Patent ID: 7628564

Claim:
A method of lifting a boat from a body of water and moving said boat over a land surface wherein said boat comprises a hull with a longitudinal front-to-rear center axis and right and left bottom hull surfaces in a manner to apply lift forces along a substantial length of said bottom surfaces, said method comprising; a) providing a pair of elongate right and left elongate lift members; b) positioning an elongate cradle structure on each of said lift members along a substantial length of the lift member, with each cradle structure having an upwardly facing cradle support surface comprising a lower middle cradle support surface portion with upwardly and outwardly sloping side retaining cradle support surface portions, with said cradle support surface portions defining an elongate recess extending along at least a substantial length of said cradle structure; c) positioning in the recess of each cradle structure an elongate inflatable bunker having an inflatable pressure chamber, and with the cradle structure being capable of providing both lateral and vertical support for the inflatable bunker, in a manner that there are right and left lift sections, each of which comprises at least its related lift member, cradle structure and the inflatable bunker; d) providing an operative connection of the two lift members to a mobile lift apparatus and providing at least one steerable wheeled portion for said lift apparatus; e) positioning the mobile lift apparatus with the lift sections at a lift location which is at or adjacent to a body of water; f) positioning the two lift sections in the body of water at a lift location where the two lift sections are beneath the water surface and are arranged spaced laterally from one another to provide therebetween a boat receiving region, and with the two bunkers inflated to a pressure level that provides cushioned support throughout at least a substantial length of the bunkers; g) positioning the boat to be lifted in the boat receiving region; h) raising the lift sections so that support members to engage the bottom surfaces of the boat and lift the boat upwardly; and i) operating the mobile lift apparatus to move the boat over a land surface.