Tomcat on a forklift?

B

Beflyguy

New member
Howdy,

I'm looking for the right place to keep the new Tomcat and I really like the storage option at Foss Landing in Tacoma. They take the boat in and out of the water, flush and wash the boat and if I don't want to use the boat for a few months, 30 days notice to move out for a while. It is kept inside in a heated space. The problem is with the twin hulls. They don't like them.
I may be able to get some help from a relative that knows an owner but I am seeking any photos of a Tomcat on a forklift or any other photos or helpful information.

Thanks,
 
Brian,

I kept my CD-22 at Twin Bridges, an indoor storage marina near Anacortes. They launch and recover with special forklifts.

As I recall they had a special built pallet they used on the Tom Cats.

You might call Twin Bridges and find out what they do for catamarans.
 
The cats are a real challange for the dry storage fork lifts--they cannot lift under the hulls as a standard mono hull. Most dry storage places will not take a cat, unless you have a special cradle made for it to fit the fork lift. (steel and probably costs as much as many trailers).

So far no one has had the guts to lift a Tom Cat under the wing deck and Armstrong bracket. I don't think that they are engineered for this--but someone may prove me wrong...I know that some Glacier Bay Cats have been lifted on the wing deck.

The usual out of storage of a cat, is to lift it with either two slings (cut outs on the cradle or trailer bunks) or on a lift with direct bunks,
 
Larry H":3okuz4bu said:
Brian,

I kept my CD-22 at Twin Bridges, an indoor storage marina near Anacortes. They launch and recover with special forklifts.

As I recall they had a special built pallet they used on the Tom Cats.

You might call Twin Bridges and find out what they do for catamarans.
Click to expand...

Larry,

Thanks for the referral. They do have a couple of Tomcats there. They weren't enthusiastic about them but didn't say no either. They are somewhat more expensive than Foss but they are an option.
 
I've seen some TomCats at Twin Bridges, but only in the water. I've never seen one being lifted or on a work stand, so I don't know how that would work. But, it is an excellent facility. Even in the winter I've always had someone come down to the dock to help with lines when tying up (lot's of people struggle to get turned around between the two docks), it's always clean, and the location is great. I like it better than Cap Sante or Skyline.
 
I'll chime in as well. We've kept C-Dancer at Twin Bridges since 2005 (except for a short break a couple of years ago) and we love it there. They're really nice people and it's so nice to store the boat in a clean, modern, secure facility and not worry about your boat during the winter.

There's a 24' Tomcat that was just on a stand the other day so I know there is at least one cat stored at Twin Bridges. It is kind of far from Tacoma but is at the gateway to the San Juans, which is why we like to store our boat there even though we live in Seattle.
 
Beflyguy":3iyljtin said:
Howdy,
I'm looking for the right place to keep the new Tomcat and I really like the storage option at Foss Landing in Tacoma.
Click to expand...
I haven't been on the board for a while so I am a bit late to this conversation. Did you ever work this out?

I tried every marina in our area (within 50 miles) to see if they could accommodate my TomCat in their "boatel". This would have been much more affordable than renting a slip (which is what I ended up doing). And though a couple marinas were willing to build a custom bunk (if I paid for it), we could not get past the forklift issue.

I have seen pictures of a TomCat lifted by the sponsons with a forklift -- but it looks scary as hell.
--
mike
 
wannaboat":3vox7b36 said:
I haven't been on the board for a while so I am a bit late to this conversation. Did you ever work this out?

I tried every marina in our area (within 50 miles) to see if they could accommodate my TomCat in their "boatel". This would have been much more affordable than renting a slip (which is what I ended up doing). And though a couple marinas were willing to build a custom bunk (if I paid for it), we could not get past the forklift issue.

I have seen pictures of a TomCat lifted by the sponsons with a forklift -- but it looks scary as hell.
--
mike
Click to expand...

I just took possession of the boat last Friday so I have not approached the Foss people yet. They wanted to see the boat. I would like to see those photos if you can locate them.
 
I was at twin bridges on Sunday while they were lifting a tom cat named "Amigo2". They lifted her right on the twin hulls, pontoons or whatever you call them. It did not appear they where using a special cradle.

there was also a really nice looking 24 tomcat with a blue hull. Nice looking boat.

So It appears they know how and are not afraid to do it.
 
starcrafttom":302wsivf said:
I was at twin bridges on Sunday while they were lifting a tom cat named "Amigo2". They lifted her right on the twin hulls, pontoons or whatever you call them. It did not appear they where using a special cradle.

there was also a really nice looking 24 tomcat with a blue hull. Nice looking boat.

So It appears they know how and are not afraid to do it.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. I will try to contact them and see if they will share any secrets. Anyone know a good person to talk to there?
 
As I wrote above, the folks are great, very nice. The two forklift drivers are Terry and Travis and I would try to speak to them directly. Randy is the office manager and although a nice guy, is kind of, how should I say, less helpful.

Peter
C-Dancer
 
starcrafttom":1nwpyty7 said:
So It appears they know how and are not afraid to do it.
Click to expand...

Things have definitely changed there, then. When I bought my Tom Cat in 2006 they said, "no way, Jose"! That was one reason why we bought our slip at Skyline. Now I am happy we did, but back then I felt singled out.

Warren
 
Just as an FYI- Edmonds won't take any C-Dory into their rack system because of concerns with the lack of V in the hull. We actually lost a sale because of it.
 
I just talked to Terry at Twin Bridges and he said the Tomcats are easy. The forks are placed on the outside of the hulls and they go right onto the racks.
This is encouraging.
 
Beflyguy":2fvkody7 said:
I just took possession of the boat last Friday so I have not approached the Foss people yet. They wanted to see the boat. I would like to see those photos if you can locate them.
Click to expand...

Brian, I wanted to let you know that I did see your request. The pictures came from another TomCat owner, and I don't feel comfortable passing them along without his permission.

I have written him with an invite to join the discussion.
---
mike
 
wannaboat":2vdwc9q1 said:
Beflyguy":2vdwc9q1 said:
I just took possession of the boat last Friday so I have not approached the Foss people yet. They wanted to see the boat. I would like to see those photos if you can locate them.
Click to expand...

Brian, I wanted to let you know that I did see your request. The pictures came from another TomCat owner, and I don't feel comfortable passing them along without his permission.

I have written him with an invite to join the discussion.
---
mike
Click to expand...

Thank You.
 
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