HEAVY LIFTINGNeed a Lif ?Marine Travelift builds boat hoists, self-propelled transporters, and marine forkliftsBy Edward Lundquistot every ship repair facility has a drydock it, or moved to an area where or marine railway. But thanks to a Stur- there is environmental protec-geon Bay, Wis.-based company, ship- tion for sandblasting.”Nbuilders and repair yards from small to The largest models can han-large can get a real lift. dle 1,000 ton lifts. Johnson Marine Travelift builds boat hoists, self-propelled says the Colonna’s Shipyard transporters, and marine forklifts, with more than in Norfolk, Virginia, is being 3,500 units delivered worldwide, and can be found at used for projects up to 1,000 waterfronts all around the world. metric tons. That makes the lift “Our boat hoists range from 15 ton all the way up an ideal choice for tugs, work to 1,000 ton capacity,” said Jason Johnson, North boats, ferries, offshore supply American sales manager. “Marine Travellift has been and crew boats, and barges.involved with shipyards since the 1980s. It’s a mar- Colonna’s has used the 1000 ket that is growing in popularity for our products,” C to haul small Navy combat-said Johnson. “Being able to safely lift vessels to and ants such as the USS Monsoon from the water in a relatively quick manner as op- (PC-4) and USS Squall (PC-posed to traditional drydocks is very attractive to our 7).shipyard clients.” “Using the Marine Travelift they see where their business is going currently and Johnson says there are real ef? ciencies. “It’s possi- hoist saved the U.S. Navy and the taxpayers several in future. We help them determine the best model ble to move vessels into protected area off the water- hundred thousand dollars of drydock fees, since we for their requirement,” he says. “This is a purchase front, so workers can get around a vessel to work on could berth the ship on land for the eight months that will last for a number of years. We want to look it was out of the water,” said forward with the client.”Richard Sobocinski, vice presi- Johnson says the company has many repeat custom-dent of contracts for Colonna’s ers. Newport Shipyard in Rhode Island, for example, Shipyard. “Plus, one of the more has three units in operation. positive aspects of using the ma- “You can haul a vessel out of the water and hang it chine is that environmental is- for hull inspection, or to change out a prop, without sues inherent in ship repair can setting it down” Johnson says. “It saves on labor, es-be more easily controlled and pecially if the vessel going back in in a short amount managed on land.” of time.”In addition to retrieving ves- In fact, Colonna’s Shipyard was able to relocate its sels from the water for mainte- blasting and painting operations away from the open nance and repair, Johnson says water to land basins where the yard can collect and the lifts can also be used to for process waste water before discharging it. fabrication and handling of cais- The articulated pivot trunnion allows for the frame sons and specialty items. to ? ex under uneven terrain without causing structural “The units are self-propelled damage or risking the safety of the load. Four-wheel with rubber tires, and are oper- steering provides a tight turning radius for precision ated remotely using a wireless handling of boats in limited spaces. ”And it requires transmitter, which allows the op- no greasing,” Johnson says.erator to walk anywhere around “We deliver the unit delivered in pieces by truck the machine,” Johnson says. or open top containers. We provide a factory service “The operator can position him- technician from Sturgeon Bay to supervise erection of self at a preferred vantage point. the machine. It connects together with bolting ? ang-The controls are laid out in a es. Assembly is quite ef? cient and quick,” Johnson manner that is very intuitive to says. “We also provide training to the customer.”an operator.” “The market is trending up,” Johnson says. “What “We’re engaged in a partner- we’re hearing from our customers is that our product ship with the client right from provides an opportunity to make their business more the start to understand where ef? cient.”96 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • AUGUST 2014MR #8 (90-97).indd 96 MR #8 (90-97).indd 96 8/7/2014 10:03:47 AM8/7/2014 10:03:47 AM