An Idea Lifts Off

Way Marine Design's hits the drawing board, takes boat lift to new level

In today's jargon, entrepreneur Chris Way is way excited.

He and his brother, Bob, recently launched a new product, the Ascender, a boat lift that's out of sight, but certainly not out of mind.

Or, as Chris likes to say: "Not seeing is believing."

The boat lift is marketed under Way Marine Design."I've never been more excited about any project," Chris said.

The boat lift has clean lines and is environmentally friendly.

Three years ago, Bob, currently a resident of Bradenton but soon moving to St. Augustine, was constructing a boat lift for his Bradenton home.

"He's got a real strong background in marine design," says Chris, and as Bob was building his boat lift he knew he could do better than what was on the market.

He sent Chris a drawing of a boat lift he envisioned.

"I just built one for myself, and I started playing with the idea of doing away with the drive spools and drive pipes," Bob said.

He also determined, he says, that by getting into hydraulics, "I could eliminate 99 percent of the problems" associated with lifts already in use.

Chris says they "started tinkering around" and came up with a boat lift that is faster, quieter, more stable and "contains no exposed electric motors to corrode in harsh saltwater environments."

The view from land or water is one of a boat parked on a dock with no exposed mechanism. The mechanism is neatly tucked away in compartments on one side of the lift. On the other there's storage space for fishing gear and a 50-foot hose for all the housekeeping duties a boater must accomplish after a day of fun in the salt water.

Building materials include aluminum and stainless steel, some of it 3/16th stainless, says Bob.

Exposed pieces, Chris says, are powder coated to make the finished product "look nice."

Attorney Fred Cone, whose home faces Matanzas Bay on Davis Shores, was one of the first to get an Ascender.

"I would say the lift is very well conceived," Cone said. "It's built to last a long time ... so far it's maintenance free and certainly performs the way they said it would."

Cone is installing two of the lifts at his home. He signed on for the lift after he and Chris "were talking about docks."

Cone had experience with the other kind of lifts, with the twisting cables and the leveling problems.

Cone says the nice features of the Ascender, for which the patent is pending, are the storage and "clean look."

"I think they're going to do very well. It's very strongly built," Cone said. "There's nothing flimsy about it, and it's easy to use."

Since launching their product, the company has contracts for 19. The biggest challenge to date, says Chris, will be a facility to accommodate a helicopter and small plane. That project is in Duval County.

In on the ground floor of the company is Bobby Federer, a 2004 graduate of Flagler College.

He was one of five students in the small business management class of Jan-Marie Culhane. Federer said he became involved after Chris visited the class "looking for some cheap labor. ... My class took it (the Ascender) on as a class project."

Federer said the project included doing market research and finding out "what kind of business is out there for boat lift companies."

The men visited numerous boat shows, and Chris said he was truly surprised that there was nothing like the Ascender already on the market.

Cost of an Ascender is in the neighborhood of $8,500 to accommodate a 10,000-pound boat, and the cost can rise to about $20,000 depending upon the size of the boat.

It can be about "twice the price of what I would call the same capacity" boat lift by another manufacturer, Cone says, "but I just think this is going to last so much longer."

The Way brothers and Federer work with dock builders in installing the Ascender. Bob is the builder.

The boat lift is the latest in a series of businesses Way is involved in St. Augustine. His other ventures have included Dat'l Do It, Barnacle Bill's restaurants and he's a partner in Steer Real Estate.

Like his brother, Bob Way is excited about this newest venture.

"I'm excited that once we get rolling people will see this lift," Bob said. "Everyone who sees it absolutely goes crazy over it."