Abstract: A retractable boarding assembly for use with a marine vessel mounted on a boat lift includes an elongate ramp pivotally mounted to a dock or other structure adjacent to the boat lift and supported boat. There is a directional pulley supported above a body of water adjacent to the dock. An elongate cable or marine rope engages the pulley. A first end of the cable is secured to a lift platform of the boat lift. An opposite, second end of the cable is secured to the ramp. Raising the boat lift with a boat supported thereon allows the ramp to pull the attached cable across the pulley until the boarding ramp is pivotally deployed to engage a deck of the supported boat. Alternatively, when the boat lift is lowered to introduce the boat into the water, the lift platform pulls the cable through the directional pulley such that the boarding ramp is pivotally retracted and disengaged from the deck of the boat.