Great feedback. Thanks.
'Sarf & West mate, Sarf & West'
Pete Bernfeld
Tue 13 Dec 2011 02:52
In the meantime, a couple of pictures. The forklift turned up yesterday, but as it left the carpark and started to move onto the hard standing, it had a sinking moment. As there are pipes running through the concrete hard standing, John the GRP sent it away before any damage was done. Apparently, I wasn't there to see this, his mate then sent a pick-up truck with a crane which couldn't lift the boat, but he also sent a couple of 30 tonne jacks. After a bit of headscratching and refusing to give up (a common trait in Fiji, they simply won't quit, whether it's getting a boat off a reef or finishing a crate of beer) he had a good look round the boat and found a couple of hardpoints that weren't immediately obvious...success!
lateral thinking at its best. There is a reinforced section which runs the width of the boat.
That'll hold em.
The salvaged skeg in place
pipe grips and a big squeeze? Nah, Johns plan is to cut the ss pipe and make a sleeve that you can unbolt. That way if you dry the boat out, you can remove the rudders without having to jack it up. Simply remove the bolts, remove the keyway inside and raise the pipe and the rudder should come free. One minor issue, with the bolts in will there be enough freedom of movement? we'll see, these pipes have to be replaced anyway.
The man himself. This work has already been paid for and should be finished end of next week. John is beating himself up a bit because he reckons that it's taken him too long, but I pointed out that he's lost about two weeks due to the weather.
Finally, an 'ah' moment.
The third 'mouseketeer' had discovered the open wardrobe door and went exploring. The foreground kitten shares a bit of Mums' food occasionally and grudgingly will be picked up. The others still do a runner, but are getting less shy.
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