Hydro Swim plat's for 44 DB's

Jus' Chillin

Jus' Chillin

New Member
Mar 30, 2008
46
Madisonville, LA
Boat Info
2007 44 Sedan Bridge
Engines
Cummins QSC 500's
I have a 2007 44' DB and wanted to see who has similar vessel and has installed hydrolic swim platforms and placing PWC on it. My PWC is a SeaDoo RXT which is about 900-910lb loaded. Been told by most (TNT, Fla Bow Thrusters, Sealift) that 800 lbs is max for Swim platforms and this is a max set by Sea Ray. Still in process of speaking to engineers at GHS (General Hydrolic solutions) and Sea Ray to determine if this has changed for '07. Anyone have any further info or experience with this combination? Thanks.
Hugo:huh:
 
Be careful.......I have seen the transom literally peeled off the stern of several larger Sea Rays by owners who loaded the hydraulic platform to the limit then got caught in some heavy seas.
 
Yeah Gary,
Unfortunately I relied on my Sea Ray dealer telling me it was "no problem" and lots of other hogwash. You said in another post that your Yamaha is about 700 lbs geared and fueled up? Any problems in rough seas with yours? What brand is it? Pleased with it?

Yep Frank that's what I'm worried about. 80% of our use is river running and some lake running, but in May we're going to Florida with it. Regardless I don't want to put my vessel or my passengers at risk. Do you have a hydrolic on your boat?
 
No, I do not...........I wouldn't have one.....for our use.

While they may be nice for the few occasions where we would use it, I'm not up for the endless overhead of keeping marine growth off the arms. I have also seen too many boats with severe corrosion due to stainless steel pins in bronze bushings in aluminum frames on the lifting mechanisms not to mention the once a year you have one of the stainless steel hoses fail because a fitting corroded.

But, understand that we are a little different than most members here. We are a retired couple with kids with us only at vacation times. We are in a warm salt water enviornment 12 months a year so marine growth is a problem and we either cruise our boat or anchor it at one of our local islands. The whole PWC thing, hydraulic platform included, just isn't worth the added time and trouble to us.......also, around here you either run the PWC weekly or it stays in the repair shop.
 
I'll agree with Frank but remove the negative nay-sayer tone. They are a lot of work as he said but we really use ours and can't imagine not having one. I mean... come on Frank... what part of a boat ISN'T a lot of work?! Next thing you know you'll tell me you wouldn't have a Glendenning CableMaster! What are the options for a "real dinghy" (one with a rigid bottom, center console and a big motor)? You either have to have a hydraulic platform or you have to have a crane...

This is the Yamaha I have:

http://www.yamaha-motor.com/waverunner/products/modelhome/552/0/home.aspx

It's 703 lbs dry... I think it's got a 10 gallon tank so wet it is still going to be under 800 pounds. I like it... but I'm not a PWC expert by any means... This will be our 3rd season with it and it's never been in the shop and starts easily. It is a four stroke. I know the older two strokes are more prone to "shop time". I think our lovely moderator Wes has 2 of these Yamahas in his signature picture unless he's deleted them.
 
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Gary.......read the last 3 words in my first sentence.

For our use and location, I wouldn't have a hydraulic platform. I wouldn't get enough use out of it to warrant the overhead. We use a 10' Zodiac with a hard air floor but we don't use the dinghy for water sports, only getting from the big boat to the beach or a restaurant, etc.

And, you must be a mind reader..........if I bought a boat with a Glendennig Cable Master on it, I'd probably remove it before I got the boat home. But this one is really model specific. On some boats they are not in the way, but on most they are right smack where your body needs to be to get to some engine part or filter....and then there's that annoying habit of putting a kink in the cable every revolution.........
 
When you take that salt water marine growth and put it in fresh water.... it dies a horrible, osmotic death. It's great, you can almost hear it scream.

The lift, although some work to keep growth off of it, is not that much work and my kids and my sanity need the entertainment provided by the Sea Doo or the Zodiac. Every time my boat is out of the water, I pressure clean and put at least one coat of Vivid on the lift arms, etc. When I leave my boat idle in salt water for 30 days+ I take a brush and knock off the growth..... but I do that to the whole boat while we're at anchor. Not really a bid deal. Thankfully, I've never had my hose or connections fail.
 
This is a very timely post as I'm scheduled to have a SeaLift installed on my 420 DA this week - hopefully Wednesday.

During my due diligence I found what Hugo posted...800 lbs. was the Sea Ray mandated limit. Though every brand of lift is capable of hoisting far greater loads -- its the transom that is the basis for the limitation. SeaLift kinda mentioned that since their mechanical apparatus was about 100 lbs. lighter than the competitors; they, in effect, could handle a 100 lb greater load...but I don't think they advertise to that fact and I don't plan on testing that theory either.

The platform lift (vs. the cradle) that I chose was from SeaLift. While I must admit the $19,000 price (which is a deal believe it or not) was foremost in my mind, I was also impressed with their setup. The single cylinder, sliding & retracting chocks, smaller platform, and well thought out design appeared to from a company that has looked at the competition and tried to find a better way to do it.

While the platform is new and finding customer testimonials to it is difficult, I have read reviews of those with the cradle (a previous design) that were very happy with it and the company.

For my dinghy, I found a super sweet 2 year old Avon 340 DL SeaSport that weighs about 650 lbs - with a 40 HP Yamaha outboard. The 340 (3.4 meters or 11.5') is the absolute maximum length that a 420/44 model will accommodate (the beam at the back of the platform is 11'8"). Any PWC/dinghy beam under 6' works with the SeaLift (brilliant sliding chock idea)...so the 5'8" of the Avon will be ok there as well.

Ideally I suppose I would have liked a bit shorter RIB...but we really wanted a "mini-yacht" that we can use while the mother ship is tied up or on the hook. There are a lot of local places & islands we can make quick runs to out in Lake Erie that a decent sized RIB will get us to. Anything less than a 340 kinda eliminates that option.

As far as PWC's go - I have a nearly never used Polaris Virage I that weighs 750 lbs. that we may use a bit also - but I'd rather see that thing sold to somebody than continue to take up space around home. Anybody with 3G's or so handy feel free to come take it away.

I'll post pictures and updates regarding the SeaLift install as they occur.
 
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Thanks Shawn. Yeah, my wife and I are 43 and still enjoy the fun of a PWC and pulling my nephews or friends on a tube/ski's etc. I looked at the Sealift a lot, but am leaning toward the tenure of Fla Bow Thrusters/GHS system and SeaRay's endorsement of them, and additionally it seemed that from a "sturdiness" standpoint, the two lift arms would be more stable than just one arm centered in the hull (Sealift format) but I'm no Naval engineer. I'm in fresh/brackish water of Louisiana and only in Fla waters for a month out of the year, so growth isn't that big of a concern for me.
 
Hugo,
Frank will probably disagree with me but i wouldnt put any weight in a searay endorsement. Fla bow thruster has had a huge issues with there stuff. What good does two lifting arms do if there to far forward and all ur weights on the end of the platform? UP here in NY we get to see the boats out of the water and All u see is tilted platforms. HEck even the new 48's with no load are sagging miserably.... I dont know what the answer is but just do ur home work . NEver trust a dealer or salesperson. Talk to the people that HAVE THEM ....

Rob
 
Robski97 said:
Hugo,
Frank will probably disagree with me but i wouldnt put any weight in a searay endorsement...
Click to expand...


Rob that's a good point I think. Evaluate the system based on its design and performance - not what SeaRay endorses or doesn't. However, I think its certainly wise to check with Sea Ray about the load limits and confirm that they jive with the lift manufacturer.

With that said, I met today with Steve, the co-founder and owner of Sea Lift. We were admiring the work they just completed (see this thread) and he did mention that they had finally received "endorsement" by Sea Ray of their system. They are hoping to be supplying OEM lifts to Sea Ray for the next batches of 35's headed out the door.
 
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