See the Sublift being used to launch a boat at Ardfern Lochgilphead
"The Sublift 40T seemed to tick all the boxes for Ardfern Yacht Centre"
Ardfern Yacht Centre took delivery of its new 40T Sublift in July after many months of research in to the right slipway hoist for the job. Sublift, designed and built in Sweden by Sublift AB, was originally conceived by Anytec AB who are well known for the supply of superbly built aluminium boats – so Sublift has been designed and built by boat builders and is thus the perfect slipway hoist for the job.
Following a visit to Ardfern by the CEO of Sublift AB (Ingmar Granlind) with his Chief Engineer (Anders Eriksson) earlier in the year, Ardfern management placed their order and made a pre-delivery visit to Sublift AB in Sweden upon completion of their new lift to inspect it and to receive operator training.
The new Sublift allows the Yacht Centre to lift boats up to 40T in weight, such as the catamaran seen in the photos. It will also enable Arfern to make better use of their winter storage area due to the fact that Sublift is highly manoeuvrable and is much more compact than other slipway hoists on the market.
Ardfern’s General Manager, Mark Cameron, comments: "Having spent a long time researching the slipway hoists available, the Sublift 40T seemed to tick all the boxes for Ardfern Yacht Centre. We have limited storage space on the hard standing for winter storage of boats and also in the work-shed. Sublift's compact design allows us to maximise the use of space, even when handling smaller boats, which is where other designs really lose out. The acquisition of a Sublift is the next stage in the development of the facilities at Ardfern and will open up the comprehensive repair and maintenance services offered in our workshops to larger boats based on the west coast of Scotland. In the Sublift’s first month of operation we have already had two yachts ashore in the yard weighing in excess of 30T and look forward to many more."
The Sublift in use in Medway Marina
These shots were taken at Medway Marina where we have a 25T Sublift working. One of its recent tasks was to lift an AirBerth off a truck and then launch it. The AirBerth was being delivered to a customer of Medway Marina who wanted to store his boat out of the water to protect his investment.
March 2010: Ardfern Yacht Centre invests in a 40 tonne Sublift slipway lift
Ardfern Yacht Centre on the west coast of Scotland has just invested in a 40 tonne Sublift slipway lift. Ardfern chose Sublift over other slipway lifts on the market because of its superior quality, adaptability and compact design. Another key consideration was the fact that the operator can be just about anywhere he wishes when controlling the Sublift because it's remote control operated.
Ardfern's Sublift will be delivered in June and we'll be posting photos of the project as it progresses in this gallery.
Click on the image above to open a photo gallery of the Ardfern Yacht Centre's Sublift. The gallery will open in a new window.
Medway Bridge Marina puts its Sublift to good use
Medway Bridge Marina in Rochester, Kent, recently took delivery of a 25 tonne Sublift slipway lift. It's already proving to be very useful as these photos of it being used to unload a boat from a transport truck demonstrate.
Sublift boat lift at Medway Bridge Marina
We are delighted to announce that Medway Bridge Marina in Rochester, Kent, has just taken delivery of a Sublift boat lift.
The Tale of Two Boat Lifts
Parkstone Bay Marina in Poole, Dorset is one of those boatyards/marinas where you feel that everything is looked after well. The boats are all neat and tidy, the racks and trailers that they are stored on are all smart and well kept and even trailer towing hitches sit on white-painted blocks.
It comes as no surprise then to find a couple of smart blue Sublifts are employed to do much of the boat moving, launching and lifting. Some 5 years ago Parkstone initially acquired a 12T Sublift and this was quickly followed by a 25T Sublift to handle the bigger boats. At the beginning of 2009, Parkstone traded in the 25T and placed an order for a 40T unit.
At the busiest time of the year, when boats are being lifted and cleaned constantly, the enthusiastic staff at Parkstone can have a boat out of the water, washed down and back in the water in around half an hour. But they are also able to lift boat out quickly when emergency repairs are required, hold them in the slings while work is down and then return the boat to the water following repairs. The Sublift also help yacht brokers show the complete vessel to a potential buyer without spending too much time lifting and hauling.
Steep slipway for Sublift
One of the first deliveries to the United Kingdom of a Sublift Semi-submersible Boat Lift was to the Monkstone Cruising and Sailing Club in South Wales. The Club needed a boat hoist and transporter to improve the Club’s boat storage facilities and needed one that could operate well on the Club’s steep and slippery slipway.
Sublift provides a way of combining a hoist with a boat transporter and at the same time providing a way of storing boat as close together as possible. Sublift also has the advantage of being one of the most manoeuvrable slipway hoists available on the market.
As can be seen from the attached pictures, Sublift has fulfilled all of the Club’s requirements which means that the Club can not only slip and lift all of its members’ boats but also provide a service to other local boat owners.
Traditional boatyard meets 21st century
Wicormarine tucked away in the tranquil, upper reaches of Portsmouth Harbour is one of those traditional boatyards where you just know your boat is going to be looked after. It’s a place where there’s a feeling of boating history and a place that is run by practical people who have an enthusiasm for their work.
The yard has been family owned and operated since 1966 and is now headed by Scott Waddington who has to make all the hard business decisions but can usually be found out in the yard moving boats, checking moorings and offering advice to owners.
In recent months it had become obvious that the fleet of three boat trailers (designed and fabricated by Scott’s father) had reached the end of their useful lives; vessels with modern keel configurations were proving difficult to handle and training staff how to use the old kit was a challenge at the best of times. The fleet had earned their retirement and it was time to look at new ideas.
Wicormarine has a slipway with limited tidal access and it was therefore essential to find a single machine that could perform efficiently within those limitations. There are, of course a range of boat lifting devices available on the market but the self-propelled semi-submersible Sublift from Sublift AB of Sweden caught Scott’s attention. Sublift AB have many years of boatbuilding experience and, some time ago, set out to design their own boat lift – so successful has this design been that they have had to build a new factory to keep up with demand!
Such a major purchase for a boatyard in today’s testing financial times is not an easy decision to make but having agreed to a trial period and found that Sublift "does what it says on the tin" Wicormarine took the leap of faith. Scott and his team can now manage a much wider range of boats in the same range of tide and can generally provide a boat handling facility in which their customers can have complete confidence. The quiet and competent Sublift can now be seen keeping up the traditions which Wicormarine customers have come to expect.
Sublift quality wins Royal Navy order
We are pleased to announce that we have been chosen to supply a replacement slipway boat hoist to the Royal Navy’s training establishment at HMS Raleigh. Sublift AB manufactures Sublift slipway hoist – a self-propelled semi-submersible boat lift which has the great advantage of having been designed and built by boat builders.
Sublift comes with that indefinable bonus of "Swedish Quality" – superbly engineered and with a high quality finish; Sublift is probably the most compact and manoeuvrable slipway hoist available on the market. It has been designed to use minimum manpower and to provide an efficient method of handling boats in and out of the water, transporting them wherever they need to go and loading and unloading them to and from trucks.
Recognising the standards that the Royal Navy sets, we are particularly proud to have been selected to supply this 12T unit. Sublift AB were also able to help HMS Raleigh by supplying a Sublift from stock when the tractor for their existing lift suffered serious service problems.
Sublift AB have supplied Sublifts to a number of military organizations around the world – in Malaysia, Mexico, Sweden and Singapore. They are not only used in normal workshop situations but, because Sublift can operate on a simple laid track, it can be used tactically to help launch and recover boats almost anywhere that there is a beach. He also said that his company has been pleased to supply Sublift to a number of marinas and boat clubs in the UK and that this sale to the Royal Navy was followed immediately by another unit which is going to a Wicormarina near Portsmouth – this followed a meeting between us and the customer at Seawork 2008.
Following a visit to Ardfern by the CEO of Sublift AB (Ingmar Granlind) with his Chief Engineer (Anders Eriksson) earlier in the year, Ardfern management placed their order and made a pre-delivery visit to Sublift AB in Sweden upon completion of their new lift to inspect it and to receive operator training.
