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wrapped up assembly on the barges crane in Quincy. The crane, designed to T6 criteria by Canadian company TDC Cranes Ltd., has ? nally made its way onto the barge. When engineering on the crane began in June 2012, Sterling set forth to produce a crane that was enormous, powerful and high-tech, yet still durable and simple to op- erate. Sterling provided continual input to TDC through- out the engineering and design process to end up with a machine that suits the end user and application. Every- thing about this crane is massive, said Richard Gillespie, President of TDC Cranes Ltd., from the draw works to the boom to the dual slew drives, carbody, a-frame, house roller beams, gear reducers, open gears and operating cab.? Assembly of a machine this size is a huge undertaking requiring skilled ? tters, welders, millwrights and electri- cians,? Gillespie said. This was undertaken by Sterlings crew in Quincy with TDC supervision and support. Large steel fabrications were built off site, delivered to Sterling and had all the mechanical and electrical components in-stalled by Sterling at the Quincy yard.? The dredge crane features 200,000 pounds of line pull, 250 feet-per-minute rating, diesel-electric drives and 75- foot operating radius. It can be equipped with either a 70- yard bucket for trimming or a 30-yard bucket for heavy digging. With a crane of this size, simple operation seems hard to imagine. But, thats where many of its high-tech features come into play. The entire crane can be operated from one seat with two joysticks. There are no pedals, no frictions, and the winches are fully powered up and down. Even the spud winches and walking spud can be controlled from the crane seat. The list of state-of-the-art features doesnt end there. The cranes winch lock allows the operator to automatical- ly coordinate the winches, auto-close, auto-open and cinch control. As the closed bucket hauls up, the closing winch adjusts itself 60 times per second to ensure the bucket re- mains closed even when the winch is inactive. The house rollers, carbody and rail are unique to TDC. The roll path is a continuous, curved beam with heavy ? ang- es and web that provide uniform, continuous support for the rail, facilitating direct transfer of loads to the structure of the barge without bending in the carbody. The rail itself is rolled in a precise curve with the ends cut on 45 degree bias to guide the house rollers transition across the rail joints. MOVING TO THE HEAD OF CLASS Built entirely in the United States with North Ameri- can components, the newbuild work platform is ample proof that U.S. builders can get the job done and that much needed dredging capacity continues to be launched. The result,? Gillespie said, is a strong roll path capable of withstanding the rigors of dredging. Environmentally, the crane is state-of-the-art; it uses Tier 4 engines, double walled fuel tanks and elimination of all hydraulic equip- ment,? Gillespie said. This dredge is lightyears ahead of the competition environmentally and is the only dredge in North America that is Tier 4 compliant throughout.? Ahead of the curve, environmentally and technologically, Sterling, Canadian-based TDC Cranes Ltd. and May Ship- yard have beaten the odds presented by both Mother Nature and the regulatory scheme to produce a competitive and highly desirable dredge unit, and, not a moment too soon. Left: Workers con? gure the cranes mammoth Carbody in Quincy, Mass. (Photo: Sterling) Right: Robert Bobby D? DeCrescenzo got his start in the maritime industry working on cranes in the late 1970s. From there, he was hired by Jay Cashman Inc. as a mechanic and worked his way up to president of Sterling Equipment. (Photo: Eric Haun)www.marinelink.com MN 33MN August2013 Layout 32-49.indd 337/24/2013 11:32:26 AM
