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Roy and others,
Didn't want to but I'm going to chime in here.
I have always been concerned when taking boats out of the water on slings, either on a travel lift or by crane or other means. And not just from the point of slipping/falling, but load points and possible flexing of the hull. There is an inherent risk when lifting a boat/yacht. Now, I had a chance to observe first-hand the Dockwise operation, from ballasting to float-off to float-on and deballasting (I did this for a story I wrote). The process went smoothly, especially since this is their business, what they do. Having divers in the water to block the vessels, slow deballasting to ensure the ship meets the yacht correctly, blocking of yachts for trans-oceanic crossings with welded beams, and all the crew working together for hours all show the level of professionalism the Dockwise crews have. And folks from the office were on board, overseeing, monitoring and checking in with captains was part of the process too. Seeing all of this gave me a greater appreciation for the float-on, float-off process they use. I would not want to be the captain telling his owner the boat slipped out of the slings. Take a look at their magazine articles on their site for the story.
Capt Tom
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