Patent ID: 7527014

Claim:
A self-adjusting watercraft canopy/cover for raising and lowering a watercraft in water, comprising: a protective cover; a lifting structure configured to receive and support the watercraft; at least one float rotatably attached to the lifting structure and selectively rotatable with respect to the lifting structure between a first substantially vertical position in the water and a second substantially horizontal position in the water different from the first substantially vertical position, the rotatable float supporting the lifting structure and moving the lifting structure between a first elevational position and a second elevational position in response to rotation of the float between the first substantially vertical position and the second substantially horizontal position, respectively, wherein when the float is in the first substantially vertical position and the lifting structure is in the first elevational position the lifting structure is sufficiently submerged to receive and deploy the watercraft and when the float is in the second substantially horizontal position and the lifting structure is in the second elevational position the lifting structure is sufficiently raised to lift the watercraft substantially out of the water; and at least one linkage having upper and lower ends, the upper end functionally connected to the protective cover and the lower end functionally connected to the rotatable float such that when the float is moved from the second substantially horizontal position to the first substantially vertical position, the rotational movement of the float in the water is translated to the protective cover through the linkage to raise the protective cover to a first cover position, and when the rotatable float is moved from the first substantially vertical position to the second substantially horizontal position, the rotational movement of the float in the water is translated to the protective cover through the linkage to lower the protective cover to a second cover position closer to the lifting structure than when in the first cover position.