Boat Lifts — Sales, Installation & Service
As an authorized RGC Marine installer, we size, set and service lifts for everything from a runabout to a heavy cruiser — and we know which lift suits which Lake George bottom.
What you need to know
A boat lift holds your hull clear of the water between uses, which stops hull blistering, keeps the bottom clean, and — on Lake George — protects the boat from wave action during the summer and from ice at the shoulders of the season. Lake George Docks is an authorized RGC Marine Boat Lifts installer. We size the lift to your boat's dry weight plus fuel, water, gear and any canopy load, then set it to suit your depth and bottom — which on this lake can go from two feet of sand to twenty feet of ledge within a boat length.
What this covers
- Authorized RGC Marine dealer & installer
- Cantilever, vertical and hydraulic lifts
- Capacity sizing for your hull and load
- Canopies, guide posts and remote controls
- Spring commissioning and winter service
- Cable, motor and structural repair
Boat Lifts
Why lifts matter more here
Lake George water is cold, clean and clear, which owners love and boat bottoms do not particularly care about. What a lift really buys you on this lake is protection from motion.
The broad water carries a genuine chop when it blows from the north or south, and a boat left floating in an exposed slip works its lines, its fenders and its gelcoat all summer. At the shoulders of the season — late autumn and early spring — the risk changes from wave action to ice, and a hull sitting in water that skims over at night is a hull taking damage.
A correctly sized lift removes both problems and adds a third benefit: it makes the boat trivially easy to inspect.
Boat Lifts
An authorized RGC Marine installer
We are an authorized installer for RGC Marine Boat Lifts, which means we specify, order, install and warranty-register their equipment directly rather than sourcing whatever a distributor has in stock.
Practically, that gives you a lift matched to the hull rather than to a price point, proper parts availability years down the line, and an installer who has set enough of these on this lake to know how a given model behaves in a slip that drops four feet over the winter.
| RGC model | Capacity | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| FLEX™ Hydraulic | 6,000–36,000 lbs | Freestanding, adjustable-width bunks, marine-grade aluminum frame, stainless-braided hoses |
| Vertical Aluminum | 1,250–10,000 lbs | 66–80″ lift height, 15-year limited warranty, manual or AC/DC drive options |
| Hydraulic PWC/Jet Ski | Up to 2,000 lbs | Single-cylinder, 60″ lift height, for jet skis and small craft |
Canopies are available in RGC's Traditional style — scalloped or straight-edge, in Sunbrella® fabric or vinyl — or the lower-profile APEX design, all on marine-grade aluminum frames.
How it goes
From first call to finished work
No surprises, no vanishing acts between the deposit and the build.
Size the lift to the boat
Dry weight is the starting point, not the answer. We add fuel, water, batteries, gear and canopy load, then leave real margin. An undersized lift is the most common problem we are called to fix.
Match the lift to the bottom
Depth at the slip, bottom composition and how much the water level swings across the season all determine whether a cantilever, a vertical lift or a hydraulic unit is the right machine.
Install and commission
We set the lift, level it, adjust the cradle to your hull, run electrical where needed, and put the boat on it with you present so you know how it behaves.
Service every season
Spring commissioning, cable inspection, winter shutdown. Cables and gearboxes are wear items on a lake this cold; catching them early is far cheaper than the alternative.
Recent work
Boat Lifts on Lake George
Photographs from our own projects around the lake. Click any image to enlarge.
Common questions
Boat Lifts, answered
The questions Lake George owners actually ask us. If yours is not here, ask it directly — we would rather answer than have you guess.
What size boat lift do I need?
Take your boat's dry weight from the manufacturer, then add everything that lives aboard: full fuel (roughly 6.1 lb per gallon), water, batteries, canvas, gear, and the weight of a canopy if you want one. That total is your working load, and you want meaningful headroom above it — not a lift rated to exactly that number. Owners routinely underestimate by 20–30%, which is why cables and winches fail early. Send us your make and model and we will do the arithmetic with you.
Cantilever, vertical, or hydraulic?
Cantilever lifts use a scissor geometry, work well in shallow to moderate depth, and are typically the value option for smaller boats. Vertical lifts raise the cradle straight up on posts, need less depth to gain the same lift height, and handle heavier boats — they are the workhorse on much of Lake George. RGC's vertical aluminum lift covers roughly 1,250 to 10,000 lbs, with lift heights from 66 to 80 inches, and carries a 15-year limited warranty. Hydraulic lifts have far fewer moving parts in the water, operate fast and quietly, and are the usual choice for large or heavy hulls — RGC's freestanding FLEX™ hydraulic lift scales from 6,000 lbs up to 36,000 lbs for a heavy cruiser, with adjustable-width bunks for a custom fit. For a jet ski or PWC, a single-cylinder hydraulic mini-lift handles up to 2,000 lbs.
Does my boat lift have to come out for the winter?
On Lake George, yes for most installations. The lake fully freezes in roughly seven winters out of ten, and ice will destroy a lift left standing in a shallow slip. Some deep-water and boathouse-protected installations can overwinter in place with the cradle raised and the structure inspected, but that is a case-by-case judgement and not a default. We handle removal, storage on shore and spring reinstallation as a standing seasonal service.
Can you install a lift inside my existing boathouse?
Usually, and it is one of the better upgrades available to an older boathouse. The constraints are headroom to the tie beams, the condition of the cribs or pilings taking the new point loads, and slip width. We survey all three before ordering. A boathouse that has never carried a lift may need structural work underneath first — better to know that now than after the lift arrives.
My lift stopped working mid-season. What now?
Stop using it immediately and do not attempt a repair unless you are qualified — a loaded lift with a compromised cable is genuinely dangerous. Call us on (518) 260-9878. The common failures are frayed or snapped cables, worn gearboxes, electrical faults in motorised units, and bent or corroded structural members from an ice event or a hard docking.
Related
Often part of the same project
Lake George, New York
Let's talk about your boat lifts
Tell us the property, the shoreline and what you have in mind. We will tell you what is possible, what it involves and roughly what it costs — before anyone commits to anything.