Cranes for boat lifts and seawalls in Sarasota

What the crane actually lifts on a dock job

Most waterfront crane work around Sarasota, Bradenton and the canals of North Port falls into a few lifts:

• Boat lift beams, cradles and motors. A few hundred to a couple of thousand pounds each, but set over the water.
• Pilings. Long and awkward. They are usually jetted or driven by the marine contractor, with the crane handling and standing them.
• Seawall panels and cap forms. Precast panels are heavy. They often need a bigger crane, or a barge on longer runs of wall.
• Docks and decking materials, moved from the street to the backyard over the house.

After Milton and Helene, a lot of lifts and walls around the bay were replaced at once, and marine contractors book cranes in batches. A single lift swap is easy to slot in.

Picking the crane

Measure from the closest spot the truck can park, usually the driveway or the street, to the farthest piling. That distance and the heaviest piece go in the form. Up to about 60 feet with light parts, a boom truck often works. Longer, or with seawall panels, expect a 60 to 100 ton hydraulic crane.

Look up too. Many canal streets have overhead lines along the front of the lot. OSHA keeps cranes at least 20 feet from lines up to 350 kV unless the utility de-energizes them.

Photo: Armando Carrasco, JTF-N PAO / Wikimedia

Prices

On published rates a boom truck runs $150 to $225 an hour on a 4-hour minimum, so most single lift installs cost about $600 to $900. A 60-ton crane ran $230 an hour and a 100-ton $330 on a 4-hour minimum, plus a $100 permit fee over 50 tons: roughly $1,020 to $1,420 for half a day.

Ground near the water

The fill behind a seawall is often the softest ground on the lot, and storm-damaged walls can be undermined. OSHA expects the site owner to tell the operator about known ground hazards, like a void behind a wall, a septic tank or a pool. The operator will set outriggers back from the cap and may bring crane mats.