 How To Install A Boat Lift Cable West Palm Beach? Boat lifts are used to lift and hold a boat out of salt or freshwater. Most often, a boat is driven on straps, beams, a platform, or other mechanisms that sit at or just below the water. Once in place, the boat lift allows boat owners, maintenance personnel, or dock employees to lift a boat out of the water for storage, repair, or transfer to a boat trailer for transport. Elevators eliminate the need for boat ramps to launch and remove boats from the water, as the lifting mechanism does the work of a ramp without the need for an additional vehicle with an attached trailer. 