Model: 1-Person (500-pound capacity)
Track: 72' at 32°
Area: Stoney Lake
Year: 2013
“It’s brilliant.”
“It’s a lot of work carrying material and supplies up, and in conjunction with a health scare I had, we looked into a lift. It’s made a huge difference. We unload our boat at the bottom, the stuff goes up in the lift, and into the cottage. It’s brilliant.”
“It has definitely made it more accessible. I’m 66, and we have a number of friends the same age and a little older. For many people coming to our island, which is a bit rugged, it can be a challenge. We have some friends with mobility issues and in past year they were sometimes hesitant to come for dinner or something, lately it’s been so much easier.”
“Looking at the confidence and ease it brings for a middle aged and older person, to be able to use the cottage, it’s a considerable investment, but it’s a very good one.”
“It makes it easier to throw stuff in the boat knowing when you get there you can just pop it on the lift, press that lovely button, and away you go.”
It’s difficult to see the lift from the water.
The local By-Laws limited the width of the front porch so we made the top end of the lift as compact as possible so that the lake end of the car floor would be entirely within the deck.
The lift is almost invisible from this angle.
The winch is protected by the housing in the middle of the track. It was a really tight fit.
This is our first lift in the Stoney and Kawartha Lakes where cottages are often built high off the water. This island cottage was becoming increasingly difficult for the owners to manage. They realized that to stay indefinitely they'd need a lift and that it was better to build it sooner than later.
Despite being relatively short, this lift is close to the ground and tucked into a small footprint, so it posed a number of design and construction challenges.
The owners wanted a 500-pound capacity and a four-foot cargo platform for the occasional couch, stove, or refrigerator. To maximize the utility of the car, the right side has removable slats that pull up and out so it can be easily loaded from either side. If more space is required, the whole front of the car is also removable.
Because the lowest section of track rests on the dock, we hinged it to pivot up in the winter to prevent frost damage. In the spring, the owners lower it down, install three machine screws on each side, tighten a fourth, and they're ready to go.
The first job for the new lift was carrying all the supplies needed to build the new upper station platform and rebuild an old front porch. It now hauls all the household supplies for an active family and their visitors.