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Ainscough Crane Hire’s Exeter Depot, assisted by colleagues at the Bristol Depot, have safely lifted the Spirit of Loch Ness leisure cruiser onto the Exeter Ship Canal for final commissioning before it set out for the Great Glen and one of the world’s most famous bodies of water.
Built by specialist boat and ferry builder, Exeter Fabrication Ltd, the 22 metre aluminium catamaran, Spirit of Loch Ness, was commissioned by Cruise Loch Ness which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. The vessel took around 12 months to build.
Working at Exeter Fabrication’s quayside manufacturing facility, the Ainscough team used a Liebherr LTM 1300 – 6.2 to lift the craft over the company offices and directly onto the water.
Dave Williams, contract lift manager at the Bristol Depot said: “The launch of any vessel is a dramatic and memorable moment for everybody concerned and this was no different. The lift itself was reasonably straight-forward and went exactly to plan.
“It was a great sight to see it suspended over the canal and slowly lower into the water.”
The vessel will go into service on Loch Ness this year taking thousands of tourists out onto the Loch to enjoy the splendour of the surroundings while maintaining a keen eye out for the fabled monster: Nessie.
