Multihull Marina Lifts

[justakiss]

Originally Posted by 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.

Attachment 163087

Is it basically like a boat ramp operation you see at most public places? Get the cat close enough and then slide the trailer underneath? Any videos of how they do it?
Thanks for sharing!

[Privilege]

Originally Posted by justakiss

Is it basically like a boat ramp operation you see at most public places? Get the cat close enough and then slide the trailer underneath? Any videos of how they do it?
Thanks for sharing!

Yup, that's exactly what it is...albeit a proper boat yard ramp with a proper trailer. I don't have any videos but it's quite a straight forward task. It helps that I have shallow draft keels but I don't think that fuller keels would have an issue. I make sure that they have nice fresh carpet scraps covering their trailer pads and they reverse down into the water. They position the rear pads on the underside where the bulkhead runs across the boat at the cockpit entrance. The rear pads are then raised by hydraulics to hold and position the boat. Front pads are easy. The rear pads are they raised more to level the boat prior to driving out of the slip. The same yard does it for all similar cats on the island.

[SailFastTri]

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.

You don't think the hulls are pressed inward by the straps in a travelift? They are, in a much more leveraged manner (at the bottom) than they would be at hull-to-deck level where the hulls extend past the bridgedeck (a highly reinforced area on all cats). Think about it.

[Bean Counter]

Saw a 4WD vehicle get lifted by straps without a spreader bar, crushed the door pillars and front windscreen popped out.

[Gary Mc]

You absolutely need spreader bars or an engineered lifting frame to lift a Cat.
Also no respectable crane company is going to use the owners straps, they will have their own.

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by Gary Mc

You absolutely need spreader bars or an engineered lifting frame to lift a Cat.
Also no respectable crane company is going to use the owners straps, they will have their own.

Bingo. They will also have spreaders and understand their use.

[PaulinOz]

Just been hauled down in Oz at The Boat Works, Gold Coast on a Sea Lift.









Very painless and gentle on the vessel.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by 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.

Attachment 163087

Yes, an ariculated trailer is a great option. Easier on cats I think than a travel lift and great for the yard too, because they can position boats closer together than with a travel lift.

It also eliminates the whole max beam issue by lifting under the bridge deck.

Nana Juana on the Rio Dulce has a trailer.

Here in Panama, PanaMarina has a trailer. Shelter Bay has one too, for repositionig boats. They use the travel lift for the intial lift and then may transfer to trailer to position boat in yard.