Once you have decided on the boat lift that matches your needs and preferences, you need to have it installed. This process can be very difficult depending on your location, the nature of the boat lift and the conditions that you need to deal with.

Two of the main challenges with boat lift installations are the high tidal ranges that are experienced in certain parts of the world. This can lead to confusion and debate on how the settings should be made on the boat lift. It is important that the boat lift is able to clear the water sufficently during more extreme weather, in order to protect the boat and ensure good safety precautions.

However, you don’t want to place the boat lift with too high of an elevation, as this will give you fewer chances to catch the tide when you decide to use your boat. These are the questions and issues that you need to deal with when installing your boat lift.

In severe weather conditions, it is always best to remove your boat from the water completely, and take it on to dry land. However, in many cases this is not possible. As such, you need to ensure that you have the ability to raise your boat lift as high as possible (safely). This is something that you need to consider when you install your boat lift.

You will need to test this out when you install the boat lift. You should wind it as high as you can without double wrapping the cable and ensuring that you don’t wrap beyond the winder. There are boat lifts that are specially designed for high tides. They are able to provide much faster lift speeds that the conventional open gearing designs or chains. If you know that you live in an area with severe weather, then you should consider this option.

The other very important factor to take into account (when installing your boat lift) is the electrical supply. There are a lot of safety factors around this issue. When you are running electrical wires near or under water, you need to be very careful of the conduit. You need to find the safest location for the wiring, where it has the lowest chance of being damaged.

It is also important that your connections are placed above the datum place of the electrical system, as tidal changes will affect this. There are other things to consider such as the connections being no lower than twelve inches above the decking or pier.

If the electrical supply needs to be very long, as you have some distance from the nearest electrical panel to the pier, you need to ensure the quality and the safety of the cables. You may need to install a subpanel feeder out to the pier. The panel can be mounted on a metal or wooden post. You can then run a new circuit for each lift motor and another for the lights. You also have the option of just hardwiring a junction box, but this may involve more steps with official electrical approval, depending on the place that you live.

You can certainly overcome these challenges, but each requires some planning and thought before you take action.

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Whichever boat lift you decide upon should be a well-thought-out decision that meets your specific needs. It is extremely important to sell yourself the lift, not let a salesperson pressure you into a "less-than-optimal" solution. Boat lift systems are a substantial investment and a decision that you will live with for years. Once you are fully aware of all your options, the decision of exactly which boat lift is right for you will become self-evident.