Ghost Lift Assist BOOSTER....Finally

[toddgot5fish]

well, my warranty is finally up on the ghost. the one thing that seemed to be an issue was with longevity of the lift assist. Especially true if you use FFS or have other add ons. i ordered an additional shock , BUT kept my weak one. This mod only requires a couple of spacers, and some stainless 1/4" all thread. the new shock will come with the remainder of the parts. real world testing coming up next couple weeks. just thought id share with those tired of not really having true assist. as of now, this literally takes 2 fingers to deploy , same with initial pull to stow.

[MBDiagMan]

Did the newer Ghost units get heavier or something. My Ghost was one of the very first in early 2020, and is super easy to raise and lower. If they haven’t changed, you probably just have a weak gas spring.

[Basshopper]

Have had my Ghost since 2020 have dual AT2 and the AI 3-1 with no issues at all. There was an early batch of bad lifts if you had one they would send you a new one. I am still on the original one with any issues. 2020 was a bad year for many issues looks like some did not weather as well as others.

[BigfishRanger]

Where did you purchase this from? Thanks,

[raven7usa]

Great idea. Got another strut on the way. Looking at the pictures, just where did the 1/4" rod go? Through the spacer and into each binding barrel? I see Philips screws on the outsides.

[toddgot5fish]

You will utilize DOUBLE binding barrels . With a short piece of stainless all thread in between. The important thing is the spacer. The barrels must enter into the spacer, this keeps from putting too much pressure on the crutch

[raven7usa]

Thanks Todd. I can make the spacers on my lathe and add a recess on each side for the binding barrels. Were you able to screw the 1/4" rod partially into each binding barrel ( screw driver slot on one end )? Booster strut will be here Thursday.

[fisheye216]

Where did you purchase this from? Thanks,

Same question.

[justinp61]

You will utilize DOUBLE binding barrels . With a short piece of stainless all thread in between. The important thing is the spacer. The barrels must enter into the spacer, this keeps from putting too much pressure on the crutch

Please explain. When you say "barrel", are you referring to a sleeve or bushing?

[Savage]

"Barrel bolt" is a type of fastener.

[justinp61]

"Barrel bolt" is a type of fastener.

I understand now, he used the four barrel nuts and a piece of all thread.

[raven7usa]

My "Booster strut" should be here tomorrow. I'll try and post pictures and have details on the upgrade in the next several days. The credit still goes to Todd for this project.

[toddgot5fish]

Had a 5 hour trip yesterday, and my bad, I didn’t take video. But so far, so good. Deploy is perfect with the motor actually going to neutral at top of the pull point. You can let go of the pull cord , it will balance itself perfectly. A slight motion forward and it moves down to deploy. NOW as it settles the shocks kick in, I had to rest my foot on the mount to get it to lock down, so some may not like that. But it was merely putting a little pressure from your foot to get it to lock down. But MAN, to stow, it’s effortless to pull it back up out of the water. Wayyyy better for me. I’m going Saturday, I’ll take video and post. The bushing/sleeve is the key. I’ll get some measurements and post

[raven7usa]

Bushing diameter, width and thru hole diameter specs and I can finish making my bushings.

[raven7usa]

Got some parts made today for the "Booster" strut. Got rained out for test fitting. So far the center bushing is 7/8" diameter ( 3/4" diameter should work also) by 23/32" wide with a 5/16" hole drilled through the middle. In a pinch, you could use a hard dowel rod or the end of a broom handle for the bushing. The 1/4"-20 threaded rod is 1" long, this should connect the 2 binding barrels inside the bushing. Measurements subject to change once I test fit everything. Missing in the picture is the other strut that would go on the right side of bushing. I ordered the strut from Lakeside Marine and Service. It came with the necessary fasteners as needed.20240516_133741.jpg

[raven7usa]

Got the "Booster strut installed today. Only took 15 minutes and 2 Philips screwdrivers. Just make sure that your bushing is no wider than the mounting lug on the strut so that it will drop inside the brackets. I screwed the 1" threaded rod into one of the barrel connecters 'till it bottomed out. The other connecter will thread onto the remaining exposed rod. You won't use the short screws. And a big Thank You to Todd for a great idea.20240517_092318.jpg20240517_092213.jpg20240517_092318.jpg

[78Staff]

Would love to see a quick YT vid of how this is put together? Can it be accomplished will off-the-shelf parts only, ie no milling of items, etc?

[Savage]

Hopefully the stock mounting tab brackets will hold up to DOUBLING the exerted forces that the compression shocks produce. Time will tell.

[moose288]

YouTube video of this install?

[78Staff]

Hopefully the stock mounting tab brackets will hold up to DOUBLING the exerted forces that the compression shocks produce. Time will tell.

I suspect the upper cylinder mounting tabs should be fine. It's the plastic lift assist clutch side I am worried about, it's pretty fragile and is known to crack with just the one lift cylinder. I'm not sure if it's supposed to be a fail-safe type of part that is designed to break before allowing damaging another more expensive part or what (kind of like the Ghost props ), but if not someone should mill us a better one.