Portable boat lift

Last updated

A portable boat lift is a tool designed specifically to allow one person to transport, set up, and safely separate boats from boat trailers. Portable boat lifts are intended to be used on land, rather than near, in, or on the water. Sometimes referred to as a boat hoist, this equipment holds the waterfcraft out of the water so that maintenance and repairs can be performed. [1]

A portable boat lift is different from a gantry crane, fork lift with elongated forks, or machine, none of which can be easily transported from location to location. A portable boat lift is not a boat lift which is commonly found attached to a dock. Although some devices allow one person to separate a boat from a trailer or lift a boat up and out of the water, they are not by definition portable.

The term "boat lift" originally referred to lift locks. In modern usage the term "boat lift," as opposed to "portable boat lift," usually refers to devices permanently installed at a dock to simply lift a boat above the water, a type of ship lift. It is not specifically designed for separating a boat from a trailer.

Portable boat lifts may differ in design, cost, weight, and function but they are by definition portable.

Prior to the introduction of portable boat lifts, boat lifting work could only be performed at shops or locations that had access to cranes, machines, forklifts, or similar lifting equipment. Portable lifts allow individuals, professional boat and boat trailer mechanics, boat and boat trailer painters or anyone needing to separate a boat from a trailer the ability to perform the work by themselves away from a shop. [2]

Portable boat lifts are relatively new to the boating industry.

Related Research Articles

Marina A dock or basin with moorings and facilities for yachts and small boats

A marina is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo from freighters.

Dry dock A narrow basin that can be sealed and pumped dry to allow work on a vessel

A dry dock is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, and repair of ships, boats, and other watercraft.

Forklift Powered industrial truck

A forklift is a powered industrial truck used to lift and move materials over short distances. The forklift was developed in the early 20th century by various companies, including Clark, which made transmissions, and Yale & Towne Manufacturing, which made hoists. Since World War II, the use and development of the forklift truck have greatly expanded worldwide. Forklifts have become an indispensable piece of equipment in manufacturing and warehousing. In 2013, the top 20 manufacturers worldwide posted sales of $30.4 billion, with 944,405 machines sold.

Crane (machine) Type of machine

A crane is a type of machine, generally equipped with a hoist rope, wire ropes or chains, and sheaves, that can be used both to lift and lower materials and to move them horizontally. It is mainly used for lifting heavy things and transporting them to other places. The device uses one or more simple machines to create mechanical advantage and thus move loads beyond the normal capability of a human. Cranes are commonly employed in transportation for the loading and unloading of freight, in construction for the movement of materials, and in manufacturing for the assembling of heavy equipment.

Heavy equipment Vehicles designed for executing construction tasks

Heavy equipment or heavy machinery refers to heavy-duty vehicles, specially designed for executing construction tasks, most frequently ones involving earthwork operations or other large construction tasks. Heavy equipment usually comprises five equipment systems: implementation, traction, structure, power train, control and information.

Sidelifter

A sidelifter is a specialised vehicle or semi-trailer used to hoist and transport ISO standard intermodal containers over longer distances.

Slipway Shore ramp from which boats or ships can be lowered into/raised out of the water

A slipway, also known as boat ramp or launch or boat deployer, is a ramp on the shore by which ships or boats can be moved to and from the water. They are used for building and repairing ships and boats, and for launching and retrieving small boats on trailers towed by automobiles and flying boats on their undercarriage.

Aerial work platform

An aerial work platform (AWP), also known as an aerial device, elevating work platform (EWP), cherry picker, bucket truck or mobile elevating work platform (MEWP) is a mechanical device used to provide temporary access for people or equipment to inaccessible areas, usually at height. There are distinct types of mechanized access platforms and the individual types may also be known as a "cherry picker" or "scissor lift".

Dive boat Boat used for the support of scuba diving operations

A dive boat is a boat that recreational divers or professional scuba divers use to reach a dive site which they could not conveniently reach by swimming from the shore. Dive boats may be propelled by wind or muscle power, but are usually powered by internal combustion engines. Some features, like convenient access from the water, are common to all dive boats, while others depend on the specific application or region where they are used. The vessel may be extensively modified to make it fit for purpose, or may be used without much adaptation if it is already usable.

Gantry crane

A gantry crane is a crane built atop a gantry, which is a structure used to straddle an object or workspace. They can range from enormous "full" gantry cranes, capable of lifting some of the heaviest loads in the world, to small shop cranes, used for tasks such as lifting automobile engines out of vehicles. They are also called portal cranes, the "portal" being the empty space straddled by the gantry.

Auxiliary ship Ship type

An auxiliary ship is a naval ship designed to support combatant ships and other naval operations. Auxiliary ships are not primary combatant vessels, though they may have some limited combat capacity, usually for purposes of self-defense.

Dock plate

In a loading dock, one problem to overcome is the problem of bridging the gap between a truck and the dock or warehouse floor. Not all trucks are the same height, and the height of the trailer floor within a truck can vary according to how heavily the truck is laden. Thus there is not only a gap to bridge but a height difference to overcome. Various devices are employed in order to achieve this: dock plates, dock levelers, dock boards, and various forms of lift. These devices vary in construction, suitability to dock conditions, cost of installation, and loading capacity.

Shiplift

A shiplift is a modern alternative for a slipway, a floating dry dock or a graving dry dock. A shiplift is used to dry dock and launch ships. It consists of a structural platform that is lifted and lowered exactly vertically, synchronously by a number of hoists. First, the platform is lowered underwater, then the ship is floated above the support, and finally the platform with support and ship is lifted and the ship is brought to the level of the quay.

Towing

Towing is coupling two or more objects together so that they may be pulled by a designated power source or sources. The towing source may be a motorized land vehicle, vessel, animal, or human, and the load being anything that can be pulled. These may be joined by a chain, rope, bar, hitch, three-point, fifth wheel, coupling, drawbar, integrated platform, or other means of keeping the objects together while in motion.

Material handling equipment (MHE) is mechanical equipment used for the movement, storage, control, and protection of materials, goods and products throughout the process of manufacturing, distribution, consumption, and disposal. The different types of handling equipment can be classified into four major categories: transport equipment, positioning equipment, unit load formation equipment, and storage equipment.

Trailer sailer

A trailer sailer is a type of sailboat that has been designed to be easily transported using a boat trailer towed by an automobile. They are generally larger than a sailing dinghy. Trailer sailers include day sailers and small cabin cruisers, suitable for living on.

Vehicle recovery

Vehicle recovery is the recovery of any vehicle to another place, generally speaking with a commercial vehicle known as a recovery vehicle, tow truck or spectacle lift.

A specialized set of jargon describe the tools, equipment, and employment sectors used in the trucking industry in the United States. Some terms may be used within other English-speaking countries, or within the freight industry in general. For example, shore power is a term borrowed from shipping terminology, in which electrical power is transferred from shore to ship, instead of the ship relying upon idling its engines. Drawing power from land lines is more efficient than engine idling and eliminates localized air pollution. Another borrowed term is "landing gear", which refers to the legs which support the front end of a semi-trailer when it is not connected to a semi-truck. Some nicknames are obvious wordplay, such as "portable parking lot", in reference to a truck that carries automobiles.

The term power assembly refers to an Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD) engine sub-assembly designed to be "easily" removed and replaced in order to restore engine performance lost to wear or engine failure. Typical of heavy-duty internal combustion engines used in industrial applications, EMD engines are designed to allow the cylinder liners, pistons, piston rings and connecting rods to be replaced at overhaul without removing the entire engine assembly from its application location. This increases engine value, reduces downtime and allows the engine to be returned to true new engine performance. Other terms such as cylinder pack, liner pack, cylinder assembly and cylinder kit are used in the engine industry to describe similar assemblies. In the large-engine industry, the term "power assembly" has also become generic and is often used to refer to the assemblies used in non-EMD engines where "power pack" may be the preferred term, although both terms are functionally the same.

The Hunter 19-2 is an American trailerable sailboat that was designed as a day sailer and small cruising sailboat by the Hunter Design Team and first built in 1993.

References

  1. "What Are Boat Lifts?". WiseGeek. Retrieved 2021-11-08.
  2. Boat Lifts, Bay (31 Aug 2017). "Boat Lift Provider and Repairs". Boat Lift Provider and Repairs.