For the first Catamaran built by CFI, Nickel Bros. was contracted to move all Side Shelf and Deck Sections manufactured in Sidney and Port Alberni (Ramsay Machine / Alberni Engineering) delivering them by barge to CFI's assembly plant located in North Vancouver. Nickel Bros. has a clear advantage over competitors because of its three locations (Victoria, Nanaimo and Port Coquitlam). 15 barge loads of modules in total were delivered to CFI over a span of 10 months. In addition to the above mentioned contracts, Nickel Bros. was also contracted to move the passenger sections of the first Fast Ferry from Victoria to CFI in North Vancouver. Five of these sections in total were moved from Pt. Hope Shipyards in Victoria and barged to North Vancouver beginning with the "Wheelhouse Section" profiled below.
Barge is brought in bow first and after 2 days of preparation, the "Wheelhouse" is ready to roll

The "Wheelhouse" is being pulled out of its assembly shop, under the power of a specially designed hydraulically controlled moving truck.

Ramps have been placed from the barge to land, and the 88' x 65' structure is turned 90 degrees and begins its ascent onto the barge

The 90 degree turn was successful with only 4' of additional room to work with

The truck is fully on the barge and the rear wheels are beginning the climb up the ramps

During the difficult turn, the use of our hydraulically controlled dollies was mandatory in order to maintain the level of the module and in steering the rear of the module away from the fabrication shop

The barge loading was successful and right on schedule. The loading process took 2 hours. This picture shows the "Wheelhouse" loaded on the barge and leaving Victoria's Inner Harbour.

The module is lashed down should the barge encounter rough waters; and Nickel Bros insures the vessel during the entire transportation process.

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