WESTFIELD — Barcelona Harbor now has a Handicaptain device to help mobility challenged people get into boats.

The chair lift was installed at the harbor Wednesday. Handicaptain company founder Adam Begley said it was the second one on Lake Erie, after Dunkirk’s. In fact, the effort at the Dunkirk Marina spurred a similar one at Barcelona.

“People get to a certain age and they can’t get in and out of the boats anymore. They wanted something to help people in and out of boats,” Begley said of both Dunkirk and Barcelona’s marina users.

Begley installed his lift devices for private residences and businesses for 20 years, but credited Cassie Pinkoski of the Chautauqua County Soil and Water District for suggesting a public project in Dunkirk. “Being a businessman, of course I said yes,” he laughed.

After the successful installation of the Handicaptain in Dunkirk a few weeks ago, Pinkoski suggested Barcelona for a similar device, Begley said. “When we left Dunkirk we pretty much had the check and the contract signed” for Barcelona’s lift, he said.

Begley said no local tax money was used for the devices at either of the harbors. Marina slip owners paid for the Handicaptains, he asserted, criticizing social media posts about the Dunkirk device that incorrectly suggested city tax dollars were used.

“This thing is engineered to be five times stronger than a 70 miles per hour wind,” he said. “It’s very simple. It went up in Barcelona in three hours.”

The lift device is made by patient care products company Savaria; Begley is a certified installer for the company.

Begley said a formal ceremony to commemorate the installation of the Barcelona Handicaptain is likely to get delayed until spring. However, it’s available for use until the fast-approaching end of this season.

Begley hopes to expand his business further, including in Chautauqua County. He said a Handicaptain might go in at the Bemus Point Marina and hopes to install the devices at other marinas on Chautauqua Lake.