Anyone ever build their own boat lift guides?

[mcsd1992]

Wondering if anyone on here has ever gone about building their own boat lift guides and what hardware they used for it. I have a pretty good idea of what i'm going to do but not sure what hardware i should use to attach it to the lift. Anyone have any suggestions?

[osmonet]

I used threaded flanges sandwiched around a crossmember. I then used 1 1/2" x 36" threaded pipe as the rigid support, and then a 2" x 42" PVC grey pipe (conduit) over the top of it for aesthetics and keeping the boat from scratching.

the pink stuff is just a gasket so the galvanized flange wouldn't react with the aluminum lift.....starting to look crappy. Need to get a new one.

Works great.

[Laurel_Lake_Skier]

I put some guides together with PVC pipe. Pretty simple construction and they've handled the job well for the last 6 or 8 years. The PVC flexes a bit to help center the boat and avoids scratches on the hull. I'll be headed up north later this week and get some photos posted up here for you.

[JohnnyB]

Any home built bow stops out there??

[Laurel_Lake_Skier]

Any home built bow stops out there??

No photo of this but I have a tennis ball hanging on a cord from the canopy. It is lined up with the tip of the bow. It doesn't stop the boat but gives a good reference for the center and stop points.

I put some guides together with PVC pipe. Pretty simple construction and they've handled the job well for the last 6 or 8 years. The PVC flexes a bit to help center the boat and avoids scratches on the hull. I'll be headed up north later this week and get some photos posted up here for you.

Here are a couple of shots of the PVC guides. Not much to them—just some 2" PVC, U-bolts and backing plates. They don't look like much but they work pretty well.

[trunderw]

#threadresurrection
These are pretty cool. My lift cross members have a slightly different style but I think that osmonet's approach would work, with some modification, on mine. The ones you buy online retail for $50-60/pair. nuts!

[h_2_o]

i'll take a shot at what i did later because i started hating replacing the foam every year. I used a rope and wrapped them first then i used fire hose to stop chafing that the local fire dept was getting rid of over the top. are they the prettiest, no. do they work better than anything else i've found, 110%.