Moving day arrives

For those people who came to see the project and doubted and chuckled at the notion, whether I could get the boat out of the basement.... "I fart in your general direction" :0
Friday evening we set to work and quickly dismantled my staircase. The shop door and surrounding framing was removed at the same time I set up a jack post and steel support beam just for safety sake. It all only took about an Hour or so to complete.

The tolerances were tight and it even included me removing the 2" foam insulation in the area of the turn.

I used the locations at Frame #3 and frame #5 to make a reversed frame that would become the cradle for the boat. cutouts for the plank laps and gunwales were added so the hull carried the loads. Most of the mass is in the bottom of the boat so I had the sled runners under that area. Teflon strips which will later be used on the keel were screwed to the underside of these sled runners. This shot was taken before it was finished.

Saturday morning around 9:30 we picked up where we left off the evening before. finishing the sled and putting the boat down into its new shipping cradle. Friends from near and far came to help and help they did. More on that later.

Carpet was stapled to the frame to cushion the hull from scratching and straps to bind the boat to the sled. Black plastic strips borrowed were laid on the flood to have the sled slide on. Very slippery stuff.

Let the move begin!

Plenty of room.

Just a few feet at a time, A very controlled move.

Everyone did their part in moving this. I had no concerns with what was going on ,on the other end of the boat.

My move buddy Nathan (on the right) gave me advice on proper lifting technique and job safety.

One hole passed through. It was to me the trickiest.

Is that proper safety foot ware? Gladiator sandals Bill, really now, what were you thinking.

Second porthole, a new 42" door. I figured 1/2" clearance on either side.

Pop through the door. No problems.

It of course rained for the first time in many weeks. So I set up a 20 ft X 20 ft tarp roof. Note how my house thew up on my lawn. most of the basements contents are now outside in the rain.

We slid the boat down the driveway to where the trailer was parked. The upper part was too steep to attempt a roll over.

We ran slings under to pieces of 2x4's so we all could lift the boat.

In a few minutes we had the nose on the trailer.

And then it was there. I had to make adjustments to the trailer wench.

Nice party tent.

And there you go. Complete. What did you do Saturday?

"Oh nothing much, just moved a 17ft sailboat out of my basement and onto a trailer."

credits.....

Travor Miller........Chief load lifter and idea man

Irving Pelley..........2nd load lifter and scaffold

Bill Foote................3rd load lifter safety advisor and main credited idea man

Maxwell Patten.....4th load lifter, clean-up and tent maintenance.

Nathan Patten.......Site foreman, Juice drinker, and personal assistant to me. (Max's son)

Sebastian Miller....Camera man, cradle/sled contractor. (Travor's son)

My sincerest thanks for these men who showed up to help on this wet day. We got a critical job done with plenty of time to spare. (enough to have a chicken Picnic and watch part of a Pixar movie. It was in Nathans contract)

I had lots of fun and the guys did too. I have very sarcastic and fun making friends. Lord help the person who ties a "granny knot" with someone looking.

Though it was a key moment in the project and some doubted its results, it was a stress free day for me anyway and many laughs.

Me and my family Thank you all.

Time: 6 hours