Sturgeon Bay – Marine Travelift has designed, built and delivered a new model of marina forklift specifically engineered for the growing center console market. The M4200H (42,000 lbs. capacity) center cab Hydro M_Drive forklift was recently delivered to Viking Yachts in Riviera Beach, FL for use in hauling the Valhalla line of boats and more.
Viking Yachts currently has a 150 ton Marine Travelift boat hoist at each of their North and South yards but was looking for a faster more efficient way of moving these smaller craft around, as well as loading and unloading trailers. There are also future plans for a rack system at the yard to help with space constraints and the number of vessels moving through the yard. A marina forklift was the best solution for current needs and future plans.
With the growing popularity of larger center console vessels drystacks are having to increase their forklift capacity in order to serve these types of customers. “There is definitely a growing need and market for this range of forklift”, said Brock Rubens, Director of Sales/Marketing at Marine Travelift. He added, “In order to best meet our customer’s needs it was time to expand our product offering and with Viking being such a great customer of ours for decades, the timing was perfect.”
While designing the M4200H Marine Travelift put extra emphasis on serviceability, cycle speeds, and turning radius. All of the improvements made on this high capacity forklift are also being applied to their M3600H (36,000 lbs. capacity) and M5200H (52,000 lbs. capacity) models. Shorter wheelbase, combined with a tighter turn radius, will allow marinas to upgrade without needing to make major infrastructure adjustments. The new M4200H marina forklift comes in either a 140” or 129” wheelbase and with Marine Travelift manufacturing their own steer axles it provides an unrivaled turning radius.
Serviceability was key and something that can be noticed immediately by anyone who works around this type of equipment. Typically service points are accessed from underneath the forklift but for ease of maintenance the access points on this unit are top side, making them very easy to get at. These high capacity units also come standard with solid tires as Marine Travelift realized most marinas don’t have the proper size compressors to inflate to 145 psi, which would be needed on the pneumatic tires. This eliminates any issues with flats and the need to call in an outside company to keep the tires properly inflated.
A larger engine was chosen for the M4200H model as well to give it adequate drive speed and power necessary for efficient navigation of most any marina or service yard. An additional benefit is the power left over for increased mast, carriage and fork speeds. The combination of all this equals faster cycle times, which means more boats launched and retrieved in the same amount of time.
The standard center cab configuration on these high capacity lifts also moves the operator as far forward as possible, achieved by setting the steering column forward of the front guard rails. The forward position and standard rear backup camera displayed on a 10” color screen, gives the operator maximum visibility of his surroundings. These features combined with the Moment Indicator System, which provides a green/yellow/red scale to indicate the limits of the machine, allows the operator to safely and efficiently move boats.
For more information about Marine Travelift and its full range of marine forklifts, mobile boat hoists and transporters, call (920) 743-6202, email the sales team at sales@marinetravelift.com or visit www.marinetravelift.com. Also, be sure to follow them on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn for all the latest company updates.
The world’s first mobile boat hoist was conceptualized and manufactured in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin in 1945. Officially established in 1954, Marine Travelift Inc. has a long-standing reputation as a marine industry leader and is recognized for its tradition of excellence on a global scale. The company manufactures mobile boat hoists, marine forklifts, self-propelled transporters and other related marine lifting products. It also has an extensive U.S. and international dealer network, with more than 4,000 units in service worldwide.
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