DESIGN OF LIFTING AND TRANSPORT CRADLE FOR PURSUIT

Project Summary

For the transportation of the classic America Cup M-class wooden hulled sloop PURSUIT from the Svendsen's Bay Marine Yard in

Point Richmond, CA, to France, a steel lifting and transportation cradle was designed in which the hull was stowed. The strenght of

the cradle subject to lifting and transport forces was verified using Femap FE analyses. After construction and stowing the 95,000 lbs

heavy sloop PURSUIT inside, using the yard's Travelift, the cradle was lifted onto a sectional Poseidon barge for the tow from the

yard in Point Richmond to the container terminal in Oakland. The barge dimensions were limited by the Travelift wheel pier distance

and its stability was carefully checked. After arrival in Oakland, the cradle with sloop was lifted and stowed inside the hold of a

container ship, using a STS crane with a hook under its headblock. The cradle was lashed to its supporting flat racks for the long

voyage to France. The cradle with sloop safely arrived in France late December 2023.

The project scope included:

Photographs courtesy of Peter Lyons (copyright Peter Lyons Photography).

specialists in marine heavy-lift transportation engineering

naval architects

marine surveyors

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Est. 1992

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Design cradle to lift and transport the sloop PURSUIT, including detailed shop drawings;

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Check the strength of the cradle for the various design load cases, using Femap FE software;

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Size and check stability of the Poseidon sectional barge using MOSES software;

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Provide lift plan for moving the cradle from yard to barge using the yard's Travelift.

The cradle with sloop was transshipped in Oakland using a STS crane.

Rhino 3D model of cradle with sloop

FE model of the cradle simulating the lift

Cradle loaded onto barge withTravelift

Barge with cradle with sloop towed to Oakland