Setting new delivery records for 2023

Italian boat handling and lifting specialist Boat Lift has much to celebrate in 2023, having delivered its biggest boat hoist to date and its first machine to a customer in the southern hemisphere.

The giant delivery – a 25m (82ft) high, 1,000 tonne capacity hoist – is now in action at Bomlo Skipsservice, a ship repair and refit yard situated alongide a Norwegian fjord.
The machine represents the culmination of research and development, both at technical and functional levels, and is a tribute to the company’s solid teamwork in rising to the challenge of developing the best performing and most responsive machines.
Delivery of an 820 tonne hoist, recently assembled in Fitjar, a few kilometers from Bomlo, has also reinforced the high potential for Boat Lift in the Norwegian market. A 90 tonne trailer, an 80 tonne expandable trailer and a 320 tonne mobile hoist are also due to be delivered in coming months to the region.
Meanwhile, very far from home, a 90 tonne expandable mobile boat hoist has entered operation at The Boat Works yards in Queensland, Australia. It joins four existing hoists that, together, have the capacity to lift every type of vessel up to 300 tonnes.
Tony Longhurst, owner of The Boat Works, said that investment was made in the new variable width, all-wheel drive machine so as to keep pace with demand. It also provides more flexibility as it can lift wide multihulls and monohulls.
“It has an adjustable beam width narrowing the vessel footprint from 8m [26ft] down to 5.5m [18ft] allowing the team to maximise the vessel set down footprint. This is brilliant for boat storage as we can go narrow for the narrower runways and use it for packing boats in tight spots,” Longhurst explained.
The machine boasts unique Dynamic Steering Control (DSC), which Boat Lift defines as “allowing seamless transfer between four modes with infinite adjustment between each to allow progressive adjustment of the radius of rotation.”
“DSC is an innovative steering management system developed by Boat Lift. This system allows an operator to linearly move the axis of rotation in any position between the axis of the front wheels and the rear wheels. This makes it possible to significantly reduce the manoeuvring space required for the handling and storage of boats,” Longhurst added.
“Given a steering angle, the operator can also use it during the forward and backward movement of the travel to circumvent obstacles in a single manoeuvre.”
In addition to breaking ground on record deliveries, Boat Lift continues to hone its electric hoist offerings. Boat Lift electric machines are equipped with tailored high efficiency lithium batteries, selected specifically for their considerable benefits in comparison with lead-acid batteries. Boat Lift says that, while the latter guarantee 1,000 recharge cycles and present voltage drop in response to energy spikes, lithium batteries ensure 3,000 recharge cycles and present a lower voltage drop thanks to their high stability and efficiency.
So as to meet different demands, Boat Lift machines can be designed in two different versions: full electric and hybrid. The former is propelled exclusively by electric drives and is endowed with inverters, responsible for controlling the correct speed and torque of electric motors. The latter is equipped with an electric traction motor and maintains the hydraulic system for all other movements. In this respect, Boat Lift installs IE3 efficiency electric motors on its machines that, in combination with inverters, guarantee a high level of energy efficiency (93.6%).
www.boatlift.it