Need some opinions/review of Jet Dock vs Lift vs Boatel

[NewBoater]

Need some help opinions on which route to go. We have a 2015 SX210 21'. The house we bought last year is on water, have a pier, but no lift. Got a quote for a 10,000 pound lift, 4 pylons driven, etc. for $10,000. Probably should got few more estimates but we stopped at that one. We use a boatel currently and the monthly payment we pay for the 6 months we use it a year doesn't seem to make sense to drop 10k as that's like 10 years at boatel. We love boatel and convenience of it. It's in the boatel for 6 months and in my garage the other 6 months. I know it's more convienent to have a lift in back yard but when we want to go out the boatel is 2 min away and they drop it in the water, no hassle at all. 10k just doesn't make sense to me, I was hoping lift would be 5-7k, 7k being top end. Was reading up on Jet Dock and this looks like this could work really well for a 21' boat like ours but not sure on opinions/reviews on launching, etc, and if it's as neat as it looks. I guess the one I would need would be 5-7k based on the thread below?? I love that boatel my boat (black paint mostly) is not outside blazing in sun (ie fading) and same goes for my garage over winter. We only use the boat on weekends and for boating trips (lake gaston, etc). Maybe I shouldn't consider a lift or Jet Dock and keep using boatel over the years? Would love any opinions on all of this stuff you guys can give a newbie. Do these things truly get the boat all way out of water? What about high tide vs low tide. I'm guessing it would be anchored to my bulkhead and would rise and drop as needed? Again people say they use their boat so much more when they have a lift, but boatel is 2 min from our house and they drop it in water on Friday and I bring it back Sunday or Monday and clean it up real good on their cleaning bunks, and it goes back in boatel all clean with cover on till the next weekend. So not sure a lift would improve the "convenience" aspect too much for us. With a lift or Jet Dock the boat is just beating in sun all summer though. Again more of a concern of mine with black paint. Thoughts/Opinions? Thanks in advance!


This thread got me thinking: But What size would be needed for my boat Sx210 21'? Are these sizes listed for Jet Docks width or length?

https://jetboaters.net/threads/jet-dock-systems-end-of-summer-clearance.11426/

Watched this You tube video which got me interested:

Another video of 24' boat (little bigger than my 21' SX210) loading on Jet Dock

 

[MattFX4]

Can you do a floating lift like a hydrohoist? I just paid $4,900 for a 3 year old 6,800 pound Rhino Hoist lift. I can't believe those drive on jet docks are so much. Also looks like it would be tough to get the boat off of the jet dock.

 

[Julian]

Or a floating V-Lift?

Also, keep in mine that you will have residual value if you ever sell the property. Unless I lived right next door to the boatel, this would be a no brainer for me....I'd want the boat in my back yard...period!

 

[BigAbe75]

Saw a new reseller of this system at the boat show recently.

https://www.wavearmor.net/

Don't know anything about it, but looks cool.

Edit: just realized that link doesn't go anywhere. He might have said it's a brand new product, not sure.

Also found this.

Jump toward the end to see the pwc lift. They also have a boat lift, but don't see it in this video. I have the flyer from the show.

 

[NewBoater]

Or a floating V-Lift?

Also, keep in mine that you will have residual value if you ever sell the property. Unless I lived right next door to the boatel, this would be a no brainer for me....I'd want the boat in my back yard...period!

It's a 2 min drive, 10 minute walk/jog from our house. Literally right outside our neighborhood. I get the resale value of home but not something that will factor into the decision as we have no plans to move to worry about it increases house value a few bucks. It's dang near the same thing as having boat in backyard as I go get it every Friday and it's no hassle at all and the boat stays at our dock to enjoy all weekend then I take it back Sunday or Monday and I can clean it very easily on their boat bunks before it gets put back in boatel for next 5 days till I come back to get a nice clean boat out again for the next weekend.

 

[NewBoater]

Just read this review online and points I agree with on the positives of Boatel:


I kept my boat in a boatel for the first 3 years/4 boating seasons. I will say, the boat looked almost new after 4 seasons. I was able to wash it and flush the engine after every use. Keeping the sun off it as much as possible is the key. The boat is on a lift now, 30 feet from my back door. The convenience is great but the upkeep is huge. I have to wax it every 3 months to keep it shining. Maintenance on the outdrive is impossible. If something breaks, I'll have to tow it to get it repaired. You have a trailer so this isn't as much of an issue. The longest I ever waited for my boat was 30 minutes. That was once, on a 4th of July weekend and I didn't call ahead. Usually it was in the water waiting for me. Things to ask: Do they have a wash rack? How many lifts a day are you allowed? You need 3, in the water, to the wash rack, back to storage. Can you do your own maintenance?

I would ask others at the boatel if they are happy. Walk around on a busy Saturday and see if everybody is generally happy with the service. I was at a good place. The same guys worked there the whole time. I mentioned to the boatel owner that the boat above mine was dropping junk on my boat, flaking bottom paint I think it was. Next weekend, my boat was moved to a new top berth and the owner of the cruddy boat was invited to fix his boat or move out. Hurricane protection is another big plus.

If you keep it in the water, you will need to bottom paint it. In the water would be my last choice. My neighbor kept his boat in the water. One morning, during a huge rain storm, I noticed his boat riding low in the water. He wasn't home of course. The float switches on his two bilge pumps stuck closed. I turned on the pumps and after 30 minutes of pumping, the water was out. One engine was flooded with water and he had a huge repair bill by the time it was over.

Short and sweet, there is no better way to store your boat than a high and dry covered boatel. It is a little on the expensive side but your boat will be in much better shape a few years down the road at trade in time. In the water is a hardest life for a small boat. You will pay dearly for it at trade in time.

 

[elcue]

Nothing like hitting a button and being on the water in seconds. Lift will pay for itself over the years if you get a good one. I priced jetdock for my 24 footer and it was crazy expensive, if I remember correctly like 13k. Didn't like how you have to use winches to launch it either. I went with sunstream V-lift and it has been great. I keep my boat covered when not in use so sun fade hasn't been an issue. Also we don't have an outdrive so working on the boat is simple on a lift. I couldn't imagine having to go to a marina every time I wanted to use my boat. I'd go with the lift .

 

[Roadapple]

I've had my JetDock for about 15 years, first serving my 21' Glaston with an I/O, then my Triton TR186 with an outboard. I just took delivery of my new 190 FSH Sport and plan to dock it on the jet boat this afternoon.

My JetDock is black cubes and gets very hot in the summer sun, so I would get white or tan colored cubes next time.

The Glastron was very easy to drive on/off with the I/O because I could just lower the I/O and literally drive off the dock. With the Triton outboard engine, I had to use the bow rope and winch system to push the boat off and jump on or hold on to the mooring rope and tie it off to the dock for boarding. That was a little harder to accomplish, but still doable for me (66 year old geezer).

It was easy to walk around the boat while on the dock for maintenance and installing the cover. A little harder to wash to boat bottom as its cradled in the center cubes and difficult to access. The entire boat is completely out of the water though.

Best part of the JetDock is there are no moving parts and mine looks brand new after 15 years in the southern sun.

 

[NewBoater]

Thank you for the opinions so far and feel free to keep them coming!

How long do boat lifts last? I read online most of them only last 10 to 12 years. Is that close to accurate? 10k every 10-12 years?

 

[Murf'n'surf]

Are you planning on selling your home soon? Could that boat lift increase the value of your home more than the cost of the lift?

I would prefer a lift over a jet dock and a jet dock over a boat tel.

 

[elcue]

I'm not sure about the lift only lasting 10 years, that doesn't sound right. Maybe some maintenance to cables and gears on a traditional lift but I would hope last longer than that. I'm coming up on my 6th season with my V-Lift never had an issue with it. Lasted through sandy too.

 

[ISLANDRACING]

Were a distributor for Candock. www.candock.com. We also have 3 drive-on jetboat ports/slips in use at our marina that we rent out. product works great and keeps the pumps out of the water no problem:

 

[msavold]

One question I have is why are you looking at a 10,000 lb. lift? IMO, overkill. (We have a 7,500# elevator lift for our SX240 - no problem.) My experience with pricing was that it was pretty close to $1/lb so backing off on the capacity makes a BIG difference to the price. And when you say $10k every 10/12 years - how does that compare to the boatel price every year? Ours has been in for only a couple of years, in brackish water, and it still looks brand new. In any case, I wouldn't expect to toss the *whole* thing in x years - maybe a motor replacement, probably cable and pulley replacement, if anything.

FWIW, a boatel was not an option for us (with summer traffic it would easily be 30-40 minutes each way to the closest) and the convenience of walking out the back door and hitting the water can't be beat. The other thing that would freak me out is some kid practicing his forklift talents on MY boat! (Floating docks also not allowed by the community...)

 

[NewBoater]

Were a distributor for Candock. www.candock.com. We also have 3 drive-on jetboat ports/slips in use at our marina that we rent out. product works great and keeps the pumps out of the water no problem:View attachment 51175

Roughly what would the cost of this system be to cover the length and width of a 21' SX210 Yamaha jet boat? 5k? or more like 10k or more?

 

[ISLANDRACING]

The setup would be about $7000 rough estimate, which includes 3 stabilizer beams ( required for the 21' ),,, before options, such as the reverse winch or air assist. The 21' you could probably get away without the air assist, but you would need the reverse winch as shown in our setups. The first 2 ports can handle up to 21' boats, the 3rd setup with that black spacer is for boats up to 24'.
The Boat docks are about 9&1/2 wide designed to fit in standard 10' marina boat slip. Also when "shopping around", compare apples to apples,,, the Candock "jetslide" units ( the center slide sections ) are UNSINKABLE. Many if not all the other mfg's, you get a pinhole in the dock and then you have a 3500 lb dock ( submarine )filled with water.

 

[ISLANDRACING]

 

[NewBoater]

Thanks for the info. How much is the winch system needed?


Question for people with lifts, we had a 10k estimate for a 10k pound lift. Salesman said not much price difference to go down to 5k pound lift ($500 less). The largest boat we would ever get would be a 24 footer so I don't think we will ever need larger than a 5000 pound boat lift. I have read some people pricing online that seems like they are getting 5000 pound boat lifts for $5000-$7000 installed so maybe it's time to get some more estimates. For a 5,000 pound lift, electrical, survey stuff, 4 pilings what should we expect for a cost?

 

[Micah Thompson]

Data point. A couple months back I had a 6600# brand-new Hydrohoist Ultra-lift-II installed for $7850, which included the lift, install, taxes. I've seen them go a bit cheaper, but Austin, TX area is somewhat high for TX. A 6600# lift is way more than enough for any 25' or less Jet Boat.

The 4400# model is identical except for slightly smaller tanks, so the price isn't much less, so I went with the 6600.