|
Three all-terrain cranes from Manitowoc’s Grove brand hoisted Endeavour, a luxury yacht, from the waters of Auckland harbor in New Zealand. All three cranes belong to NZ Crane Group, which coordinated the engineering and planning of the complex lift for client Yachting Developments, the company refurbishing the yacht for its current owners.
Cameron McCahill, group general manager at NZ Crane Group, said that together with Yachting Developments, the engineering team came up with the perfect plan to utilize equalizers, spreader beams, slings and shackles to make sure the lift ran smoothly.
“We lifted a similar sized yacht named Bliss from Auckland’s downtown viaduct in December 2009, so we have some experience,” he said. “But when there’s a crowd of people watching and clearances are just two inches (5 cm), you want to be sure everything goes to plan. Our plan worked as designed, and we were very pleased.”
There was additional pressure and attention on the lift given the history of Endeavour. The yacht dates from 1934 and was originally built to race the 1934 America’s Cup. Many of the yacht’s pioneering designs are still in use today, and the Endeavour is considered one of the top 10 vessels of all time.
NZ Crane Group lifted Endeavour using a six-axle, 300 t Grove GMK6300 crane (350 USt GMK6350 in the U.S.) and two 220 t GMK6220L cranes (250 USt GMK6250L in the U.S.). These are the largest cranes in the NZ Crane Group fleet, and all were sold to the company through Tidd Ross Todd, Manitowoc’s dealer for mobile, crawler and tower cranes in New Zealand.
The yacht weighed 152 t, but with 12 t of lifting tackle and hooks, the total load came to 164 t. To carry out the lift, the cranes were positioned so their outriggers rested above piles in the harbor floor. Where this wasn’t possible, NZ Crane Group manufactured steel beams to provide the necessary support, and the company also arranged for additional support to the front outriggers.
McCahill said although the area was confined, the close control of Grove’s Megatrak drive system made positioning the cranes relatively easy.
“The area was tight, and with cranes having to jack up to the extra height on the steel beams, maneuvering them and 14 semi-trailers was challenging. But the lift was a great success,” he said. “Even though these are large six-axle cranes, we were able to maneuver them exactly into position with the close control of the drivetrain.”
Endeavour was hoisted from the water and transferred to a trailer positioned on a nearby barge. The barge then traveled up the harbor to Hobsinville and the yard of Yachting Developments.
NZ Crane Group has one of the largest crane fleets in New Zealand and provides mobile cranes, tower cranes and access equipment. Its cranes vary in size from 5 t to 300 t. The company services North Island projects, with branches in Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga and Wellington.
|
