Jacking her up details

[Concordia..41]

OK Ed and others, here's the gory details:

http://www.sailingwithsarah.com/jackingbarsandbracespg2.htm

I tried to keep the images small, but they can be clicked for a larger pic.

As a refresher, details on the jacking bars and background:

http://www.sailingwithsarah.com/jackingbarsandbraces.htm

I hope it makes sense. Dave can answer questions when he gets up. They accomplished all of this while I was out of town. (Probably a very good thing. I alternately freak out, question every move, and generally get in the way with the camera!!!)

In the last three days, he's gotten the braces welded for the ballast, the ballast wedged and braced, wheels and rail track laid, and yesterday he got six keel bolts cut :eek: :eek: :eek:

[NormMessinger]

WOW! There is not enough fret and imaginating the worst in my nieighbor to see a job like that through. He was sure someone would die when another neighbor and I put Prairie Islander on her trailer. He would have self distructed.

The pictures are great. Shows what can be done if one knows how. Neat.

--Norm

[Ed Harrow]

I best update my will...

Labored about three hours today and all I ended up getting was a smashed* little finger when Big Bertha got away from me.

*It's not all that bad. Not ambulance trip or anything exciting like that. I don't even think I'll loose the nail. ;)

[Concordia..41]

Ed

Don't feel bad, yesterday afternoon I cut 6 keel bolts in 2 hours even though I was tired. Today --- all day --- I cut 3. The keel bolts I cut yesterday were the three small front center line and aft small center line. Today I started the larger double keel bolts, one on each side. There are also two very large keel bolts at an angle for the lifting eyes that are in the bilge.

Cutting between the cast iron ballast and the oak keel takes the set out of the blades rather fast and the wood is hard to cut with the fine toothed blades. Even after being out of the water this long the ballast is still tight against the keel.

At the rate I am going it will be Christmas and I will be broke from bying blades.

Hope you and I have better luck tomorrow.

102 degree spa and Bacardi and coke help the pain.

Dave

Thank God the Sun is over the foreyard.

[ 05-18-2002, 08:47 PM: Message edited by: Concordia..41 ]

[Ed Harrow]

Dave, you're well on your way, but the hole saw trick I'm using really works pretty good. I've gotten half of them out, with a lot less sweat than you, I bet. I've got another down to the ballast, and hopefully will get the sixth one "cored" to the ballast tomorrow (I have to make up an extension. A 9mm socket fits the end of the arbor perfectly and, if I get my butt off of this thing, I'll get the 3/8" socket extension I bought tonight modified so it will fit in the chuck. That will get me down to two keel bolts that I can't "core". I worke more today on the cabin sole but, when I really looked at it, I could see that there is going to be a lot more to it than just removing the cockpit sole. Then there is still one more bolt and that will take an enormous amount of deconstruction to access.

Hopefully, if worse comes to worse, These are the only two bolts I'll have to cut with the ballast tight to the keel. My last trick on them is to heat them with an arc welder and see if that breaks their will.

[Concordia..41]

Hopefully today will be better. The stainless steel keelbolts are really giving Dave fits. I'm still tied up at the marina next door and of no help anyway.

Last night he was pretty discouraged. At that point, his ideas included:

</font> Calling Concordia and seeing if they'd buy her where she sits :(
</font> Rigging the Sawzall to operate by itself via wedges and bungie cords
</font> Hooking the ballast to the truck via come-along and just pulling it out :eek:
</font>- M

[Rich VanValkenburg]

Oh, Margo & Dave, deep breath, my friends. In the 26 years I've had Sonja, I've spent many a fretful night wonder just how the hell I was going to do whatever it was that needed doing. If you sit and think about it enough, a stray neuron always seems to fire, and an idea is born. There's always a way, no matter how hopeless it seems. The advantage we have now is the cold Spring we're having. It makes it easier to get the work done. When those 90 degree days come along, it won't be near as much fun.

You know, Sonja has T316 SS bolts, and they don't stick to anything. I pull the bottom nut and use a slide hammer to get them out from the top. T316 SS can only be cut easily with a wheel.

Rich

[ 05-19-2002, 10:12 AM: Message edited by: Rich VanValkenburg ]

[Concordia..41]

Rich
Sarah has two stainless keel bolts that we beleive to have been installed in 1983. I am not sure what the make up is but an earth magnet will not stick to them. The rest are the original bolts installed in 1955. I don't know what they are made of, Nicki thinks rod iron, but they are harder to cut than the one stainless one I cut.

It rained all day yesterday with high winds, so the rain blew in under the tarp, so I took the day off. I went out to the flea market and got a good brace for $5.00. Also last week I checked the local used tool place and found bits for $1.00 each. Got two straight slot screw driver bits, three square drive lag screw bits, 5/16" - 3/8" + 1/2" - adjustable hole saw bit and a home made bronze plumb bob. Once before I found two screw driver bits there. The guy at the flea market said he had a tool box at home with a brace and a lot of bits so I gave him my number.

Won't get any cutting done today, doctors appointment this morning and we have a shrimp boat to pull after lunch - only haul at high tide.

Dave

Sun over the foreyard

[ 05-20-2002, 07:26 AM: Message edited by: Concordia..41 ]

[Alan D. Hyde]

Dave & Margo,

Well done.

Amazing what can be done with some thought and a few simple machines.

And she's a pretty vessel, too, well worthy of your efforts. Godspeed.

Alan