Yesterday morning we were up sharpish, 'abluted' and fed, dogs walked and ready for the arrival of the crane that would lift Caxton out of the cut and deposit her in
Mr. Thomas's workshop in readiness for a five foot extension to the well deck. However, apparently the crane had developed hydraulic problems, the specialist engineer who would repair it was on holiday and now people were casting about for a solution - we went shopping in Daventry. Shortly after midday I got a call from Dave Thomas to say that a crane would arrive a Braunston at two and it was all systems go.
Clearing boats from the workshop and yard is the first job.
A clear yard, now they can start to fill it again.
Dave Thomas in front of the Tuckey lorry.
Caxton now being fitted with the straps that will facilitate craning her out of the water.
Going up..
Joe looking at the 'egg-whisk' propeller..
Safely on the lorry for the 100 yard trip backwards to the yard.
Here we go again, being hoisted off of the lorry to go into the workshop.
Only another couple of yards to go now...
9 comments:
That's a great sequence of photos - it must feel very strange to see your home being craned away. Thank heavens you're camping nearby!
Looking forward to the rest of the adventure :-)
All the best
Sue, Indigo Dream
Wow
What a splendid sequence of photos!Its interesting to see how much (or little) ice damage there is on your blacking. When was it last blacked?
Andy
Great Photo's Lesley, can't wait to see the new elongated Caxton.
Is it just me or do the boats take on a forlorn look when out of water? Its as if they lose their smile....
Debbie.
Haulouts are always a little scary, aren't they? At least they have been for us. That's your home up there in the air...
We are interested in narrowboats for a while, and have been following your blog for a while. Seeing Caxton out of the water helps a lot in understanding them. Can you tell us her vital statistics?
Hope all goes well with the stretch.
bob
s/v Eolian
Seattle
Hi Bob
Caxton is currently 63' long and 6'10" wide. Narrowboats are flat bottomed and Caxton draws approximately 22" and weighs 18tons. She is constructed from steel, 10mm base plate, 6mm sides and 5mm cabin. When the stretch is completed Caxton will be 68' long. She is powered by a beta 43 modern diesel engine which is a marinised kabota I believe.
Lesley
Hi Andy
Given that Caxton has broken ice over two winters now we were rather pleased with the low level of damage to her blacking. The boat was launched in 2008 so the blacking is original but Joe will be taking the opportunity whilst Caxton is out to treat and black the hull again.
Lesley
Hi Sue
Thank you. I just hope that the indoor fabrication shots work as well.
Lesley
Hi Debbie
You won't have to wait too long for the new look Caxton I suspect by late next week all will be done!
Thery certainly look a bit ungainly out of their natural environment..
Lesley
Interesting to see how the baseplate protrudes under the bow. Why does it stick out? Has it ever got caught on the cill as a lock filled? I don't want to worry you, but last year I witnessed a boat start to sink doing just that. Perhaps all boats have a protruding baseplate.
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