WORLD NEWS
Bobcat telehandler at Europe’s largest leisure marina
The new Bobcat T35.105 telehandler is
playing an important role working on the
quays and pontoons of the La Rochelle
leisure marina in France, the largest of
its type in Europe.
On a daily basis, irrespective of the
weather, at least one of the eight drivers
at the port management company will
take the controls of the telehandler. The
T35.105 is a valuable tool in managing
the more than 5 000 leisure boats
moored all year round in the eight docks
and the total surface area of 70 hectares
of the La Rochelle marina.
A major tourist attraction, the La
Rochelle marina is also a technical
hub based on a local network of
manufacturers and service providers in
the water sports sector. Almost
2 000 specialists from a total of 230
companies are based there.
According to Jean-Luc Dupeux,
deputy director of the harbourmaster’s
technical office and chief driver of the
Bobcat telehandler, the 54 staff in his
teams carry out around 8 000 handling
operations every year. These operations
range from maintenance and cleaning of
the quays, including numerous repairs
to the mooring pontoons and other
structural work, to dry-docking sailing
boats, catamarans, and yachts arriving
daily for repair and then launching them
back in the water.
Compact and mobile, with a lift
height of 10m on tyres, the Bobcat
T35.105 can handle all maintenance
work at height using a man platform, or
on the ground using a broom. Building
materials can be lifted by means of a
14
winch on the telehandler and trucks can
be loaded by extending the boom.
But the main use for the telehandler
at the marina is to transport some
2 500 finger piers — short, narrow piers
projecting from docks for people to walk
on — which measure 4, 6, 8, or even
15m in length and can weigh up to 2
tonnes.
The finger piers need to be
maintained, repaired, and replaced on
a regular basis. The compact design,
manoeuvrability, and stability of the
T35.105 is key to lifting them and
transporting them from the pontoons to
the workshops.
To meet the special requirements
of operation at the La Rochelle leisure
marina, Top Sud, a long-established
Doosan and Bobcat dealership along the
French Atlantic coast, has implemented
several enhancements to the T35.105.
Geared for coastal weather
To deal with the saline environment, the
machine has been metallised. All the
main metal parts, such as the frame and
arm, have been given a special surface
treatment, increasing their resistance to
corrosion.
Dupeux, who is also a mechanical
engineer specialising in hydraulics,
says that the anti-corrosion treatment
works perfectly. He believes it is the
best solution, applied ex-factory, which
is not the case with other machines
in the marina: “Our machines are
exposed to sea spray throughout the
year. This can rapidly eat away at the
bodywork and metal parts despite daily
maintenance.”
In addition, to optimise the telehandler
for working at the water, on slopes or on
pontoons where the room to manoeuvre
is limited, it has been placed on wider,
24-inch tyres and the drive train has
been made more flexible, enhancing
manoeuvrability — a real plus according
to the various drivers at La Rochelle.
Emergency operations
The telehandler is also an integral part
of the marina’s emergency operations in
the event that the locks become blocked
or if the metal lift bridge, located at the
entrance to one of the docks, jams.
Fitted with an additional hydraulic
motor, the telehandler provides the
necessary breakout force to release
locks blocked by mud, for example, or it
can be used to raise the metal bridge if
its internal mechanism is jammed.
Lovis Mehboob, executive vice-
president of the Top Sud dealership,
comments: “Bobcat telehandlers
have great potential for growth along
the Atlantic coast. The fact that all
the machines are made in France is
a real plus, offering proximity and
responsiveness in terms of orders. Their
robustness, together with their technical
quality and the manufacturer’s three-
year warranty, give us a competitive
edge in our markets. We have been
dealers for Doosan and Bobcat for
more than 35 years, since 1983, which
surely makes us the longest-standing
dealership in France.”
The telehandler is an integral part of the marina’s operations, working on the quays
and pontoon and carrying out over 8 000 handling operations every year
MARCH 2019
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