8 BOAT HOISTS AND TRANSPORTERS
Two examples from Marine Travelift
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decade after the world’s first mobile boat hoist was designed and manufactured in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, Marine Travelift was officially founded at this small town on Lake Michigan
in 1954. The company has been responsible for many innovations in boat lifting and moving, including the first open-end design of boat hoist and the Beam Forward Machine series of mobile hoists for marinas,
and is now recognised as offering the most comprehensive line-up of boat handling equipment for the marina industry. Boat hoist capacities range from 150-1,500 metric tons and selfpropelled, hydraulic transporters from 20-100 metric tons capacity can haul vessels of up to 33 metres and more in length. The following two examples illustrate how shipyards and marinas utilise both types of equipment.
Mobile boat hoist The Marine Travelift 1000C boat hoist, capable of lifting 1,000 tons, changed the way Colonna’s Shipyard approached its business. Located on the deep-water, mid-Atlantic Port of Norfolk, Virginia, the yard featured a 17,200 ton floating dry dock, a 2,800 ton floating dry dock and two marine railways. Such facilities used to be the standard technology for handling large vessels that need repair, overhaul or conversion work when out of the water, but when this fullMARINA INDUSTRY • FEBRUARY 2022
Lady M, a 65 metre superyacht built by Palmer Johnson Yachts, being lifted at its now closed yard in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, by a Marine Travelift 1000C boat hoist. service ship repair facility was ready to look at new, more efficient options an in-depth analysis concluded that a Marine Travelift system would give greater capacity and more flexibility than the alternatives. Not only were scheduling conflicts eliminated due to the increased number of slots available at the pair of dry docks, but as these were no longer required to service a 900 ton vessel, there was no longer any problem of what was then described as ‘mismatched capacity’. In addition, the yard was able to respond more quickly to emergency lift-outs, which resulted in improved through-put of orders. A Marine Travelift mobile boat hoist’s excellent maneuverability allowed the yard to fully utilise all available space. Operators were able
