Boat Lift Install & Repair on Old Hickory Lake, TN
A boat left sitting in the water grows a skin of algae, soaks up the lake, and takes a beating from every wake that rolls through the well. A lift fixes all of it by carrying the hull clear between uses. On Old Hickory Lake, where hulls keep getting heavier and the weekend traffic stays busy, a correctly sized lift is one of the best things you can put on a dock. Old Hickory Dock & Lift installs and repairs boat lifts, PWC lifts, and the cables, motors, and bunks that make them run.
We work the lift types this lake uses: cable lifts, hydraulic lifts, cradle and sling lifts, and floating PWC ports. Whether you need a new lift in a new well or a tired lift brought back to life, the job starts with the real weight of your boat and the capacity of the dock under it.
Sizing a Lift to the Real Load
The number that matters is the fully loaded weight: hull, engine, full fuel, gear, ballast on a wake boat, and everyone who climbs aboard. That figure usually sits well above the dry weight owners quote us, and an undersized lift is the single most common cause of early failure on this lake. We size the lift and its cables to the loaded weight with margin, so the lift is not working at its limit every cycle.
Cables, Motors, and Pulleys
A lift is a system of cables, pulleys, and a motor, and each part wears. Cables fray and stiffen, pulleys and sheaves seize, and motors burn out from years of hoisting a heavy load. The warning signs are a lift that runs slow, hesitates, groans, or stops partway up. We replace cables before they snap, free or replace pulleys, service or replace motors, and check the switches and wiring. Catching a frayed cable is cheap; a cable that lets go with a boat at the top is not.
Guides, Bunks, and a Moving Pool
The boat has to land the same way every time or it rubs, rocks, and wears, and on Old Hickory the pool does not hold still. We set and replace bunk carpet, fit cradles to the hull, and add guide posts and guide-ons so the boat drives on straight in current and wind, and still cradles correctly whether the lake is up after a release or drawn down for winter. A lift that holds the hull right through the level swing protects the boat and the lift both.
PWC Lifts and Ports
Jet skis belong out of the water too. We install drive-on PWC ports and PWC lifts in existing wells or along open dock edge, matched to the dock's flotation so it does not lean under the load. Getting a personal watercraft up and dry keeps the hull clean and keeps the grit and silt this river carries out of the jet pump that it chews up.
Adding a Lift to an Existing Dock
A lift and a loaded boat are a heavy point load, and not every dock can carry one as built. We check the well width, the flotation reserve, and the frame, and add flotation where the dock needs it so it stays level with the boat raised. If the dock cannot take a lift without a flotation upgrade, we tell you what it needs before you buy the lift.
Ready to get your boat out of the water, or need a tired lift brought back? Call (615) 555-0162 with your boat's make and the well it has to fit.
What size boat lift do I need?
Size to the boat's fully loaded weight, not the dry hull number. A wakeboat with full ballast, fuel, gear, and passengers weighs far more than the brochure figure, and an undersized lift is the most common reason a lift fails early. We weigh the real load, add margin, and size the lift and cables to it. Heavier wake boats have pushed a lot of owners on this lake up from 4,000-pound lifts to 6,000 and beyond.
Does the lift have to handle the lake rising and falling?
It does, and that is a real Old Hickory factor. A Corps flood release can raise the pool several feet quickly, so a lift and its guides have to keep holding the hull correctly as the dock rides up and down. We set lift geometry and the stops for the pool range your dock actually sees, not for one fixed level, so the boat still cradles right at high water and low.
Why is my lift slow, noisy, or stopping partway?
Usually the motor, the cables, or the pulleys. Lift cables fray and stiffen, pulleys seize, and motors burn out after years of hoisting a load near their rating. A lift that hesitates or groans is telling you a cable or a bearing is close to the end. We service the motor, replace cables and pulleys before they let go, and get the travel smooth again. A snapped cable with a boat up top is a bad, expensive day.
Do you install PWC lifts and ports?
Yes. Jet ski lifts, floating PWC ports, and drive-on docks are routine here and keep hulls out of the water where they stay clean and last longer. We fit them into existing wells or add them along open dock edge where the flotation can carry the load.
Can you add a lift to my existing dock?
Often, but the dock has to carry it. A lift plus a loaded boat is a heavy point load, and the dock needs enough flotation and frame to take it without leaning. We check the well width, the flotation reserve, and the frame before quoting, and add flotation if the dock needs it so it rides level with the boat up.