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In or Out of the Water?

Leave it in the water or take it out?  

My son and I both boat on the St Joe River.  I’ve had my pontoon floating in the water for years.  He recently put his boat on a hoist and then invested in a canopy and motor to power the hoist.  We enjoy sitting on our boat as it floats in the water.  He doesn’t. It's not a bother to clean off the spider webs or power wash the pontoons at storage time.  His tubes don’t get dirty but the spiders still find their way beneath his canopy.  

A cantilever pontoon hoist

The cantilever hoist goes between the pontoons (for 2-tube pontoons).  It raises and lowers, lifting the pontoon by the deck.  These are popular in the Great Lakes and upper Midwest states on inland lakes usually with sandy bottoms where the water isn’t too deep.   

Vertical pontoon hoist with canopy.

The vertical (lift) hoist raises straight up and down.  You have a little more flexibility with uneven bottoms because of the independent support legs.  You can also get a canopy to help protect your boat.  With the price of newer boats escalating it seems that more people want to not only get the boat out of the water, but to cover them.

Images from Sea-Legs.com

Image of Hewitt Pontoon Legs

Sea Legs is the trade name and name of a company whose product lifts a pontoon boat out of the water.  “Legs” are fitted between the pontoon tubes. Hydraulics, usually mounted beneath seats lift the pontoon.  Other manufacturer's have similar products (Hewitt-Pontoon legs, etc)   This type of pontoon lift is ideal for the quiet inland (shallow) lakes of the Great Lakes and Upper Midwest.  Sea legs are made in Minnesota   

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