BOAT MOVING & YARD EQUIPMENT One of two MT hoists at The Boat Works, an expansive boatyard site in Australia. extensive service yard capable of servicing up to eleven 29m (85ft) boats simultaneously for repairs or maintenance,” explains marine director Carlos Gayoso de Oliveira, who believes that business will become ever busier as a waiting list for berths builds up. “In the coming years we must increase our capacity for storing boats to 900,” he notes.
Delivering reliability and customer service When selecting the correct boat moving equipment, a boatyard manager must ensure the machinery fits the specific needs of the yard; that it is of sound quality; and that after sales and service support is available to keep everything in tip top working order and minimise downtime if breakdowns occur. USbased Marine Travelift (MT) has specialised in meeting these requirements for decades; and sells and supports its equipment at an international level while continuing to upgrade and innovate. Let’s look at three different customers: the relatively new Marina Itajaí in Santa Catarina, southern Brazil; the long-established iconic Newport Shipyard in Rhode Island on the US New England coast; and The Boat Works in the heart of the impressive Gold Coast Marine Precinct in Australia. All three have at least one Marine Travelift machine.
in southern Brazil for its BR fuel station offering Verana premium diesel and for having a 75 ton boat hoist – an MT 75 BFMII. The facility is busy. “We have an
In addition to the 75 ton Marine Travelift, the marina has an MT M2800 marine forklift and both are used daily for the drystacks and yard services. “On a monthly basis, our Marine Travelift moves over 45 vessels on average just for services and, during the spring, when demand for preventive maintenance increases, this number doubles,” de Oliveira confirms. The forklift is mainly used for dry storage tasks and to perform services and, in high season, is in use approximately 200 times. “Both machines are very good,” he says. On the eastern seaboard of the United States, Newport Shipyard has four different Marine Travelift machines and all are used to help the yard maintain its central role in a town dubbed ‘America’s sailing capital’. Offering the greatest dock space and the biggest lifts, Newport Shipyard has a full-service yard, ship store, restaurant and fitness centre right on the edge of the picturesque harbour. And, as general manager Eli Dana explains, the business has
Happily putting MT machines to work (l to r) Shane Subichin, Eli Dana and Carlos Gayoso de Oliviera.
Marina Itajaí opened in January 2016 in the centre of the city of Itajaí, an important tourist destination with a rich nautical history. The facility has 165 wet slips and covered drystack buildings for 155 smaller boats. It caters for motorboats and sailboats up to 55m (180ft), has a large well-sheltered water basin and 30,000m² (35,880yd²) of land space. Marina Itajaí is unique
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BOAT MOVING & YARD EQUIPMENT Marina Itajaí uses this 75 ton hoist and an MT marine forklift every day for drystack and yard services. equipment, he was searching for the tried and tested, “endorsed quality, proven performance and proven history worldwide,” he said. He would, however, like to see more options in terms of weight/tonne machinery size, and width (beam), so as to more precisely fit the boat to the hoist. Carlos Gayoso de Oliveira wanted equipment that guaranteed safe manoeuvres and he evaluated “durability, reliability, certifications, after-sales service for parts, and dealers”. Eli Dana backed up the wisdom of his decision with a personal experience:
a true nautical heart. “At Newport Shipyard, we’re boat people too, and every facet of our operation is geared towards enhancing and promoting life on the water. We’ve hosted America’s Cup events, two Volvo Ocean Race campaigns, the J Class World Championship and countless other major regattas and boat shows, along the way becoming the port of call for some of the industry’s biggest movers and shakers.” Newport Shipyard has specific roles for its different MT hoists. “We use the 200 CII primarily for getting vessels into our building and hauling vessels that are too big for the 100 ton hoist [100 BFM II] but when it’s not efficient space-wise to use the larger 500 ton [500 C].” The 200 C11 is usually used a couple of times per week, as is the 70 BFM, which is “primarily used to get boats into one of our sheds and for unloading boats from trucks since we no longer have launch piers for this machine.”
Subichin, “on average, there are 40-50 boat haul-outs carried out each week.” The MT BFM II machine is in use yearround and moves around 1,000 boats per annum. This level of activity defines the pace of “Australia’s greatest boatyard”, which spans a massive 23 acre (9.3ha) enhanced site. The Boat Works, described by Subichin as “a comprehensive complex which offers everything from the small stainless steel bolt all the way through to a major refit and everything in between” has around 50 on-site professional marine trade partners. It offers 7,000m² (75,347ft²) of open hardstand, covered hardstand precincts, wet berths and 30 refit sheds accommodating boats up to 15m (49ft) in height. When Subichin looked to buy new
“Our primary considerations are reliability of equipment and customer service and support, and MT has been great on both. They continually work with us if we have any issues and understand the importance of reducing downtime. As an example, last fall we had an engine issue on the 500 tonne and we determined that it was going to be less disruptive to our customers to replace the engine rather than try and rebuild it. “The issue happened Friday at noon and by 5.00pm a new engine was on a truck from Wisconsin to Newport and arrived by 6.00am Monday morning. The machine had a new engine installed by Tuesday morning with less than two work days out of service.” Needless to say, Dana’s been “very happy” with MT products. One of four MT machines at iconic Newport Shipyard. Photo: Billy Black.
The 100 BFM II, meanwhile, usually handles between two and five boats every day – normally racing sailboats and catamarans up to 28ft (8.5m) beam and cruiser/ racing sailing yachts up to about 100ft (30m). Larger vessels are hauled by the 500C, which is in use once or twice a day during busy months. Shifting to The Boat Works in Australia, we find two MT hoists, with 70 and 100 tonne capacities respectively, complementing a unique hydraulic Sealift. According to general manager, Shane
www.marinaworld.com - March/April 2018
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