How Much Does a Boat Lift Weigh?
Quick answer
A boat lift for a 2,000 to 5,000 lb boat weighs about 345 to 665 lb in published specs, and a PWC lift about 230 to 375 lb. Large hydraulic lifts run 740 lb at 7,500 lb capacity to about 1,930 lb at 18,100 lb, and an air-chamber floating lift for a 26 ft boat about 2,200 lb. A quick estimate is 90 to 135 lb per 1,000 lb of capacity for vertical lifts of 3,000 lb and up, about twice that for cantilever lifts. Add the motor or battery and expect roughly 40% more on the freight bill.
On this page
- Published weights for 18 lifts
- Three patterns in the numbers
- Which weight you actually need
- Weight in the water: why a lift moves easier once it is in
- Does the lift's weight count against its capacity?
- Estimating a lift that is not in the table
- Where these numbers stop applying
- Frequently asked questions
- Sources and further reading
A boat lift built for a 2,000 to 5,000 lb boat weighs about 345 to 665 lb. Lakeshore's 2,000 lb vertical lift is listed at 345 lb and its 5,000 lb lift at 470 lb; Hewitt's 5,000 lb hydraulic vertical lift is about 665 lb. PWC lifts are lighter, about 230 to 375 lb. The heavy end is large hydraulic lifts (Hewitt's 18,100 lb hydraulic lift is about 1,930 lb) and air-chamber floating lifts (Hewitt's 7,500 lb BoatPort is 2,216 lb).
The figure on a spec sheet is usually the bare frame. Rolling a lift out for winter, hauling it on a trailer and sizing pads each need a different number, covered after the table.
- PWC lifts (1,200 lb capacity): about 230 to 375 lb
- Free-standing vertical lifts, 2,000 to 5,000 lb: 345 to 470 lb (Lakeshore); 165 to 695 lb across ShoreMaster's 2,200 to 7,000 lb verticals, before the 40 to 50 lb winch or motor
- Hydraulic vertical lifts: 419 lb at 4,500 lb capacity to about 1,930 lb at 18,100 lb
- Air-chamber floating lift, 7,500 lb: 2,216 lb
- Rule of thumb: 90 to 135 lb per 1,000 lb of capacity for vertical lifts of 3,000 lb and up; 180 to 310 lb for cantilever lifts
- Underwater: a fully submerged aluminum part weighs about 63% of its dry weight
Published weights for 18 lifts
Each figure is the maker's own number from its spec page or a dealer listing. The last column divides weight by rated capacity, which lets you estimate a lift that is not on the list.
| Lift | Type | Capacity (lb) | Weight (lb) | Lb per 1,000 lb capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CraftLander MH-V10, AC motor | Vertical PWC lift | 1,200 | about 230 | 192 |
| Hewitt 1200 regular cantilever, 96 x 102 in | Cantilever, manual winch | 1,200 | 313 | 261 |
| Hewitt 1200 PWC cantilever, 96 x 102 in | Cantilever PWC, four wood bunks | 1,200 | 373 | 311 |
| Hewitt 1800 cantilever, 96 x 102 in | Cantilever, manual winch | 1,800 | 339 | 188 |
| Lakeshore LSV20100C | Free-standing vertical | 2,000 | 345 | 173 |
| Hewitt 2400 wide cantilever, 115 x 102 in | Cantilever, manual winch | 2,400 | 488 | 203 |
| Hewitt 3000 cantilever, 104 x 109 in | Cantilever, manual winch | 3,000 | 539 | 180 |
| Lakeshore LSV30108C (108 in beam) | Free-standing vertical | 3,000 | 395 | 132 |
| Lakeshore LSV30120C1 (120 in beam) | Free-standing vertical | 3,000 | 405 | 135 |
| Lakeshore LSV40108C (108 in beam) | Free-standing vertical | 4,000 | 420 | 105 |
| Lakeshore LSV40120C1 (120 in beam) | Free-standing vertical | 4,000 | 430 | 108 |
| Basta 4,500 lb (frame weight) | Free-standing hydraulic, solar | 4,500 | 419 | 93 |
| Lakeshore LSV50120C | Free-standing vertical | 5,000 | 470 | 94 |
| Hewitt 5,000 lb hydraulic, 120 in, 12 V | Hydraulic vertical | 5,000 | about 665 | 133 |
| Basta 6,700 lb (frame weight) | Free-standing hydraulic, solar | 6,700 | 584 | 87 |
| Hewitt 7,500 lb hydraulic, 120 in, 24 V | Hydraulic vertical | 7,500 | about 740 | 99 |
| Hewitt 7500 BoatPort, 26 ft | Floating, air chambers, galvanized steel frame | 7,500 | 2,216 | 295 |
| Hewitt 18,100 lb hydraulic, 24 V with solar | Large hydraulic | 18,100 | about 1,934 | 107 |
ShoreMaster publishes ranges rather than a model list: its vertical lifts weigh 165 to 695 lb for capacities of 2,200 to 7,000 lb, with "most" between 400 and 600 lb and another 40 to 50 lb for the winch or motor, and its hydraulic lifts weigh 425 to 1,600 lb for 6,000 to 12,500 lb of capacity.
Three patterns in the numbers
Capacity adds less weight than you would expect
Lakeshore's vertical lifts go from 345 lb at 2,000 lb capacity to 470 lb at 5,000 lb. Capacity rises 150%; weight rises 36%. Legs, pads, the winch and wheel are needed whatever the boat weighs. That is why small lifts weigh 170 to 190 lb per 1,000 lb of capacity and 4,000 to 5,000 lb lifts about 95 to 110.
Width costs even less. The 120 in versions of Lakeshore's 3,000 and 4,000 lb lifts are each 10 lb heavier than the 108 in versions. If the boat needs the wider frame, as wide-beam pontoons and wake boats often do (see boat lift by boat type), weight is no reason to squeeze into the narrower one.
Cantilever lifts are about twice as heavy for their capacity
Hewitt's cantilever lifts weigh 180 to 311 lb per 1,000 lb of capacity, against 94 to 135 lb for vertical lifts of 3,000 lb and up. A 3,000 lb cantilever lift is 539 lb; a 3,000 lb vertical is 395 to 405 lb. The pivot arms of a cantilever lift carry the boat in bending as they swing, and bending needs more material than the straight tension and compression in a vertical lift's frame. The mechanical trade-offs are in vertical vs cantilever boat lifts.
Hydraulic lifts are not automatically heavier
Basta's 4,500 and 6,700 lb free-standing hydraulic frames are 419 and 584 lb, lighter per pound of capacity than any cable lift in the table. Hewitt's 120 in hydraulic verticals are heavier, at about 665 and 740 lb, but they also give 72 in of travel against Basta's 37 to 61 in, and a taller lift needs longer posts. ShoreMaster's hydraulic lifts reach 1,600 lb at 12,500 lb of capacity. What makes a lift heavy is capacity, height and type of frame, not the drive.
Which weight you actually need
A listed weight usually means the bare frame. Three other numbers matter more often, and the gap between them is where owners get caught out.
| Weight | What it includes | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| Frame or lift weight | Structure, often the cradle; check whether winch and bunks are in | Comparing lifts; rolling a bare lift |
| As-installed weight | Frame plus motor (40 to 50 lb on ShoreMaster's figures), battery (about 50 to 75 lb for group 24 to 31 lead-acid), bunks, canopy frame | Seasonal removal; load on pads or dock |
| Shipping weight | Frame plus crating, hardware and packaging | Freight quotes; choosing a trailer |
| Weight in the water | As-installed weight minus buoyancy on the submerged parts | Walking a lift into or out of the lake |
Basta publishes both the first and the third: its 4,500 lb lift is 419 lb as a frame and 600 lb to ship, and its 6,700 lb lift 584 lb and 817 lb. That is 40 to 43% added for shipping. When a seller quotes "about 400 lb" for a lift, ask which of these it is. On a used lift, estimate from the table and add the motor, battery and canopy frame yourself.
A published lift weight says nothing about a canopy unless the listing names one, and none of the listings above does. If the lift has a canopy, take it off before moving the lift; boat lift canopies covers the frames.
Weight in the water: why a lift moves easier once it is in
An aluminum part fully under water weighs about 63% of its weight on land. Alloy 6061, the common structural alloy in lift frames, has a density of about 2,720 kg per cubic meter, and water about 1,000, so the water pushes up with 1,000 / 2,720 = 37% of the part's weight. Galvanized steel, at about 7,850 kg per cubic meter, loses only 1,000 / 7,850 = 13%. The same arithmetic, in pounds per cubic foot, is in the moving section of DIY boat lift installation.
Two things work against that discount. The top of the lift usually stays above the surface, so only part of it is buoyed. And hollow legs and cross tubes fill with water, which weighs nothing extra while it is in the lake but 8.3 lb per gallon the moment the tube comes out. A tube with a 3 x 3 in inside section, 6 ft long, holds 3 x 3 x 72 = 648 cubic inches, which is 2.8 gallons or about 23 lb. Tip the lift to drain it before the last pull up the bank.
Worked example: pulling a 5,000 lb vertical lift for winter
Lift: Lakeshore LSV50120C, listed at 470 lb. Assume a 45 lb motor (the middle of ShoreMaster's 40 to 50 lb figure) and no canopy: about 515 lb as installed.
On shore: 515 / 4 = about 129 lb per corner. Two people can steady a corner each on a wheel kit; nobody should try to carry it.
Fully submerged: 515 x 0.63 = about 324 lb, or 81 lb per corner. With the top half of the frame out of the water, the real figure is somewhere between 324 and 515 lb.
Coming up the bank: the full 515 lb returns, plus any water still in the legs. Four legs each holding the 2.8 gallons from the tube example above would add about 93 lb, taking the lift past 600 lb at the steepest, muddiest part of the job.
Lesson: the hard part is the bank, not the deep water. Drain the tubes and use a come-along on a shore anchor there. The full removal sequence is in seasonal lift removal.
Does the lift's weight count against its capacity?
No. Rated capacity is the load the cradle can lift: the boat, fuel, water, gear and batteries aboard. The lift's own weight is carried by its frame and legs and is not subtracted. What does count is everything in the boat, which is where most undersized lifts come from; the full loaded-weight method is in boat lift capacity sizing, and the capacity calculator does the arithmetic.
The lift's weight does matter to whatever holds the lift up, but less than people expect. On a free-standing lift, the pads carry the boat plus the lift. For the 5,000 lb lift above with a 5,000 lb boat, the lift is 515 of 5,515 lb, or 9% of the load on the bottom. The pad sizing method is in lake bottom conditions.
A floating lift is the exception. Its tanks or air chambers float the lift as well as the boat, and the BoatPort's 2,216 lb is 30% of its 7,500 lb rated capacity. Hewitt says the BoatPort needs water at least 4 to 8 ft deep, and a lift of that weight is not one you pull out each fall; see floating boat lifts.
Estimating a lift that is not in the table
Multiply the rated capacity by the figure for its type, then add what is bolted on:
- Free-standing vertical or hydraulic, 3,000 lb and up: 0.09 to 0.135 lb per lb of capacity. A 6,000 lb vertical: 540 to 810 lb.
- Free-standing vertical under 3,000 lb, and PWC lifts: 0.17 to 0.19. A 1,500 lb PWC lift: 255 to 285 lb.
- Cantilever: 0.18 to 0.31. A 2,000 lb cantilever: 360 to 620 lb.
- Air-chamber floating: about 0.3, based on one published model, so treat it as an order of magnitude.
- Then add: 40 to 50 lb for an AC motor or DC drive if the listing excludes it, 50 to 75 lb per lead-acid battery, and the canopy frame.
For a lift with a known model number, the maker's spec page or a dealer will usually have the figure, and it beats any estimate.
Where these numbers stop applying
- Piling-mounted lifts with top beams. Four-post and eight-post lifts bolted to pilings are rarely sold with a total weight, because the beams, cradle and drives arrive as separate parts and the pilings are site work. The sizing example in piling requirements assumes about 2,000 lb of lift for an 8,000 lb boat; treat it as an assumption, not a published figure.
- Steel lifts. Every free-standing lift in the table is aluminum. Steel is nearly three times as dense as aluminum, but a steel lift is designed around its own material rather than as an aluminum frame made of steel, so the table's ratios cannot simply be multiplied up. Use the maker's figure. Material differences are covered in aluminum vs galvanized steel lifts.
- Rigging. Hewitt and CraftLander mark some weights "approx." Use these figures for planning, not for rigging a crane.
Safety: a 400 to 700 lb frame on wheels can run away on a slope and pin someone against the dock. Keep everyone on the uphill side, use a winch or come-along for control, and never stand under a raised cradle. Switch off power at the breaker before disconnecting an AC lift, and leave reconnection to a licensed electrician with GFCI or ELCI protection, as described in boat lift electrical.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a jet ski lift weigh?
Free-standing PWC lifts rated for 1,200 lb weigh about 230 to 375 lb in published specs. CraftLander lists its MH-V10 vertical PWC lift with an AC motor at about 230 lb, and Hewitt lists its 1,200 lb cantilever lifts at 313 lb with standard cradles and 373 lb in the PWC version with four wood bunks.
How many people does it take to move a boat lift?
For a free-standing lake lift of 400 to 600 lb, plan on three or four people with a wheel kit, plus a come-along or hand winch anchored on shore for the climb out of the water. Aluminum weighs about 63% as much when fully submerged, so the lift is easiest to move in the water and hardest on the bank.
Is a hydraulic boat lift heavier than a cable lift?
Not necessarily. Basta's 4,500 and 6,700 lb free-standing hydraulic frames weigh 419 and 584 lb, lighter for their capacity than comparable cable lifts. Large hydraulic lifts are heavy because they are large: Hewitt's 18,100 lb hydraulic lift is about 1,930 lb. Capacity, height and frame type drive weight more than the drive system.
Sources and further reading
- ShoreMaster, "Boat Lift Weight: Understanding Your ShoreMaster Boat Lift," September 23, 2021: vertical and hydraulic lift weight and capacity ranges, winch or motor weight (https://www.shoremaster.com/blog/articles/boat-lift-weight-understanding-your-shoremaster-boat-lift-shoremaster/)
- Lakeshore Products, Vertical boat lifts: LSV20100C to LSV50120C capacity and weight (https://www.lakeshoreproducts.com/boatliftsvertical)
- Hewitt, product pages for the 1200 regular, 1200 PWC, 1800, 2400 wide and 3000 cantilever lifts (https://www.hewittrad.com/p/lifts/cantilever/1800-cantilever-lift-96x102)
- Hewitt, 5,000 lb and 7,500 lb 120 in hydraulic vertical lifts, and 18,100 lb hydraulic lift with 24 V motor and solar panel: approximate weights (https://www.hewittrad.com/p/lifts/hydraulic-vertical-lift/7-500-lb-120-hydraulic-vertical-lift-with-24v-hydraulic-motor)
- Hewitt, 7500 BoatPort 26 ft floating lift: weight, construction, installation in water as shallow as 4 to 8 ft (https://www.hewittrad.com/products/lifts/boatport/7500-boatport-26)
- Basta Boatlifts, 4,500 lb and 6,700 lb capacity lifts: frame weight and ship weight (https://bastaboatlifts.com/product/l-6700-lb-capacity-boat-lift/)
- Boat Lift and Dock, CraftLander MH-V10 vertical PWC lift with AC 110 V motor: approximate overall weight (https://www.boatliftanddock.com/product/21235/craftlander-mh-v10-vertical-pwc-lift-with-ac-110v-motor)
- The Engineering ToolBox, Metals and alloys densities: aluminum alloy 6061 and steel (https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/metal-alloys-densities-d_50.html)