Crane 11 was designed by the Japanese company IHI Corp. but the crane was built here in 1970 and 1971. The company sent representatives and extensive plans -but they were in Japanese with all the measurements in metric. Work instructions had to be issued in English based on the Japanese plans and BIW employees developed custom metric measuring tools that were used to build the crane to its designed specifications.
Crane 11, the dominant feature on Bath’s waterfront skyline, is also probably the state’s largest weathervane. When it is not in use, the crane is allowed to swing in the wind to reduce force on the boom and pressure on the internal mechanisms. The practice is actually called “weathervaning” a crane. When the boom points south, wind is from the north.
