And itβs not lifting 500 tons. Each bucket weighs 500 tons (regardless of boat or no boat, due to displacement physics), it is in almost perfect balance. The motor simply has to rotate the mechanism against frictional losses.
I'm a physicist, I know what you're saying, but I was writing casually and not in a technical manner. You're also technically wrong, even with zero friction, it wouldn't move. You have to overcome the inertia then bring it to rest.