Golden Boat Lifts & Marine Systems develops new adjustable bunk system
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A local business owner with a world-wide reputation will present his new patent-pending adjustable bunk system at the Miami Boat Show this year.
The aluminum system "addresses a common challenge in the marine and trailer industries: the time-consuming and often damaging process of drilling holes to install and adjust bunks."
A bunk is a rail that the boat sits upon on a lift.
Golden Boat Lifts & Marine Systems owner and CEO Bill Golden said as people change boats, their bunks need to be adjusted.
"The old method was to drill holes," Golden said. "It takes a few hours to replace the bunks."
This new system uses slotted bunks that utilize carriage bolts for quicker installation. With the slotted bunks, it eliminates the common issue of crushing the aluminum bunks from the over-tightened bolts.
The multi-directional adjustable bunk system uses 6061-T6 marine grade aluminum.
The new product was developed to eliminate the need to drill numerous holes for brackets -- instead having slots in the bunk.
"The initial install is much quicker and easier," Golden said.
The North Fort Myers-based Golden Boat Lifts has been building custom, premium lifts for 35 years.
They can accommodate the needs of anything from large custom motor yachts and high-performance powerboats to personal watercraft and even seaplanes.
Golden said he got his start in the early 1980s when was asked to weld a boat lift.
What began as building boat lifts in his backyard soon evolved to multiple buildings across Lee County, as well as providing people around the world with boat lifts.
"I never give up. I knew one day I would be successful in this business. It has taken 43 years now to get to where we are at. It's been a fun journey," he said.
Golden also purchased a boat lift cover company, now Golden Sunshade.
The business uses Stokes Marine Construction as its Lee County dealer.
All employees of Golden Boat Lifts are certified welders, which is all done in-house so they meet the business standards. Golden said they have 20 certified welders in their facility.
The business also is ISO certified. He said they are always striving to improve their product, processes and training people.
"Every year we are tasked with further improvement," Golden said.
Golden currently has 14 patents pending, or issued, with two more being prepared, which, he said, is what separates him from others.
Another component he believes sets him apart is their gear box, which is twice the strength of industry standards.
"The reason I did that was years ago we had a boat fill up with water and broke the gears inside the gear box," Golden said.
The gear box is filled with synthetic grease -- which never needs to be changed, he said.
"It's great to have a product that they cannot overload, misload or sideload. It will not break the gear box," Golden said.
Another safety measure they take are the cables, as he will not compromise there.
Golden has used the same company for the past 35 years.
"We refuse to comprise on the quality on the product we provide," he said, as salt water is very harsh on everything.
The Golden Boat Lifts can be operated with a cordless drill, which enabled them to lower boats off lifts where standard electrical lines were out following hurricanes.
"We were able to get boats off the lifts virtually the day after the hurricane. Our boat lifts did very well," he said where the pilings were strong enough.
For additional information, visit GoldenBoatLifts.com, or call 239-337-4141.