KKMI Christens the Haully Green Giant, Marine Travelift

San Francisco Bay-based KKMI has purchased a Marine Travelift 50 BFMII mobile boat hoist for its new Sausalito boatyard facility, sister to the original KKMI location in Point Richmond. The new facility is designed to preserve the integrity of Sausalito’s working waterfront; showcase KKMI’s best management practices, especially in the arena of environmental compliance; and offer top-quality professional services to local boaters. According to CEO Paul Kaplan, every aspect of the operation needed to be compatible with these goals — and that included the new Marine Travelift mobile boat hoist.

KKMI worked closely with Marine Travelift’s engineers as they developed the new hoist, which incorporates recycled aircraft tires. Its hydraulics run on mineral-based biodegradable oil, and the machine’s Cummins Tier 3 diesel engine uses biodegradable fuel. The engine complies with or exceeds California’s latest emission requirements.

Additional touches include flat-faced O-ring designs in the hydraulic fittings, which prevent system leaks; hydraulic flex lines covered in protective cordura material, which help prevent potential leaks and hose degradation; and the composite articulated pivot trunnion and composite self-lubricating block adjusts, which do not require greasing.

What’s more, KKMI requested that the new machine feature Marine Travelift’s Sound Suppression Kit Level II, which incorporates a hospital-grade muffler, foam and louvers for maximum sound suppression. The kit proved to be essential.

KKMI also worked with the Marine Travelift team to ensure that its new 50-ton mobile boat hoist would be ideally suited to an important segment of the yard’s market: high-profile, deep-draft and racing sailboats.

To accommodate such vessels, Marine Travelift engineers added height to the machine and incorporated the innovative sailboat top beam extension. With the extension, the top beam is moved forward to provide additional clearance from the forestay while it’s still in position. This means a boatyard can lift a much larger number of sailboats without needing to adjust their rigging, and it allows the yard to accommodate more types of vessels — including large motoryachts, pilothouse vessels and megayachts with tall superstructures.

The new Marine Travelift 50 BFMII began work at KKMI’s Sausalito boatyard on May 3, 2010. An 88-ton Marine Travelift sister hoist handles operations at the Point Richmond yard.