Following the parade, staff from Marine Travelift, the manufacturer, and the Port, spent the next five days putting it all together. With the help of a 165 ton mobile crane from Sicklesteel Cranes in Tacoma, the frame of the machine was erected within 2 days. The hydraulics, power plant and cabling were completed next. It's a 140 ton wooden halibut schooner from Alaska, here for some work to be done by Baird Boat Company. Several more lifts are already scheduled for the next few weeks.
Business is significantly ahead of projections.
It weighs over 336,000 pounds and is capable of lifting boats weighing up to 660,000 pounds, with up to a 31 ft. beam. Top travel speed is 75 feet per minute. Today there are less than a dozen of these machines operating in the whole world. Wind's Eye Design, Inc.