Onto Stands

After a couple days of test (getting the balance point and slings figured out) lifts and show-and-tell demo lifts, Gardens was placed on her boat stands today.

Finding the balance point proved to be trickier than I expected. During the first test lift, the bow came up while the stern did not. I moved the gantry aft about six inches. On the second lift, the stern came up but the bow did not. Moving the gantry three inches foreward found the balance point as the boat rose evenly off the floor.

After reworking the boat stands (initially built them 21" high but reduced the height to 11") today, I raised Gardens high enough to slide the stands into place and carefully lowered her onto the stands. The foreward stand is fine but the aft stand needed a bit of reworking to account for the rocker of the bottom.

The hull is not as rock-solid-steady on the stands as I'd like, so tomorrow additional supports will be installed to minimize any tipping tendency.

Elmer Works

Tested the gantry system late yesterday:

On the floor:

Off the floor:

The gantry needs to be moved aft a bit - the test lift was not quite balanced fore-and-aft.

Busy Times

We've been busy over the last six weeks: Denver for a week (family), Kentucky Bourbon Trail for a long weekend (good bourbon, family and friends), the World Series (I grew up in Cleveland), outpatient surgery to remove skin cancer (not much fun), the election (not much fun about that either), and helping my brother-in-law complete a large woodworking project (fun but tiring).

The Boat Bay is being straightened up and cleaned out to make room for the gantry (to lift Gardens). Everything is ready (chain hoist installed, straps prepared, boat stands built, etc.) so the lift could take place any day now…

In the meantime, I built a portable-knock-down stand for my chop saw and I'm shopping for a new miter saw.