World’s Largest Negative Lift Forklift Installed at Florida Dry Dock Facility

A genuinely enormous marina forklift that weighs 217,000 pounds has been installed at the Sanibel Harbour Yacht Club in Fort Myers, Florida, according to the club’s Facebook page.

The Wiggins Marina Bull W8.4M2 LoPro Wiggins forklift has a 60,000-pound capacity at 96 inches. Its mast can be extended up to 55 feet high and 12 feet negative, according to Chad Edmonds, the yacht club’s general manager.

A negative lift forklift has the ability to lift below ground level, such as when lifting boats from the water. Because this requires a much lower center of gravity than a standard forklift, a negative lift forklift’s counterweight is substantially heavier than that of an ordinary forklift.

The negative forklift at the Florida yacht club is being used to lift heavy boats from the Intercoastal waterway and transport them to dry dock facilities, where the vehicles drop the boats until their owners request them to be removed and returned to the water.

Image courtesy of Toyota Forklift – Bahrns ToyotaLift is an award-winning Toyota Forklift Dealership

Forklifts used at dry docks and other boating facilities typically have rustproof and polymer matrix composite materials in the tilt operator console. This forklift has a tilt operator console, one-piece steps, and a lightweight engine cover. It has a stainless steel-coated steer column and steers motor, as well as stainless steel components in critical areas. It also has zinc-based coatings on the mast and chassis.

The marina forklift being used at the SHYC is the largest in the world, according to Al Paradela, of  Taylor Machine Works Inc., the company that sold the vehicle to the yacht club.