13.07.2010

Endeavour yacht raised in New Zealand

Three Grove all-terrain cranes hoisted the historic yacht Endeavour from the waters of Auckland harbor in New Zealand. The Endeavour – which is considered to be one of the top 10 vessels of all time - was built to race in the 1934 America’s Cup and many of the yacht’s pioneering features are still in use today.

All three cranes belong to NZ Crane Group, which coordinated the engineering and planning of the complex lift for client Yachting Developments, the company refurbishing the yacht for its current owners.
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Three Grove all-terrain cranes belonging to NZ Crane Group hoist luxury yacht Endeavour from Auckland harbour, New Zealand.

Cameron McCahill, group general manager at NZ Crane Group said: “We lifted a similar sized yacht named Bliss from Auckland’s downtown viaduct in December 2009, so we have some experience,” he said. “But when there’s a crowd of people watching and clearances are just two inches (5 cm), you want to be sure everything goes to plan. Our plan worked as designed and we were very pleased.”

NZ Crane Group lifted Endeavour using a six-axle, 300 tonne Grove GMK6300 crane and two 220 tonne GMK6220L cranes. These are the largest cranes in the NZ Crane Group fleet.
The yacht weighed 152 tonnes, but with 12 tonnes of lifting tackle and hooks, the total load came to 164 tonnes. To carry out the lift, the cranes were positioned so their outriggers rested above piles in the harbour floor. Where this wasn’t possible, NZ Crane Group manufactured steel beams to provide the necessary support, and the company also arranged for additional support to the front outriggers.

“The area was tight, and with cranes having to jack up to the extra height on the steel beams, maneuvering them and 14 semi-trailers was challenging,” said McCahill. “The lift was a great success. Even though these are large six-axle cranes, we were able to manoeuvre them exactly into position.”

Endeavour was hoisted from the water and transferred to a trailer positioned on a nearby barge. The barge then travelled up the harbour to Hobsinville and the yard of Yachting Developments.

NZ Crane Group has one of the largest crane fleets in New Zealand ranging from 5 tonnes to 300 tonnes. The company services North Island projects, with branches in Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga and Wellington.