Patent ID: 7117805

Claim:
A boat lift supported on a piling in a body of water for raising and lowering a boat having a hull, the boat lift comprising: a cradle adapted to receive the boat such that the hull of the boat rests on the cradle; means for raising and lowering the cradle; a cable connecting the cradle to the means for raising and lowering the cradle; a drive unit operatively associated with the means for raising and lowering the cradle; and a motor having an output shaft adapted to drive the drive unit; whereby upon operation of the motor, the cradle is raised or lowered; wherein the drive unit includes: a housing defining a substantially fully enclosed chamber, wherein the housing is formed of at least one of aluminum, stainless steel, and galvanized steel and includes first and second cast housing sections bolted together and defining the enclosed chamber; a first sprocket disposed in the enclosed chamber and rotatable about a first axis, wherein the first sprocket is detachably joined to the means for raising and lowering the cradle; a second sprocket disposed in the enclosed chamber and rotatable about a second axis that is substantially parallel to the first axis, wherein the second sprocket is joined to the output shaft of the motor, wherein the first and second sprockets are substantially co-planar; a drive chain disposed in the enclosed chamber and extending between and about each of the first and second sprockets to transfer a drive force from the second sprocket to the first sprocket; and a drive shaft disposed in the enclosed chamber and upon which the first sprocket is mounted; wherein: the housing includes first and second opposed walls disposed on opposed sides of the first sprocket, the first wall including a drive shaft opening and an output shaft opening and the second wall including a drive shaft recess and an output shaft recess; and the drive shaft extends through the drive shaft opening and into the drive shaft recess such that the drive shaft is rotatably supported by the first and second walls of the housing; and the output shaft extends through the output shaft opening and into the output shaft recess such that the output shaft is rotatably supported by the first and second walls of the housing; and wherein the boat lift further includes: a respective journal formed about each of the drive shaft opening and the drive shaft recess; a respective low friction bushing mounted in each of the journals formed about the drive shaft opening and the drive shaft recess; a respective journal formed about each of the output shaft opening and the output shaft recess; and a respective low friction bushing mounted in each of the journals formed about the output shaft opening and the output shaft recess.