Louisa shares this latest news from Cowes Harbour Commission. Ed
Kingston Marine Boatyard in East Cowes has just taken delivery of a new self-propelled boat mover, the first trailer of its kind in the UK from Italian brand, Boat Lift.
The boat mover has a maximum lift capacity of 30 tonnes with multi-directional, 90° steering on all four wheels that enables side crab steering and makes the trailer immensely manoeuvrable. Powered by a 38hp Yanmar engine, the boat mover is also self-levelling.
The unit will radically reduce transit times from the hoist dock area to the main yard, increasing efficiency and throughput, which will take further strides as the new custom-built cradles arrive this month and throughout the summer.
Investment in boatyard
Cowes Harbour Commission’s investment into the new boat mover for Kingston Marine Boatyard has been carried out in conjunction with a number of dock improvements at the site.
This involved reconfiguring the dock layout to give the Boatyard team more working space, thereby maximising efficiency in the hoist dock and also increasing the number of waiting berths.
All set for business
These works were carried out by Hampshire based Walcon Marine Ltd and included repositioning a number of piles as well as driving in four new piles for the dock.
Following training by the Italian manufacturers, the Kingston Marine Boatyard team, lead by Jon Lucas, are now all set for handling mid-sized vessels using the new boat mover and cradles.
