At Bridgeport Boat Works in Bridgeport, Connecticut, our crew set a mast on a large sailing yacht. The spar stood 183 feet tall and weighed 39,000 pounds, which made this a job for two cranes working in sync. We handled the main pick with a 400-ton Liebherr all-terrain crane and tripped the mast upright with a 175-ton Grove GMK5150L.

To carry a spar that long and heavy at the required radius, the 400-ton was rigged with 220,000 pounds of counterweight plus its superlift attachment. That setup gave us the capacity and stability to lift the mast cleanly off the sailboat and bring it to vertical. The 175-ton Grove took the foot of the mast and tripped it from horizontal to upright, so the two machines shared the load through the whole rotation.

Why Two Cranes

A long mast cannot simply be hoisted at one point. It has to be lifted, rotated, and brought vertical without putting a bend into the spar. Running the 400-ton and the 175-ton together let us control the mast at both ends through the trip, keep the stresses where they belonged, and land it on the vessel under control.

Marine and waterfront lifts like this one are part of what we do across Connecticut. If you have a stepping or unstepping job, or any heavy lift that needs careful rigging, call Quick Pick Crane in Derby at 203.924.2000.