Boat Hoists and Boat Lifts

What is the difference between a boat lift and a boat hoist?

While the terms boat hoist and boat lift may often be used interchangeably, there are several differences between these two means of docking a boat or removing it from the water. Both boat lifts and boat hoists are used primarily to bring a vessel out of water for maintenance, repair, or storage. This is especially useful in cold weather climates where leaving a boat inwater that freezes can damage it beyond repair.

The most glaring difference between the two is the size of the vessels which they cater to. A boat hoist is used primarily for larger vessels; they are often freestanding in the water and are heavy enough to remain unmoved by the current. While there are instances where a boat hoist can be used for smaller vessels such as personal water craft, they are primarily manufactured for larger water crafts such as ocean-going yachts and fishing boats. Boat hoists, however, cannot be used for very large vessels such as freighters and cruise ships; these must use specialty dry docks which have been built specifically for them.

A boat hoist can be installed semi-permanently at a dock and are often free standing. When in is essential a boat hoist can be anchored into a rock to give it more stability. As mentioned earlier storing a boat in water over time can cause many problems including peeling paint on a hull, corrosion of metal, and damage from large objects that may move in the water, knocking against a boat's exterior. Using a boat hoist can eliminate these threats of damage for larger vessels and a boat lift can eliminate these threats for smaller water craft that are even more susceptible to damage such as a personal water craft or a ski boat.

A boat lift is also more apt for smaller crafts because it is easy to remove and reinstall in a different location. This means that you can bring your boat or personal water craft out of the water at any given point on a body of water, or have it go into the water at any given point depending on various conditions such as weather or how deep or shallow a certain point of the body of water is. One of the best parts about the boat lift is that it eliminates the need for a boat ramp since boats and personal water craft can drive directly onto the boat lift.

A freestanding boat lift is fastened to legs driven into the lake bed, seabed, or other form of bed below the water's surface. These lifts are not in any way anchored to the neighboring piers or docks. Floating boat lifts do not have any legs; instead they are tied to a point on the shoreline, the neighboring pier or dock, or other stable point to avoid drifting while still enabling an operator to exit the boat on foot.

If you are looking for a boat lift that makes it easy for you to take your boat or personal water craft out of a body of water for a specific amount of time, Jet Dock is what you are looking for.