Versatile mobile boat hoist for FDNY
The New York City Fire Department (FDNY) is the largest fire department in the United States and protects 560 miles of waterfront through the use of a fireboat fleet.
These respond to fires and other emergencies on the waterways, emergency towing, and firefighting; as well as providing life saving services to those in the water such as swimmers and jet ski riders.
To increase its boat haul out abilities, FDNY Marine Operations opened up a competitive bidding process for a new mobile boat hoist. Marine Travelift, which conceptualized and manufactured the world’s first mobile boat hoist in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, in 1945,won the new account with its 50 BFMII mobile boat hoist.
The most common vessels the FDNY transports ranges from 25’ open center console vessels to 27’ full cabin crafts up to and including its new 65’ fireboat that weighs some 88,000 pounds. The new 50 BFMII mobile boat hoist will be instrumental as the Marine Operations department continues to expand with the addition of several 31’ and 33’ full cabin boats.
To advance on-site aptitude, Marine Operations pursued a new mobile boat hoist that offered the capability to perform lifts with slings and a special spreader with ‘pick points’ for the vessels with foam collars, including its foam-stabilized SAFE Boat.
In choosing a boat hoist to fit their needs, Marine Travelift’s sling adjustments were important to Marine Operations in order to maximize the versatility and lifting potential. With Marine Travelift’s hydraulic sling adjustments, the mobile boat hoist operator can change the spacing between the well placed slings at the touch of a button. This function provides easy sling movement forward or aft to accommodate a vast variety of vessel hulls. No lubrication is required on sling adjusts, keeping the environment clean as well.
Marine Travelift engineers tailored the 50 BFMII mobile boat hoist with custom built spreaders to allow foam collared vessels to be lifted by a single pick point and incorporated a special work and drive 12 volt LED lights system that runs off the crane’s electrical system. This eliminates the need for separate power supply and provides illumination for boats being lifted out of the water at all times of the day and night. The 50 ton mobile boat hoist also features a sound suppression system that reduces engine noise and was painted to match the FDNY’s well known bright red rescue boat colors.
