE in/ball valve at the salon HVAC (thats the one with the humidistat)

Running garden hoses from the pool plumbing, not a biggie, I'd bury them with PVC pipe later.

The concern would be a shutoff in the event of a leak/flood onboard.

Otherwise, what about the chlorine content of the water and the metal HVAC systems ?

Maybe convert to a salt water pool?

BEST !

RWS

 

[ttmott]

I would think the Cl levels in a pool if maintained correctly would be very low. A saltwater pool also has the same Cl levels; there is an electrical cell that converts salt to Chlorine and Sodium. Regardless, one would have to consider the long term impacts.

 

[Maybe A Dancer]

I like the lift idea as long as the boat is well supported. Also, you wouldn't want to make it a career to get the boat on and off the lift. If you have a swimming pool I would consider circulating the pool water through the HVAC - cool the boat and heat the pool right?

==============================

Actually getting off and on the lift (with my 33') was faster than the tying up process

 

[ttmott]

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Tom,

Creative plumbing aside, this is a BRILLIANT IDEA !

I've got all the raw water systems, including the HVAC plumbed to fresh water flush, pumping aside, the challenge would be the two overboard drains - or I could simply TEE in/ball valve at the salon HVAC (thats the one with the humidistat)

Running garden hoses from the pool plumbing, not a biggie, I'd bury them with PVC pipe later.

The concern would be a shutoff in the event of a leak/flood onboard.

Otherwise, what about the chlorine content of the water and the metal HVAC systems ?

Maybe convert to a salt water pool?

BEST !

RWS

Regarding flooding the boat - I would use the same pump that the boat uses for the raw water. So, in reality, no more risk other than a possible siphon situation than if the boat was in the water. Ya'd need something simple so, like I said, it's not a career in effort to use the boat.

 

[fwebster]

I converted a Cl pool to salt about 10 years ago and it isn't a free change over. The hardware was almost $1000 and I did the electrical and plumbing the electrical panel we already had only needed changing one breaker and a different timer and the plumbing here was complicated by needing to change the pool sweep plumbing arounf a bit……maybe a day and $50 worth of 1-1/2" PVC pipe and fittings. A salt water pool does not free you from chemical cost, you will still need liquid shock if you winterize, algecide, stabilizer, reagents to monitor the pool chemistry and more damned 50# bags of salt than you care to lug home. But, a salt pool is substantially cheaper to operate than a Chlorine sanitizing system.

If memory serves me, the March A/C pump on a 450DA flows about 10GPM. So in a 24 hour period you will pump your pool down by 240gal and that means you will have to ramp up your water analysis to monitor stabilzer, ph and chlorine levels which will guide you in setting the salt cell output.