If you are planning on buying boat lifts for you, it is essential to consider whether you will be going in for stainless steel or galvanized systems. The cables, framework and pulleys can be adversely affected by salt water. For that reason, it will be ideal to use stainless steel fittings. However, when you are looking at fresh water use, won’t stainless steel be more of a luxury than a need? Well, at that point, it is crucial to let your home water be the ultimate guide. That aside, there are number of other factors you may want to consider in this endeavor. In order to ensure that you are making an educated choice of boat lifts, you may want to check out some of the features highlighted below.

Choose Your Ideal Cradle
Boat lifts are not so different from trailers in how they are made. They both use bunks that help to cradle the hull. It is advisable to select adjustable bunks so as to allow you get a new ride in the future. Going with a custom cradle can work to limit future expansion.

What’s Your Sling Style?
If you are on a shoreline that’s very shallow, it is recommended to use a sling style lift in the place of one that has a cradle. This is majorly due to the fact that flexible slings will lie flat on the bottom; thereby allowing you to dock as long as you are able to float.

Check Out the Pulleys
It is obvious that friction and wear are the major reason behind damaged boat lifts. According to industry experts, one of the most important factors is making sure that wear and friction are minimized as much as possible. In order to achieve that, you may want to specify for ball-bearing pulleys. Every time you put the lift to use, all the moving parts that have been assembled get stressed by the weight of your boat. This results in friction that wears down the entire lift. But when the pulleys turn with ease, the less the amount of friction will be caused.

Maintenance
If you do not want to lose your boat dock accessories due to misuse, it is important to observe the maintenance regime given by the respective manufacturer. In addition, you may want to protect your cables by occasional lubrication. This is going to help in reducing friction, as well as the adverse effects of weather, more so in areas with saltwater.