Multihull Marina Lifts

[justakiss]

Hello!
We are about 6 years out from being full time liveaboards. We definitely plan on getting a multihull as our future home. Part of our research has shown that multihulls in the 45'-ish range have limited marina lift capabilities due to beam width. A cursory search shows that most marinas with lifts in the Chesapeake only have the capability to service boats in the under 24' beam range. Most mid 40's catamaran's fall in the 24' beam range, and larger multihulls need larger lift capabilities.

Does anyone know of where we can find marina lift information? Initially our plan is the Caribbean and Eastern Seaboard, but the question applies to worldwide capabilities.

Thanks!

[Bean Counter]

Google is your friend
Best East Coat Yards to Haul Your Cat | Multihulls Quarterly

[belizesailor]

Active Captain, NoonSite, and ask here about specific venues (the more specific the more likely to get responses).

[SailFastTri]

Carry what you need for crane lifting, just in case of emergency haul-out needed. Many boatyard have a heavy crane, and every major town has contractors with construction cranes that can be rented with operator by the hour.

Buy yourself four (40 foot) lift straps rated for overhead lifting. The safe rating for each strap should be about half your overall estimated cruising displacement (figure manufacturer's spec weight x 1.5 if you want to WAG it).

Each strap would be used as a sling for the hulls - you'd place slings for and aft of the bridgedeck on each side, being careful about props and shafts etc. and gather the ends together at the crane hook. It would also help to carry 4 oversized SWL rated shackles to gather the ends of your straps and place the crane hook through.

You could also construct this out of Dyneema for greatly reduced carrying weight, but you'd be on your own to spec it out whereas the commercial straps you can buy are load rated and certified to a specific set of standards.

[Boatguy30]

Maybe just pack a travelift aboard as well. Seriously that’s some whacko advice. Any company with a large enough crane to lift a 45’ cat has plenty of their own straps.

[Boatguy30]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

Active Captain, NoonSite, and ask here about specific venues (the more specific the more likely to get responses).

Attachment 163062

That’s a serious lift. Where’s that at?

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by Boatguy30

That’s a serious lift. Where’s that at?

Yes, big ass lift. I forget the specs, but its at Linton Bay Marina, Panama...no need to bring your own straps. [emoji16]

[SailFastTri]

Originally Posted by Boatguy30

Maybe just pack a travelift aboard as well. Seriously that’s some whacko advice. Any company with a large enough crane to lift a 45’ cat has plenty of their own straps.

The OP wrote: " Initially our plan is the Caribbean and Eastern Seaboard, but the question applies to worldwide capabilities."

Not "wacko" at all. Construction and cargo cranes can be found in every country. Worldwide; marinas with facilities to haul a 45' cat might not be where you need it in emergency.

PS - No need to attack the person when you disagree with an idea.

[belizesailor]

More fun lifting multihulls in Panama:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/tqewio1uym...e%202.mp4?dl=0

And pulling a cat mast Guatemalan style on the Rio Dule (3 yards that can accomdate cats: 1 trailer, 1 travel lift, and 1 railway).

https://www.dropbox.com/s/h7ui7vdkqb...50023.JPG?dl=0

[justakiss]

Thanks for the comments thus far.
Yes, google is definitely our friend. The challenge has been finding a comprehensive list/ database of lifts rather than one article at a time. Those tend to only mention an handful of marinas. However, we will continue our search.

Thanks!

[Jim Woodall]

Originally Posted by SailFastTri

Carry what you need for crane lifting, just in case of emergency haul-out needed. Many boatyard have a heavy crane, and every major town has contractors with construction cranes that can be rented with operator by the hour.

Buy yourself four (40 foot) lift straps rated for overhead lifting. The safe rating for each strap should be about half your overall estimated cruising displacement (figure manufacturer's spec weight x 1.5 if you want to WAG it).

Each strap would be used as a sling for the hulls - you'd place slings for and aft of the bridgedeck on each side, being careful about props and shafts etc. and gather the ends together at the crane hook. It would also help to carry 4 oversized SWL rated shackles to gather the ends of your straps and place the crane hook through.

You could also construct this out of Dyneema for greatly reduced carrying weight, but you'd be on your own to spec it out whereas the commercial straps you can buy are load rated and certified to a specific set of standards.

IMHO this is questionable advice if one is considering lifting a 45' cruising catamaran. Regardless of the size or lifting capacity of the crane, straps alone will potentially cause significant damage to the boat. Catamarans are not designed to be lifted in that way. A large (and very strong) lifting frame should be used to prevent the hulls from being stressed in places not strong enough to handle the load. A proper lifting cradle allows the boat to be lifted straight up without putting inward pressure on the hulls. With a proper lifting cradle (used correctly) the load is distributed evenly as it would be with a travel-lift. If the method mentioned is used, you will likely have a crumbling catamaran once she comes out of the water.

[Cuvee]

See following thread. Cote Mar has an excellent pdf listing of East Coast and Caribbean marinas with wide beam lift capability.
http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...d.php?t=180066

[justakiss]

Originally Posted by Cuvee

See following thread. Cote Mar has an excellent pdf listing of East Coast and Caribbean marinas with wide beam lift capability.
Best Marina to haul a cat on east coast? - Cruisers & Sailing Forums

Awesome and thanks!

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by Jim Woodall

IMHO this is questionable advice if one is considering lifting a 45' cruising catamaran. Regardless of the size or lifting capacity of the crane, straps alone will potentially cause significant damage to the boat. Catamarans are not designed to be lifted in that way. A large (and very strong) lifting frame should be used to prevent the hulls from being stressed in places not strong enough to handle the load. A proper lifting cradle allows the boat to be lifted straight up without putting inward pressure on the hulls. With a proper lifting cradle (used correctly) the load is distributed evenly as it would be with a travel-lift. If the method mentioned is used, you will likely have a crumbling catamaran once she comes out of the water.

Good point and anywhere that has proper lifting cradle/spreader bars is likely to have the straps and shackles to go along with them. See video I posted above of the trimaran lift...all the gear was supplied by the crane company.

If you really want independent emergency lift capabilities then a lift bag could be used totally independently of any shore based resources. It collapses, but is still quite bulkly, but then again so are proper straps for a 45' cat.

Another factor to consider with improptu crane lifts is that many commercial crane operators have no experience lifting boats. A friend of mine had his Lagoon 47 dropped by such an operator....not pretty...about $30K in repair costs...and in 3rd world countries, even in the unlikely case that a crane operator has insurance, they may not pay and your legal recourse is effectively nil (that was what happened in his case...so $30K out of pocket). Lift bag would avoid these issues, but still seems like over kill to me.

[Privilege]

Another option to consider...

Where I live there are no travel lifts wide enough to lift my 44' cat. They use a hydraulic trailer. As long as they position the pads under a bulkhead, the hull doesn't flex at all and I've never had any issues.