Gear Lifts

A new hoist from Island Marine Products gave us a chance to revisit a little-changed field where fault is hard to find, and price and style make more of a difference. We still like the Garhauer and Kato lifts.

By hoisting a 180-pound editor, we verify the versatility of gear and motor lifts. This unit from Island Marine Products, features a demountable crane section for ease of stowing.

There was a time when you could unclamp the 70-lb. outboard from the transom of the inflatable, stand braced like Atlas in the cosmos, press the engine overhead, and settle it onto its mount on the rail. Those jerry jugs full of fuel and water, those bags of groceries, those duffels that the country cousins brought with them, full of hard-soled shoes and fancy French water and hair driers—all those things, back in the day, popped over the toerail and onto the deck with a blithe effort on your part.…