Casters Solve Tight Clearance Problem

Enlarge Image Kvichak Marine moved a 130,000-pound hull out of its facility using AeroGo Aero-Casters.

February 22, 2006 • Kvichak Marine, a vessel design and construction company in Seattle, recently moved a 130,000-pound hull out of its facility using AeroGo Aero-Casters. With extremely tight clearances overhead and on either side of the load, there was no other way to move the hull. Aero-Casters are omni-directional and move heavy loads on a nearly frictionless film of air or water. The Aero-Caster spreads the load over a large area, often eliminating the need for costly civil work, such as pilings, which is required by wheels or skid beam systems.

For Kvichak Marine, using a Load Module System enables them the flexibility needed to handle various vessel shapes and weights manufactured on site, including mono-hull or dual-hull/catamaran styles.

Enlarge Image Kvichak fabricated their own supprts to cradle the vessel, which were attached to heavy duty urethane load modules with guide wheels.

For this particular move, two 14'x200' strips of overlay were unrolled in the travel path to improve the surface where cracks in the floor may have caused operational problems. They also fabricated their own supports to cradle the structure of the vessel as it rested on the Aero-Casters. A forklift was used as a braking mechanism since the floor slightly sloped.

The hull of this vessel rested on heavy duty urethane load modules (model K48UHD) with a guide wheel positioned in the front of each caster. Ground controls (model BN84) connected to 50-foot long hoses powered the guide wheels.

Kvichak Marine purchased their equipment from AeroGo dealer All States Equipment, Cypress, Texas. For more information on AeroGo products, go to www.aerogo.com.