A bad day

craigswardmtb

craigswardmtb

Active Member
SILVER Sponsor
Jul 2, 2013
316
Mystic, CT
Boat Info
2004 420 DB
2005 360 Fiesta Vee
Engines
Cummins 6CTA
20191101_141013.jpg
IMG_0039.jpg
We had nasty storms with 70mph gusts last night here in CT and unfortunately this is what my Sealift hydraulic platform looked like this morning. The marina said there were 3-4 ft waves crashing over the platforms of the boats facing southwest on the furthest dock out. And that's where I was. It appears the control arms bent down and the whole platform is now tilted at a 30 degree angle. This will make the 25 mile journey to where I store the boat in the winter quite interesting. Bad day. Although better than the center console on the other side of the dock that took on too many waves over the transom and sank.
20191101_141013.jpg
 
Do you have a single hydraulic ram or double?... that doesn't look good for Sealift

Reason I was asking, I was looking at them today
 
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Single ram. Not sure I would judge them by my experience. They do have great reviews compared to the competition. Today was definitely a bit of an anomaly weather wise. With the blue sky it's hard to imagine tornado warnings and sustained 50-60 mph winds 8 hours earlier. I am thinking the consistent waves filled the dinghy which couldn't drain fast enough, all while pounding over the top of the platform. Sealift told me the control arms are designed to fail like this as to not hurt the rest of the system. It somewhat makes sense but I do have a bit of doubt in the whole truth here.
The winds were supposed to be coming from the west and in fact they came from the south southwest. So it caught me off guard too. If i wasnt out trick or treating with the kids 90 minutes away I would have been sleeping on the boat monitoring the situation. So I blame myself a bit too. The dinghy definitely would have been off.
Still a bit disappointed though. Looking at the control arms I would have thought they would hold. They seem pretty substantial.
Sealift has been great so far. I have to send picts once I'm hauled but I was on the phone with the owner/tech while he was at the Lauderdale boat show today. He is going to send me the replacement control arms at cost. Hopefully it's just the arms which are very easy to replace apparently.
 
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I would have a diver with a dry suit unbolt the platform for the trip. It is a very straightforward job and will make what got bent easy to replace. A couple of float bags will keep it from sinking so that you can get it out of the water. That would mean a lot less stress on the platform, (you) and the transom.
 
That’s gotta suck!
I have the Sealift platform on my 420DA and it has seen some nasty waves, never thought something like that could happen.
What is the weight of your dinghy?
 
The dinghy is minimal. It's a 10' 4" Achilles RIB with a 75lb 2 stroke merc 15hp. Not rigged. So total weight around 300lbs.
The lift is rated to a 1000lbs carry weight. Last weekend it handled 6' following seas with the dink just fine.
 
PlayDate said:
I would have a diver with a dry suit unbolt the platform for the trip. It is a very straightforward job and will make what got bent easy to replace. A couple of float bags will keep it from sinking so that you can get it out of the water. That would mean a lot less stress on the platform, (you) and the transom.
Click to expand...

Not a bad idea. I'll look into it. Although we have freezes coming and I'm supposed to be pulled next Wednesday. so not sure how quickly I can find a diver.
I would think travelling at no wake speeds wouldn't put much stress on it. Am I being too optimistic here?
 
craigswardmtb said:
Single ram. Not sure I would judge them by my experience. They do have great reviews compared to the competition. Today was definitely a bit of an anomaly weather wise. With the blue sky it's hard to imagine tornado warnings and sustained 50-60 mph winds 8 hours earlier. I am thinking the consistent waves filled the dinghy which couldn't drain fast enough, all while pounding over the top of the platform. Sealift told me the control arms are designed to fail like this as to not hurt the rest of the system. It somewhat makes sense but I do have a bit of doubt in the whole truth here.
The winds were supposed to be coming from the west and in fact they came from the south southwest. So it caught me off guard too. If i wasnt out trick or treating with the kids 90 minutes away I would have been sleeping on the boat monitoring the situation. So I blame myself a bit too. The dinghy definitely would have been off.
Still a bit disappointed though. Looking at the control arms I would have thought they would hold. They seem pretty substantial.
Sealift has been great so far. I have to send picts once I'm hauled but I was on the phone with the owner/tech while he was at the Lauderdale boat show today. He is going to send me the replacement control arms at cost. Hopefully it's just the arms which are very easy to replace apparently.
Click to expand...

That's plausible if the dingy filled with water...plus waves. And if the control arms are designed to be the weak link that would make sense...instead of the bolts on the transom. Thanks for the explanation
 
craigswardmtb said:
Not a bad idea. I'll look into it. Although we have freezes coming and I'm supposed to be pulled next Wednesday. so not sure how quickly I can find a diver.
I would think travelling at no wake speeds wouldn't put much stress on it. Am I being too optimistic here?
Click to expand...
We have a ghs lift and have read and confirmed by ghs that we should not travel at any speed with it down as the forces would be too much for the transom. Not sure I would chance it in your case. May make matters worse. I do recall that is a pretty sizable platform. Sorry for your misfortune. The winds had me worried as well last night.
 
craigswardmtb said:
Not a bad idea. I'll look into it. Although we have freezes coming and I'm supposed to be pulled next Wednesday. so not sure how quickly I can find a diver.
I would think travelling at no wake speeds wouldn't put much stress on it. Am I being too optimistic here?
Click to expand...


I would find a diver. I would do it but I live in Virginia.....no tanks are required....just a dry suit and someone to hand you tools. It is an hour's worth of work in warm weather and maybe two in freezing weather.

The reason why I strongly suggest that is I am really concerned about making something worse. We had a boat sink in the Chesapeake from our marina where following seas pounded the hydraulic swim platform until it peeled the lift off the boat and the boat sank in 5 minutes. By pulling the platform, you will find out what failed and if there is any other damage to be concerned about.
 
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