Fundamentals & Types

Every boat lift does the same job: it takes a load that floats and holds it, motionless and dry, above the highest water you expect. What separates the designs is where the structure carries that load (lake bottom, pilings, a seawall, a boathouse roof, or buoyancy) and how it moves it (a cable drum, a pivoting arm, a hydraulic cylinder, or air).

Start with the mechanics page if you are new to lifts. It explains the handful of forces and ratios that decide almost every later choice. Then read the type that matches your shoreline, and use the head-to-head comparisons to settle a close call.