V518 Keeps Things Shipshape in Boat Yard

Curtis Bullock

Sailors and the multi-purpose VersaHandler® telescopic tool carrier (TTC) might seem to have little in common until you visit the Dartmouth Yacht Club in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. There you’ll see a Bobcat® V518 taking on a variety of jobs—from moving the cradle-mounted power and sail boats in and out of storage to spreading gravel and clearing snow in parking lots.

General Manager Curtis Bullock purchased the V518 from Bobcat Atlantic to replace a tractor unit (similar to those used to move airplanes around airports). In fact, Bullock considered several equipment options, including forklifts, front-end loaders and farm tractors, but chose the V518 because of its ability to do other jobs effortlessly and efficiently.

“We didn’t have to compromise,” he says. “The V518 combines everything we need in one unit.” Among the features he needed and found in the VersaHandler TTC:

Towing capability

Equipped with standard factoryinstalled rear pin-type hitch, the V518 produces 8,317 lb.-force of drawbar pull. “It provides more than what we need to tow a boatcradle unit,” Bullock reports.

Lifting capability

With its 5,500-lb. rated load capacity and 18-ft. lift height and a set of Bobcat pallet forks, the V518 is handy for jobs such as loading and unloading boats shipped on trailers and handling large concrete blocks used for mooring anchors.

Maneuverability

A choice of front-wheel steer for travel, all-wheel steer for turning tightly and crab-steer for side-toside positioning, plus its physical size, makes the V518 ideal for moving as many as 250 boats in and around the 5-acre storage yard.

Versatility

Using a Bobcat 1-yard general purpose bucket, the V518 tackles jobs ranging from placing topsoil and mulch in a large flower bed to backfilling water and power line trenches.

Simple operation

The easy-to-use, heavy-duty, industrial-style hydrostatic transmission with low- and high-range travel speeds and joystick controls enhance the performance of the V518. “The machine accelerates and decelerates smoothly,” Bullock says. “The hydraulic boom extension and lift functions also work smoothly and you can feather them very easily.”