Common Questions about our Boat Lift Covers
LightHouse Marine Services is a family owned and operated business in Tampa Bay Florida specializing in marine products and services. Products include boat lift canopy covers, boat lifts, dock ladders, dock piling repairs (not to include piling replacements), dock decking repairs or replacements, dock side fenders, boat lift repairs, boat lift motor replacements... and more. Generally anything that you may need around your docks to improve your quality of life on and around the waterfront.
Our primary products and services is selling and maintaining boat lift canopy covers and boat lifts here in the Tampa Bay area. We are dedicated to creating custom boat lift covers that will protect your boat over it's lifetime. In addition to providing exceptional protection for your investment, each cover is carefully crafted to meet your custom design and unique needs. We are also able to assist with any type of repair on or off the water. We do have a mobile repair service and no matter how bad the damage there is a good chance we can fix it. We also offer replacement tops for both Waterway, Alpha, CoolShade and Coastline.
Here are some answers to commonly asked questions about our services.
What is the Warranty on the Custom Built LightHouse Boat Lift Covers?
• FRAMES: The frames are made up of Marine Grade Aluminum and are rated to withstand winds of up to 165 miles per hour - which is well into a category Five Hurricane. Frames have a 10 YEAR WARRENTY!
• HARDWERE: All mounting hardware is all high quality stainless steel that is required to be used on and around dock building and assembly environment because of its ability to withstand even the harshest marine environment and will not rust or corrode. ALL HARDWERE have a 10 YEAR WARRENTY!
• VINIL CANOPY: We offer both Vinyl and ComTex+ for our tops. Vinyl is the more traditional "old School" materials that is heat welded together. The ComTex+ a more breathable and lighter weight material then the vinyl canopy covers.Both are rated for up to 70 miles per hour sustained winds... and need to be removed if any winds are expected to exceed 70 miles per hour. The Vinyl Canopy Tops have a 5 YEAR LIMITE WARRENTY!
What are the action steps required to getting a boat lift cover onto your property?
• First thing first - contact us to get the ball rolling. If you live in the Tampa Bay area then feel free to contact us direct at 727-390-1078 and we will get the process started. You can also go to www.LightHouseBoatLiftCovers.com and sill out a quote request and we will contact you immediately after receiving your request.
• We will schedule a time to come out to meet you and go over some of the features and benefits of the product as well as color options. At that time we will also take a measurement of your boat lift so to completely customize your boat lift and guarantee a perfect fit every time - remember that no two boat lifts are exactly the same so all the tops are completely custom.
• We will not give you a price or a hard sales pitch on the spot - we will e-mail you a comprehensive quote the next day - which the e-mail will also include additional information needed for you to make an educated decision and one you will be happy with.
• Once your receive your quote and decide to move forwards we come out again for a Final Measurement - which at that time we recheck our numbers for complete accuracy. Also at that same meeting we will also take a 50% deposit to get you on to the production schedule.
• Once order is placed it takes between four to six weeks to get your very own custom boat lift cover - and once we get the word that your top is ready, we pick it up.
• When we get the top to our facility we schedule an install day that fits into your schedule.
• Its just that simple!
If you are an out of town customer or cannot meet for whatever reason we can streamline the process- and do all the work over the phone. Then we can just stop by your property and with your permission go into the backyard - to do all the measurements required.
What are some of the primary benefits of a boat lift canopy cover?
There are several major benefits from having a boat lift cover installed which include protection your investment, increasing the value of your property, increasing the entire boating experience and completing your waterfront.
• Protecting your investment: by far the most destructive element on the water is the sun - it bakes your boat day after day - then throw in the afternoon thunderstorms and you have a perfect recipe for destruction. The boat lift canopy covers will greatly increase your protection from all of the seasonal elements.
• Increasing the value of your property: it goes without saying that one of the most expensive investment you will ever make is your home - and adding premium elements to it will always help increase and maintain your property value.
• Increasing the boating experience: The summer heat can really take the fun our of boating. A boat lift canopy cover will reduce the temperature on the lift from 8 to 13 degrees, making it much more pleasant for your guests to load up and return to port... not to mention the time you will spend working on and maintaining your boat... a game changes.
• Adding great design element to your home: Whatever architectural designs your home falls within the boat lift covers add timeless elegance and style to your waterfront - and with over 30 colors to choose from you are sure to find one that will fit in greatly with your design elements.
• Completing your waterfront: We have heard time and time again that once our customers have added the boat lift canopy cover to their boat lift and dock, they constantly mention how this really finishes off their properties waterfront... and tell us that they wish they would have added that feature to their home years ago... we feel that once you add yours that you will agree!
What is the maintenance required for the boat lift canopy covers?
In general the boat lift canopy covers require very little maintenance but as everything else on or around the waterfront it is always a good idea to maintain a regular maintenance program. There are a couple of things you can do however to maintain the top in prime condition.
• Even though the tops are warranted against mold and mildew it is a good idea to keep it cleared of all brush and debris - on occasion that the winds blow some debris up on the top be sure to either blow it off or hose it off with a pressure washer or a hose.
• The vinyl top itself is attached using between 60 and 90 bungee straps with balls on the end - those bungee balls are recommended to be changed out at least every two years - or if you see them beginning to get a bit slack, broken or generally looking ragged.
These bungee balls can be purchased online or if you do not want to change them then we also offer that service. Be sure to call us at least a couple of weeks in advanced of you wanting to get them changed out so we can get you on the schedule.
What should we do with our boat lift canopy cover when a storm or a hurricane is heading our way?
The boat lift canopy covers are designed to be removed in the event that we are expecting winds of 70 miles per hour or above - that is basically a named storm which becomes a category one hurricane at 70 miles per hour sustained.
These tops are attached with bungee straps that generally can easily be reached from the boat when it sits on the boat lift cradle and is lifted up, then the straps that cannot be reached by hand can be reached using a broom stick like tool with a hook screwed to the end - which will get you greater reach - especially at the corners.
But if you do not want to remove the top then we at LightHouse do offer that service. We do charge $250 to remove the tops and then if you do not want to reinstall the top yourself we can do that as well and that charge is also $250.
In the case of a named storm approaching and you know that you would like our assistance please call the office and get your self on the list of tops to be removed. We will begin to remove tops as soon as customers call and request that service, so please do not wait till the last minute to see what the storm is going to do because we may simple not be able to get to your top in time.
