Modulift beams lift a handcrafted Viking boat

A modular spreader frame comprising Modulift beams is being used to lift handcrafted boats during filming of the History Channel's Vikings historical drama series in County Wicklow, Ireland. The elaborate set was created at Ashford Studios and is being shot in collaboration with Irish National Marine Services.

The CMOD 24 frame is being utilised beneath the hook of a 50 T capacity Grove GMK 3050 mobile crane, supplied by crane sales company Irlequip Ltd., which is also a distributor of Modulift's range of lifting and spreader beams.

Supplied from Irlequip's Modulift stock, the frame, with a 5 m by 4 m maximum span, allows it to lift all vessel types on set. These boats vary in dimension and weigh up to 5,000 kg.

Damien Maher, capital equipment sales at Irlequip, says: "We were asked to provide a solution for lifting boats in a safe manner. We suggested the spreader frame as a practical means to not only lift but also to cradle the boats, thus preventing any inward pressure or stress. Furthermore, the rig allowed the boats' masts and sail rigging to protrude through the opening inside the 'box' created by the beams."

The CMOD modular spreader frame is designed to expand the capabilities of Modulift's modular spreader beam system. The struts from the beams are combined with four corner units to complete the frame. Those already in possession of Modulift struts can reuse them with the corner units to achieve four-point lifts.