The Beast W O RD S: A L A N REID
After the carnage on the hard standing at Middle Island, caused by the swell over
running the hard standing during the passage of typhoon Mangkhut, a complete re-think was carried out about how, and where, sailing dinghies and RIB safety boats should be stored in stormy weather.
Due to the lease conditions on Middle Island, issued by the Government, the Club is not allowed to build on the hard standing area, and this includes proper storage racks for craft. With the possibility of another serious storm with high surge ever present the decision was made to alter the storage areas of the hard standing to make the craft stored on the hard stand less susceptible to wave damage. One of the decisions was to purchase a new fork lift truck so as to be able to lift craft on to the top of the containers, racks and up on to the balcony of the club house. The present forklift truck does not have the capacity or the lifting ability to raise the craft we have to these places. Various forklifts were examined and the use they could be put to at Middle Island. A small forklift similar to what we have at present was obviously not suitable so it had to be a larger model. If we were to purchase a larger model then it made sense to purchase a negative lift truck which will be able to pick up the craft and launch them to and from the water directly. There are several negative forklift trucks in use in Hong Kong, at Hebe Haven Yacht Club, Clearwater Bay Marina and Discovery Bay which members may have seen. The Club approached three manufacturers of trucks, Wiggins Lift, Travel Hoist and Neptune Hoist. After careful scrutiny of the available forklift trucks specifications and costs the Club chose to purchase a Wiggins Lift truck. The truck that we have purchased will be the smallest one in Hong Kong but will still be able to lift everything at Middle Island. Its use will be mainly to launch and retrieve the Clubs safety RIB’s but it will come into its own when we need to lift sailing boats, dragon boats and RIB’s up to the top of the racks and containers when stormy weather is expected. And just in case we do get another very powerful storm we will be constructing a raised concrete plinth for the truck to sit on. The forklift truck, due to its size, has already been christened as The Beast. Dependent on the shipping we hope to have The Beast operational by the end of October. Happy Lifting. OCTOBER 2019 AHOY! |
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Marine
s I write this article the new forklift truck for the Club has just been completed at the manufacturer’s yard in the USA.