Took a cruise up to Ft. Pierce and stopped by Derecktor. You need to see a 1500 ton Travel Lift in person to truly grasp the size and scale of these yacht-slinging behemoths...
Up on the hard was Utopia IV built by Rossi Navi. I'm guessing the first three didn't reach a mythical state...
This shadow ship was named Axis. I *think* this is a Damen build? Not sure as I don't really follow shadows, but mine follows me...
Couple of things caught my eye on the hull of Axis. The first is the placement of the stabilizer fins; one large set aft of midship and a smaller set near the props. Most noticeable was the HUGE hook in the stern of the hull. Clearly they are trying to develop lift at the transom, but seems like either overkill or a band-aid with an axe-bow design that isn't prone to pitching.
An overview of the yard. Setting up shop in Ft. Pierce was a smart move by Derecktor. The industry keeps building boats, but not docks...
The latter look more like a fixed u/w gear protection whenever (intentionally?) grounding the vessel, rather than stabilizers. But I'm just guessing - happy to stand corrected if anyone knows better.
So true. And it seems we missed an easy opportunity with the reconstruction of the north bridge. Draw bridge being replaced by a fixed bridge means that significant bay area can't be developed for the industry's larger vessels. That's a bad miss.