RogerRat
Well-Known Member
Nice way to spend a Saturday morning:
I arrived at late afternoon on Friday and noticed a extra large Princess berthed in the waiting aea on the visitors pontoon. After sorting stuff on my boat for later, I thought it might be an idea to go and have a nose. ( As you do)
This is what I found on the berth:
Wow, great looking boat: Yep 98 footer or 30M to some.
The skipper, 'Stuart' was on board was busy with two lines on the go on his mobile trying to arrange a lift to ship that evening for a little Princess 56 and a bigger lift of the Princess 98. for the morning. He was having a hard time with the load masters and dive team, but seemed to winning.
It Turned out that later on the loadmasters sent them back as they had finished for the Day! This meant a crack of dawn departure with the P56 and then a second trip round with the P98. To make things worse, Stuart, the delivery skipper was short handed and wondered if we would assist with lines and fenders on the short the delivery trip round to the ship in the morning. Welll, it would have been rude not to really.
Planning to leave at about 08:30 for the ship, I walked round to the P98 to see her looming out of the early morning watery sunshine.
Here's one for JFM
Looking down over:
And back at:
This is a fabulously large boat by any scale of comparison and certainly the largest I have been on.. Hurricane’s P67 is a great boat and bigger than most privates’ but this quite honestly dwarfed even his.
A few more views of a great illuminated name plate, the extensive Flybridge with Hot Tub in situ; entrance to saloon, the Lower Helm and of course some of behind scenes of the engine room, I didn't take any in the crews quarters but there were 3 cabins, 2 heads and utility area.
Strangely, this boat had the smaller engine option of the twin Caterpiller 1760s' the upgrade to the bigger MTUs' is £130,000. I doubt if the owner will save fuel with these in the long runb as they wll certainly be working harder but here is a view of one of them.
So off we went in the only nice weather of the weekend. In search of the 'Big Lift' ship on the other side of the docks. After proper briefing re. expectation of process on arrival and the allocation of correct PPE (safety wear) we set off. God those ropes are heavy when they're wet!
This is 'Big Lift'
While on the way round, having moved fenders for rafting and setting up lines for starboard to. We had a chance for a careful nose round the boat. Everything was very carefully wrapped to keep the furnishings and carpets clean and perfect for the new owner...
Right so, we rafted close up on the starboard side to 'Big Lift' Very interesting there were already quite a few boats onboard and just as many out of view below decks. 2 of which looked like small work ships, 100 ft long with 3 props tucked under. To give you an idea there was the P56 from earlier, V72, P52, several other yachts.
Right, with the P98 along side the Loadmasters' take full control and responsibility. They have a deck plan worked out on a CAD system with the boats' to be loaded measured to the inch/cm. They go to great lengths to get the lifting straps under the hull and snug as possible to avoid loop drag against any tidal stream. This sounds strange but the straps are very wide in order to be strong enough but this can create so much drag that Diver Dave will have difficulty in positioning them around underwater stabilisers and locating them spot on for C of Gravity.
Here's Dave, He just jumped in with fins from the top of the deck of the ship, About 10 metres may be more!
Right once straps are in place which was not easy above or below due to super structures etc. Here's a shot of Skipper Stuart on top of the Hard Top Bimini working the strops under and over the Nav. light system having already lower antenae.
Quite simple really, once all the strap are in place correctly the crane operater takes up the load slowly, checking as she goes, the mother ship will start to list, ballast is then pumped laterally to keep the vessel level and more load is increased until she is clear andon her way up. as soon as she's at deck height, we had to vacate and the njustwatch as she was carefully lifted up and over on to the Big Lift deck.
A nice little trip to do and not one that I had had the pleasure of before. With the choice of boat and the only decent weather of the weekend. It was a nice Saturday morning in Southampton Quays.
The photo were only snaps on the swmbo's phone butI think they give a good idea and record.:encouragement:
Thanks to Stuart and Dan for the invite. Dave (pictured) and I enjoyed the experience muchly and were glad to be of help.
RR
I arrived at late afternoon on Friday and noticed a extra large Princess berthed in the waiting aea on the visitors pontoon. After sorting stuff on my boat for later, I thought it might be an idea to go and have a nose. ( As you do)
This is what I found on the berth:
Wow, great looking boat: Yep 98 footer or 30M to some.
The skipper, 'Stuart' was on board was busy with two lines on the go on his mobile trying to arrange a lift to ship that evening for a little Princess 56 and a bigger lift of the Princess 98. for the morning. He was having a hard time with the load masters and dive team, but seemed to winning.
It Turned out that later on the loadmasters sent them back as they had finished for the Day! This meant a crack of dawn departure with the P56 and then a second trip round with the P98. To make things worse, Stuart, the delivery skipper was short handed and wondered if we would assist with lines and fenders on the short the delivery trip round to the ship in the morning. Welll, it would have been rude not to really.
Planning to leave at about 08:30 for the ship, I walked round to the P98 to see her looming out of the early morning watery sunshine.
Here's one for JFM
Looking down over:
And back at:
This is a fabulously large boat by any scale of comparison and certainly the largest I have been on.. Hurricane’s P67 is a great boat and bigger than most privates’ but this quite honestly dwarfed even his.
A few more views of a great illuminated name plate, the extensive Flybridge with Hot Tub in situ; entrance to saloon, the Lower Helm and of course some of behind scenes of the engine room, I didn't take any in the crews quarters but there were 3 cabins, 2 heads and utility area.
Strangely, this boat had the smaller engine option of the twin Caterpiller 1760s' the upgrade to the bigger MTUs' is £130,000. I doubt if the owner will save fuel with these in the long runb as they wll certainly be working harder but here is a view of one of them.
So off we went in the only nice weather of the weekend. In search of the 'Big Lift' ship on the other side of the docks. After proper briefing re. expectation of process on arrival and the allocation of correct PPE (safety wear) we set off. God those ropes are heavy when they're wet!
This is 'Big Lift'
While on the way round, having moved fenders for rafting and setting up lines for starboard to. We had a chance for a careful nose round the boat. Everything was very carefully wrapped to keep the furnishings and carpets clean and perfect for the new owner...
Right so, we rafted close up on the starboard side to 'Big Lift' Very interesting there were already quite a few boats onboard and just as many out of view below decks. 2 of which looked like small work ships, 100 ft long with 3 props tucked under. To give you an idea there was the P56 from earlier, V72, P52, several other yachts.
Right, with the P98 along side the Loadmasters' take full control and responsibility. They have a deck plan worked out on a CAD system with the boats' to be loaded measured to the inch/cm. They go to great lengths to get the lifting straps under the hull and snug as possible to avoid loop drag against any tidal stream. This sounds strange but the straps are very wide in order to be strong enough but this can create so much drag that Diver Dave will have difficulty in positioning them around underwater stabilisers and locating them spot on for C of Gravity.
Here's Dave, He just jumped in with fins from the top of the deck of the ship, About 10 metres may be more!
Right once straps are in place which was not easy above or below due to super structures etc. Here's a shot of Skipper Stuart on top of the Hard Top Bimini working the strops under and over the Nav. light system having already lower antenae.
Quite simple really, once all the strap are in place correctly the crane operater takes up the load slowly, checking as she goes, the mother ship will start to list, ballast is then pumped laterally to keep the vessel level and more load is increased until she is clear andon her way up. as soon as she's at deck height, we had to vacate and the njustwatch as she was carefully lifted up and over on to the Big Lift deck.
A nice little trip to do and not one that I had had the pleasure of before. With the choice of boat and the only decent weather of the weekend. It was a nice Saturday morning in Southampton Quays.
The photo were only snaps on the swmbo's phone butI think they give a good idea and record.:encouragement:
Thanks to Stuart and Dan for the invite. Dave (pictured) and I enjoyed the experience muchly and were glad to be of help.
RR
