The in-house team of Marine Travelift engineers, in association with its dealer, H & E Equipment Services, Inc., of Louisiana, faced the dilemma of how to ‘redesign’ the standard 600C configuration to accommodate the existing constraints of the C&G boat yard. The answer lay in the wheels!

Rather than the standard 16 wheel, 45° steer for the conventional 600C, designers came up with an 8 wheel in-line, 90° steer unit. This meant the revolutionary design had the same height and inside clear width as C&G’s previous 300C machine, but now had better manoeuvrability than the 16 wheel unit, while doubling the lifting capacity. In addition, the 600C utilises cantilevered structural supports on the front side of the forward columns. This extends the front sling supports further forward than the ‘beam forward design’ of the 300C or 500C units. The cantilevered system adds overall distance between the front and the rear slings, which means the length of boats that can be carried is greatly increased.

Mickey Cook, general manager of C&G Boat Works, said, ‘Back in 2001 when we first purchased a Marine Travelift 300C, we had the foresight to install piers that could cope with a larger machine, giving us contingency for future expansion. That forward planning has paid off. Marine Travelift has managed to design and manufacture a machine that not only copes with the ever increasing size of boats we handle, but we are delighted not to have compromised on yard space.’

Jeff Shall, sales representativeof H & E Equipment Services, added, ‘This design obstacle was a tough nut to crack, but thanks to the ingenuity of Marine Travelift engineering, the customer was more than happy with the result. The project took just under 12 months to complete, so considering its complexity, it was a ‘win-win’ situation for everyone involved.’  

For 10 years, C&G Boat Works Inc. has primarily been boat builders for the offshore oil and gas industry. With the size of supply boats ever increasing, introduction of its 600C has provided C&G with the means to better serve its customer base.