Historic Tall Ship Launched by Bigge Crew

Cranes at Work |

In April, Bigge engineered and conducted the transport and launch of a historic tall ship into the waters of San Francisco bay from the shores of Sausalito, CA. Named after a prominent shipbuilder and designer, the Matthew Turner is a wooden brigantine schooner built by volunteers from Turner’s original plans dating back over 100 years.

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Our crews utilized a 6 dolly hydraulic transport system pulled by two prime movers. Operating within the confines of the shipbuilding facility’s limited space, Bigge carefully rigged its equipment into place beneath the vessel and transported the assembly to water’s edge. The prime movers were initially positioned in a towing configuration to transport the ship approximately 500 yards to the top of the launch ramp. Once at the top of the ramp, both prime movers were repositioned to the back of the vessel in order to slowly guide it into the water. The launch ramp was temporarily reinforced and extended with steel plates to ensure clearance of the trailer once the ship was afloat.

When complete, the Matthew Turner will serve as an experiential learning platform for Bay Area youth. You can learn more about the project by watching the video below.