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Finally! The Big Day is here! ...I won't tell you how long it took to get to this point or how many hours of labor went into this project so far either, so don't ask! (yuk yuk) Step 1 is to take the boat out and turn it around. It'll go back in with the stern towards the 3rd garage (see below) so I can climb in/out through the transom. I'll make a small set of stairs for that. |
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Pick it up and roll the jig out from under it, then set one edge down on tires and hold... |
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Up and over! It was pretty easy at this point to raise it up to the balance point, and it showed no tendency to want to fall down (the tires under the edge are great). Same with lowering it down onto the blanket-covered tires. It was easy and no tendency to fall. NOTE: Most tire companies will let you have used tires for free if you promise not to take them back. They have to pay to have them removed otherwise. |
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Notice the cross bracing going from sheer to sheer. These 2x6 pieces were made from the beam that used to hold the stem in place for construction. There was room above the jig under the boat, so it was easy to install these in advance. I just screwed them into the raw wood side of the shelves. |
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That's a big boat! ...Just kidding ;-) From left-to-right, we have: - Bowen Cannoy (soon to be Jumbo builder in Eugene),
- Larry Leka (fishing buddy)
- Me
- Chuck Metge (fishing buddy)
- Noah Cannoy (Bowen's son and co-builder)
- Michelle, Kathy, and Brad Dixon (neice, sister in law, brother)
- Joe Nelson (fishing buddy)
- Last, but not least, my father Noel Dixon
Not shown, but present and helping out also: - Lisa Leka (Larry's wife), and
- Heidi Dixon (my loving wife)
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With the boat right side up and set aside, it's time to get the jig ready to carry it. Note that since I have such crowded working conditions, I am bound to always keep the boat on something that rolls around for access. I didn't take the time to design and build a custom low-rider jig or set of dollies, so I instead designed and build carpeted cradle assemblies for going on the existing jig. My 3D CAD model was great for determining the angles to match the hull and to make sure the boat would still fit in/out of the garage door. I'm planning on building up through the cuddy, but stopping short of adding the top half of the pilot house, before moving the boat to temporary storage for completion. |
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To put the boat on the jig with the new cradles on it, we just loaded it on from the bow just like putting it on a trailer. Placing a tire under the transom prevented it from driving into the concrete while we lifted the bow. Almost done! |
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And ...finally, the boat is back in the shop and has room to spare! Ok ...16" off the starboard bow, about 1" off the port side bow, and about 1/4" off each transom corner. No problem! Time for pizza! |
