We all know how difficult it can be transporting large heavy parts through the vessel. But when it can provide such large savings to the owner, what’s a yacht to do?
When it comes to the engine refit, it always seems we are faced with two alternatives. Struggle with lifting a massive piece of equipment through the delicate yacht interior, or pay to have a hole cut out in the hull/ceiling panels to move the part through.
But there is another option. Some engineering companies, such as AJ Marine, specialise in the removal of large, heavy items from the engine room using custom fabricated lifting structures, fabricated trollies and heavy duty wooden platforms.
Here A.J. Marine demonstrates how its technicians would go about removing various sizes and types of equipment from a yacht, so you can see exactly how the professionals do it.
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1.6te Gearbox Removal
This shows the removal of a 1.6te gearbox. Initially, the gearbox is removed from its working location and transferred to a more accessible area. This is done by the fabrication of various lifting structures. The gearbox is then placed onto a specially-designed heavy-duty trolley, with wooden platforms erected to transfer the gearbox to wherever there is available crane access.
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Heavy-duty Manoeuvring Equipment
Here we see the same operation but from another angle. This highlights the wooden platform, running from the engine room into the garage area. It also shows the trolley used, with its heavy-duty manoeuvring wheels making it easy to direct the gearbox through the door opening.
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3.2te Gearbox Removal
Again, a similar operation is shown, but gearbox weight has increased to 3.2te so more heavy-duty steel and wooden structures are required. All structures are always calculated to be 1.5% over the maximum loadings.
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Basic is best
A wider shot of the type of wooden platform used. The use of simple basic platforms and trollies enable various items to be removed through the yacht with ease.
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Wooden platforms
Another image showing the use of platforms to remove heavy parts.
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The Railway Tracks Method
This shot shows an alternative to the wooden platform method. Here we can see how to move the items through the yacht using an equivalent design to railway tracks (just on a slightly smaller scale!)
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Fabricated Designed Lifting Frames
Here the engine has been turned upside down and the crankshaft removed – all possible on-yacht using fabricated designed lifting frames.
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Crankshaft Transportation
The crankshaft is now starting its transportation through the yacht, again using various fabricated lifting points and trolleys to eventually become accessible to a crane, which will then remove it from the yacht.
Visit A.J. Marine
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