Lift for watercraft

A lift for installation along a boat dock, sea wall or other permanent structure for vertically lifting a watercraft or other object from a body of water, comprising in combination:

• a non-round support column positioned vertically adjacent to the structure, said non-round support column including a fixed lower section and a rotatable upper section, said non-round support column being substantially square in cross-section with four faces and wherein said carriage assembly includes at least four inwardly extending wheels for rolling for rolling up and down said four faces of said non-round support column;
• a carriage assembly positioned about said non-round support column, said carriage assembly including a plurality of inwardly extending wheels for rolling up and down faces of said non-round support column, said carriage assembly includes a plurality of vertical plates extending between upper and lower horizontal plates, said horizontal plates including a center hole through which passes said non-round support column, said wheels being journalled relative to said vertical plates to extend inwardly in rolling engagement with said non-round support column;
• and
• a cradle affixed to said carriage assembly,
• whereby, the boat or other object may be lifted vertically out of the body of water by said cradle as the carriage assembly travels upwardly along the non-round support column and, when said carriage assembly is positioned on said rotatable upper section, said carriage assembly may be rotated to position said cradle and the object seated thereon above the structure.