Boat owners are a special breed. Something about the sea breeze and the open waters are captivating and alluring. It brings out the adventurer in many of us.
If you are a wise boat owner, you know how much your watercraft is worth and how best to protect your investment. The first step of importance is to install a boat lift.
Related Blog: Boat Lift Maintanance Sarasota
The Benefits of Using a Boat Lift
There are multiple benefits for using a boat lift. Here is a quick rundown of some of the major benefits you will gain by installing and using a boat lift:
- Less likely to sink - if your boat sinks, it is 69% more likely to happen while docked. Something as minor as a failed pump or dead battery could torpedo your precious investment.
- Easier maintenance - water is the biggest culprit that causes boat damage. Being able to access the bottom of your boat for cleaning makes it an easier chore that is done more often. This means that your boat will stay in shipshape, literally.
- Smoother sailing - a clean boat performs better than a scum-laden vessel. Having a bottom that is regularly scrubbed when the boat is lifted keeps your boat in as good as new condition. This makes for optimal and more enjoyable sailing.
- Fewer repairs - most repairs happen to the areas that are more regularly exposed to or immersed in water. For boats whose entire bodies remain out of water when not in use, the exposure to repair bills drops down to almost nothing.
- Protects hull and equipment - the primary cause of hull blisters results from wet storage. Also, props, shafts, and other equipment sitting underwater are bound to be affected sooner or later. Unfortunately, it is typically sooner.
- Lowered expenses - a cleaner boat bottom also improves engine performance, particularly reducing fuel consumption. Get more knots to the gallon thanks to that smooth bottom!
- Higher value - just like a special car that has been babied during its lifetime of use, a boat protect by a boat lift will hold a higher resale value, specifically for the reasons and benefits outlined above.
Sidebar: If you are shopping for a used boat, you would be well advised to purchase a boat that has been docked using a boat lift during its lifetime.
The True Cost of a Boat Lift
When you investigate the cost of acquiring and installing a boat lift, several factors come into play.
The biggest factor is the size of your boat. You obviously need a lift capable of picking up the weight of your boat.
You also have two different types of boat lifts: cantilever and vertical. Cantilever lifts work better in shallow water with unchanging conditions, while vertical lifts are recommended in areas with larger waves or rising and falling water levels.
Of course, you can go with a basic model, or you can add extras, many of which are well worth their additional cost.
But when it comes to calculating the true cost of a boat lift, no matter how you crunch the numbers you come out ahead. The bottom line is that the money you save by preserving the value of your vessel, along with the annual savings you pocket from reduced deterioration and lowered expenses, all adds up to costing you next to nothing.
In some cases, you will end up making more in value and savings than you put into the cost of your boat lift. So the true cost of your boat lift may very well be nothing!
A Top of the Line Boat Lift Provider
Places like Bradenton and Sarasota have always been popular boating locations and most of their residents cannot imagine life without a boat, or a boat without a lift.
As you might imagine, one of the best areas to find quality boat lift manufacturers is in southwest Florida, where you will find plenty of waterfront property and boating is a natural part of the local culture and lifestyle. One of the standout boat lift manufacturers is Golden Boat Lifts in North Fort Myers. They stand true to their motto "When it's done right... it's Golden!"
Just about any type and style of boat lift can be bought from them. Throughout the Gulf Coast, it is common to see Golden Boat Lifts products dotting the shorelines for miles. You often find their logo at major marine construction sites, as their equipment is also used commercially.
On private dock construction projects, their name also appears regularly.
The bottom line is that when it comes to boating, you are in good company. And when it comes to boat lift builders, of course it is in Florida along the Gulf Coast where you are in the best of company.
