hiring a crane

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cafebloke

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Can anyone give me just a rough idea of what it would cost
to hire a mobile crane to lift a 5 ton boat from dry standing into adjacent water..

Just a rough ball park figure is ok..... not urgent.
 
probably around £800
depending on the reach needed, you may need a 20 or a 50t crane.
The big operators (such as Ainscough) may not be interested so better to ask around for a local one-man band or to speak to other local businesses who occasionally use a crane.
 
Three years ago £300 would have got a crane for the day including traveliing time. Just ring around a few companies for a quote, often the girl on the phone will tell you from a list of prices. Yopu might well need a spreader bar to stop your boat getting squashed.
 
Just note:

When you're making enquiries, ask about a "Contract Lift", rather than "Crane Hire".

A "Contract Lift" means that the hire co. are responsible for (most of) the insurance, preparing the lifting plan, rigging the lift, providing a Banksman, etc. With "Crane Hire", all this can be your responsibility, and for which you need various training courses, etc.

Cost probably depends on how long it takes the crane to get to you, get rigged, do the lift and get to it's next job. I would guess it'll either be a day (£800??) or half a day (£400??).

The capacity of the crane will be determined by the reach required to move the boat from where it is to the water, so you may well be quoted for a 20 or 50 tonne crane for a 5 tonne boat.

Beware that there may be restrictions on how close to the water's edge that the crane can be. I know of an instance where British Waterways have been particularly awkward about this in the past (*Their* crane was allowed, but everybody else's had to stay 'x' metres from the bank which effectively rendered the wharf un-usable.)

Be clear on who's responsible for what, and what's covered by insurance.

Andy
 
cafebloke said:
Can anyone give me just a rough idea of what it would cost
to hire a mobile crane to lift a 5 ton boat from dry standing into adjacent water..

Just a rough ball park figure is ok..... not urgent.
Click to expand...

Lots of variables. My local boatyard has a 5 ton crane that charges £25 each lift in his own yard. Anything bigger a local crane company (about a mile away) will drive a 20 ton crane down and do a single lift for about £120.
 
Try calling some local boat haulage firms (if there are any near you). They often know crane operators who are used to handling boats. About 4 years ago (maybe 5 now!) I got Avocet moved into our garden for a (still ongoing!) refit. I paid the truck driver and the crane driver £250 cash each. The crane driver came from less than 10 miles away.
 
cafebloke said:
Can anyone give me just a rough idea of what it would cost
to hire a mobile crane to lift a 5 ton boat from dry standing into adjacent water..

Just a rough ball park figure is ok..... not urgent.
Click to expand...

Negotiate and get quotes. The size of crane required (as has been said) will depend upon how close the crane can get to the boat and how far the stretch is to the water.

For a 70 ton crane I required last year (33ft 5 ton yacht) I was quoted between £900 and £300 for a four hour hire. That was in Central Scotland.

'Instant' payment to the driver can also help.

If you can find a crane working locally you may be able to get a good rate.

Iain
 
Last edited:
I photographed a crane working for a company I was associated with.

A 500 ton crane working through the night on New Year's Eve. I seem to remember it was about £15K

Like the others suggest, ask others who get these sorts of lifts done.
Otherwise it may be your leg that gets lifted.
 
We recently moved our boat using a Hiab mounted on a flat bed lorry - £200 all in! No need for a crane at all.

If we had a deep enough bit of water with hard standing alongside he would have put it straight in for that price. Company was called Solutions Haulage based in Portsmouth. Great job - no fuss.
 
emsworthy said:
We recently moved our boat using a Hiab mounted on a flat bed lorry - £200 all in! No need for a crane at all.

If we had a deep enough bit of water with hard standing alongside he would have put it straight in for that price. Company was called Solutions Haulage based in Portsmouth. Great job - no fuss.
Click to expand...

One man haulier near our club drives this kind of rig, his main work is carrying 20 foot containers to places with no facilities to handle containers. He makes a lot of money lifting in and out boats where a long reach is not involved. It would be worth while looking for similar operation locally.
 
It is worth noting that the regulations related to contract lifts or crane hire mentioned elsewhere in this thread also apply to lorry mounted cranes.
 
We are also hiring a crane for our construction project but our budget is low and the range is $150 to $200 and I think it is enough.......
 
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