Replica canal schooner Lois McClure was successfully lifted from the water yesterday, and Tom Beardsley, Steve Boerner, and Bill Havens took so many great photos to document the evolution that I decided to do two posts on the lift.  The water perspective was captured by Tom, and the view from land, by Steve and Bill.  And I’ll alternate between the water and land views in the order they occurred.

The talented support and crew from C & S Engineering and Clark Rigging did the actual lift.   The day started as they completed the assembly of lifting gear, spreader bars and straps, a task begun the day before. 

 

Riggers tailor the gear to the size and shape of the hull to avoid damage when the 40-ton vessel is lifted out of the water.

 

Once the lifting straps are ready, the crane swings out over the vessel so that the 

McClure can be manually

moved into the straps.

From the water, it looks like this.  Note the crewman on the bulkhead readying to tow the vessel forward.

 

Here when everyone hopes all the calculations, assumptions, and arrangements are correct.

The diesel on the crane ever so slowly lift the boat out of the water.

No cracking sounds, no overflexing of the keel, no sign of anything amis . . .

And we’ll pick up the process here tomrrow . . . 

All photos thanks to Tom, Steve, and Bill.  Any errors or omissions, WVD.