Hiab for boat lift

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I've very recently sold my boat - 27' bilge keeler, 4 or 5 tons. The buyer has organised collection by a well known Edinburgh boat haulier. From the description, the vehicle sounds like a self contained Hiab. Buyer says that 'it's a 36 tonner'. I have doubts about this. Operation involves a lift of 5 metres from the harbour bottom (boat dried out alongside), and the vehicle can 'park' at the harbour edge.
The buyer will be present.

Anybody got any experience of this?

Deal is cash on collection. Should I insist on payment before any lifting operations commence?
Thanks, Dave.
 
Yoda might be along shortly. I saw him lifting his last boat with a Hiab. He might have some helpful comments.

Hopefully the driver will know what he is doing, but even a trusting soul like me would insist on cash (and therefore transfer of title) before lifting commenced.
 
We moved Kindred Spirit from the previous owner's farmyard with a HIAB. No problem at all. You get some very large and powerful ones these days, it's not like those things that unload pallets of bricks.

If it's being done by a proper haulage company (as opposed to some mate borrowing his company's truck) then it will be done as a "contract lift" with the crane-trained driver responsible for planning the operation safely and effectively. I wouldn't worry at all.

As a matter of principle though, the boat should be his property and not yours by the time he does any lifting of it.

Pete
 
In the Spring my (then) boat and several others were lifted in by a Hiab. Boat was an 8-ton (Thames) Hillyard with a deadweight of about 6.5 tons.
The truck was unable to raise the boat with enough extension to do the job in one lift and had to manoevre twice to move it to the harbour side, then into the water.
The final lift of the day was to shift a 30-footer within the yard - the Hiab hydraulic pump broke.
It was a nervy time for me... the previous Autumn the boat was lifted by a "proper" crane.
So, it is do-able but you need to be confident about the experience of the driver and the capability of the rig.
Another point - make sure the rig will be able to lift with enough extension to allow use of spreader bars on the slings to avoid comression forces on the topsides.
 
Here's our boat, Sadler 26, being lifted by a HIAB.

P1000367.jpg


As prv says these are a bit more than the bits of kit used to lift bricks off the back of a Wickes lorry.
 
islecastle1 said:
I've very recently sold my boat - 27' bilge keeler, 4 or 5 tons. The buyer has organised collection by a well known Edinburgh boat haulier. From the description, the vehicle sounds like a self contained Hiab. Buyer says that 'it's a 36 tonner'. I have doubts about this. Operation involves a lift of 5 metres from the harbour bottom (boat dried out alongside), and the vehicle can 'park' at the harbour edge.
The buyer will be present.

Anybody got any experience of this?

Deal is cash on collection. Should I insist on payment before any lifting operations commence?
Thanks, Dave.
Click to expand...


I would encourage you to insist on completion of sale - i.e. cash - before any lifting is commenced. That's then his property - and his risk. I'd also encourage you to check in advance with the harbour authority for consent and H&S.

Who will be in charge of the lift? You, him, or the truckie?

While truck-mounted HIAB cranes do sterling work in boat shifting, '8 tons' is the largest I've come across. I'd be surprised if '36 tons' was possible, so there's clearly a misunderstanding there. There may be other 'errors and omissions'....

FWIW, below is a recent boat-shifting exercise using a Telehandler. Note the use of 'brother chains' and the load spreader beams from a Catapult catamaran. Also, the wide lifting strops are each 8-tons rated, and 16T in a basket lift, but they're spreading the load effectively.

IMG_2110.jpg
 
Lady Campanula said:
I'd be surprised if '36 tons' was possible, so there's clearly a misunderstanding there.
Click to expand...

It'll be 36 tonne-metres. The further you're reaching, the less you can lift. So it could lift 18 tonnes at 2 metres extension, for example, or 3.6 tonnes at 10 metres. Should be more than adequate for the OP's 5 tonnes with the lorry able to park right next to it. Bigger ones yet are available.

Pete
 
My concern with this lift would be the "at the harbours edge" component. How close will the vehicle have to be to the edge? Will the the edge sustain the loading?

This lift might better be done at high water to reduce the vertical lift, thus enabling the vehicle to be further back from the edge.

As others have said, I would insist that the change of ownership takes place before the lift starts. The buyer is organising the lift, so it should be his risk.
 
HIABs can be REALLY big these days; while I was working in a boatyard they took delivery of a shiny new Wise 50t travelhoist. The proof mass was 80t in 10t and 20t blocks; these were offloaded from the flatbed by the biggest HIAB I have ever seen. It could do 15t out to about 10m and was operated via a radio control thingy like a toy car only more fun!
 
Thanks for the replies all of which give food for thought, and a certain amount of reassurance. The liftout is being done by a boat transport contractor, with the driver being in charge.
Scary pics Paul.
I'll try and get pics and vid if I can fathom out how to work the cam.
I'll definitely get the dosh before any operations start, and then presumably I am in the clear.
Joint buyers are female!
Dave
 
john_morris_uk said:
Yoda might be along shortly. I saw him lifting his last boat with a Hiab. He might have some helpful comments.

Hopefully the driver will know what he is doing, but even a trusting soul like me would insist on cash (and therefore transfer of title) before lifting commenced.
Click to expand...

True to form - here I am!

I have lifted my Pioneer (about 4 tonnes) with a Hiab and the limiting factor was reach. With the boat effectively close alongside the lorry your only issue will be just how far the Hiab will depress below the level of the road. To help this of course you can adjust the length of strops to achive maximum lift. It may take a few attempts to get it right. Lifting at high tide may be easier.

Complete the sale before he lifts!

Yoda
 
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