Marine Group Boat Works will undertake a multimillion-dollar modernization project at its 15-acre shipbuilding and repair facility on San Diego Bay in Chula Vista, it was announced today.
Central to the project will be the addition of a mobile boat lift, which will be the only sideways-crawling travelift on the West Coast and the largest in the United States, according to a company statement.
MGBW contracted with Cimolai Technology, based in Veneto, Italy, to custom-build an 820-Ton Mobile Telescopic Boat Hoist that will combine “two critical benefits” — mega-capacity and flexibility. The lift will be able to haul a superyacht out of the water and transport it forward, backward and even sideways on wheels that can turn 90 degrees.
Another key feature of the machine is its variable width, which will allow the crane to expand up to 18.5 feet or collapse for vessels with smaller beams. The machine will also include a Tier 4 low-emission power source, the company said.
“When the 820-ton lift arrives at MGBW in San Diego, it will be one of the largest and most innovative machines in the U.S. market,” company officials said. “It will replace a 660-Ton Marine Travelift that MGBW purchased in 2007, which was featured on The History Channel’s `Modern Marvels’ series as the single largest lift of its kind at the time.”
In addition to the new boat lift, the construction project will include a solar panel installation on the San Diego waterfront, intended to provide 500 kilowatts of renewable energy to power yard equipment and supply shore power to docked boats. The project will also include the replacement and reconfiguration of all docks and dredging to restore deep-water access.
The facility will remain fully operational during construction, which is expected to take 10 months.
Great the best for Chula Vista