Guess my Weight

[Bruce Taylor]

Well, my new boat's weight, anyway...I'm a little top heavy because of the rocks in my head.

A friend and I just picked up an old steel lifeboat conversion -- a $500 "special" that's seen better days. "Picked up" is not quite the right phrase, since we really don't know how we're going to pick it up.

We're going to need a crane to get this thing out of the water and onto a cradle. Naturally, the crane guy wants to know how much it weighs.

Now, the current owner (who knows nothing about his property...he thought he owned a "gall-rigged" sloop) told us it weighs "6 tons," which seems high (maybe that's displacement fully loaded...dunno).

Here's what I do know:

LOA 24'
Beam 8'

1200 lbs, ferrocement ballast / floor
940 lbs, false keel/centreboard assembly

Diesel engine, 4 berths

Steel lifeboat hull, double ender. Unfortunately, I don't know how thick the steel is. I do have a full set of lines, in case I need to calculate surface area (which I'd rather avoid).

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid63/pc6070c10cf86c5f2c7d4f58f61f4e409/fc09148e.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid63/pdaa87b4762f88672d60f6247f6ede616/fc09121f.jpg

Can anyone give a ballpark figure? Give or take a couple of tons, LOL...

[ 06-02-2003, 09:36 PM: Message edited by: Bruce Taylor ]

[mmd]

I'de expect that the "six tons" is the Net Registered Tonnage, which has nothing to do with how much the boat weighs.

I'll assume that the boat draft from load waterline to rabbet is one foot. I'll also guess from my past experience that the Block Coefficient (Cb) of the hull is about 0.60. From the data you've given combined with my guesstimates and the fact that fresh water weighs 62.5 lbs per cubic foot, the displacement will be around:

D = L x B x d x Cb x 62.5
D = 24 x 8 x 1 x 0.60 x 62.5
D = 7200 lbs

This isn't the boat that was owned by a guy named Greg who lived on the Gatineau a few miles above the dam, is it? He is/was working with CIDA and spent a lot of time in Africa. I'm getting deja voodoo here, Bruce.

[NormMessinger]

$500 cheap! Good for you. Um, but around here that is about what it costs to get a crane to show up on site. tongue.gif

[Bruce Taylor]

Yes, Michael...that is the boat! Previous owner was one Greg Ledoux. I gather he went to South Africa, leaving Schnecke careened on the bank of the Gatineau.

Small world.

Do you remember anything about it?

Oh, and thanks for the displacement numbers. Should I give that number (7,200 lbs) to the crane guy?

[bobkaschak]

$500, or $5000 ? (the drawing looks like it says $5000 in the upper right corner)

[Bruce Taylor]

$500, Canadian...that $5,000 was from a previous sale (back in 1984).

Michael, I looked at the lines and your educated guess as to draft from LWL to rabbet was right on the money.

Norm, my buddy thinks he can get this thing onto the cradle for $200. That remains to be seen; but the important thing, as you know, is to hide the invoice from SWMBO.

[mmd]

Bruce; yes, I know the boat a bit. I rented my house on the Gatineau from Greg while he was in Ethiopia with CIDA. I was working on the Canadian Patrol Frigate project in Ottawa at the time. The Schnecke was "on the hard" in Kingston at the time and to get a break in the rent I did regular checks on her condition. Small world indeed.

I suspect that my weight estimate is a bit high, but when it comes to lifting things with cranes, that is a good error. I'd be comfortable telling the crane guy that number.

[imported_Conrad]

$500 Canadian!!! Isn't that "free" in U.S. dollars!? :D Careful, though, my last "free" boat ended up costing me about $30K! tongue.gif

[ 06-02-2003, 06:10 PM: Message edited by: Conrad S. ]

[Bruce Taylor]

Conrad, I'm not worried about the cost...I'll just pay cash and "lose" the bills before Maggie sees them :D .

No, it's the time that worries me...do I really want to put a lot of sweat into restoring what is, after all, a somewhat ungainly lifeboat conversion?

On the other hand, all the fittings are intact, and I found no conspicuous rot in the deck or house. And my partner in this is a high-energy can-do sort of fella whose skills complement mine perfectly. He knows a lot about mechanics, welding, heavy machinery...but not much about boats & wooden joinery. I know zip about engines, but can impersonate a boat carpenter, if I need to.

Should be fun, if we can get the women onside.

[bobkaschak]

$500.....sweet

[R.I.Singer30]

smile.gif

[Alan D. Hyde]

:D :D :D

Alan

[Ed Harrow]

I remember finding one of these, tho in my case of wood. Fortunately when I discovered it I was about 13, I'd just bought myself a new bike ($96.50 Dawes Double Blue, Campagnolo Grand Sport derrailleur, a nice bike back in the dark ages LOL) so I was broke (nothing new there, either :D ) IIRC the one I found was schooner rigged.

[Gary Bergman]

Just rent a 25 ton RT, about as small as you can use anyway, anything smaller is too old. If you need a crane around there, I probably can get a name or two from hauling my square tops'l rig. Canadian cranes are a bargain, I rented a 175 ton rig for 295 an hour, about what my company charges for a 25 or 50.

[m poulin]

Hello Bruce,

If you can, you might want to take it down to Masson at the ferry crossing to Ontario. Bourbonnais (the owner) has a yard and a trolley on rails that goes right down in the river, maybe he could accomodate you. I have seen several boats in various stages of repairs at the site and at a yard closeby. Who knows, but it might be cheaper than the crane.

Cheers

MP

[Cecil Nickerson]

Michael, the small world syndrome strikes again. I did a full colour page for our Sunday Reader section when the first frigate was launched and redrew the plans in Adobe Illustrator so's they'd crisp and readable on a news page. It seemed like every contact person at the shipyards had a island (Hebrides) accent (except for the terribly earnest, young RCN type). Bruce, my abject apologies for the thread hijack. smile.gif . I hope she's everything you want her to be, and good luck.

Regards, Cecil

[mmd]

Cecil, while I was at MIL almost every section head and higher spoke with a Hebridean accent. There was a fair bit of nepotism in the hiring practices for contract draftsmen, and no small amount of bigotry in the office. I was told by a section head that "If ye di' nae learn yer trade in Glasgow, lad, then ye don't know s**t aboot a ship!" Pleasant fellow, that. Working there was not one of the high points of my career.