After spending months on snow-covered land, there’s nothing quite like getting back on the water. Before you lower your boat, it’s time for spring boat lift maintenance.
When the mercury dips and the snow falls, your boat lift is exposed to harsh weather conditions. While our lifts are durable and designed to withstand Okanagan winters, regular maintenance is an important step in safe spring boating and prolonging the life of your lift.
Here are six of the most important areas our skilled boat lift service technicians inspect during spring boat lift maintenance checks.
1. Check Cables
Cables are the workhorse of your Okanagan boat lift and the reason you’re able to effortlessly lift and lower your boat. But, with this important task comes a considerable amount of physical stress. With luxury cabin cruisers clocking in at up to 16,000 pounds, periodic maintenance keeps your cables holding strong and saves your boat, dock, lift and wallet from a costly cable failure.
2. Inspect the Electrical System
Over time, your boat lift’s electrical components corrode and can cause a malfunction. During your scheduled spring boat lift maintenance, Shoreline’s team of in-house electricians checks the electrical system to ensure smooth operation.
Routine maintenance also helps extend the life of your lift by catching and correcting problems before more costly repairs arise.
3. Find and Fix any Rust and Corrosion
Corrosion isn’t limited to batteries and electrical systems. Because your lift sits in water year-round, steel components are prone to rust. But did you know that, if caught early, rust can actually be removed?
With annual spring boat lift maintenance checks, you can help ensure that any rust is caught before causing irreparable damage to your lift.
4. Check for Damaged Piles
Douglas Fir piles have an average life span of approximately 15-20 years. When you work with Shoreline to install the piling and have our team of professional dock builders inspect your lift, you can rest assured you’re protected through routine monitoring and maintenance to prevent rot and damage to your marine investment.
5. Lubricate all Moving Parts
Tabs, chains, bearings, pulleys—hoisting a boat comes with a lot of moving parts. With our maintenance program, our service crew uses high-quality lubricant to prevent wear and ensure the smooth operation of all your lift’s moving parts.
6. Clean the Boat Lift
After spending the winter in frigid waters and wearing a blanket of snow for months on end, your lift is home to dirt and debris that should be removed before you put your boat in the water.
From topping up hydraulic fluid and inspecting lines, connections and fittings on your hydraulic or electric four-post lift to ensuring hoist alignment and greasing chains and chain collectors on single-mast boat lifts, our maintenance program is designed to keep your lift in perfect operating condition all year long.
