Gantry

[John, CD28]

I thought I'd make my first post on the Plastic Classic forum a good one, and offer up some pictures. My name is John, and I'm the current caretaker of a 1979 Cape Dory 28. She was a bit rough when I found her a few years ago, but she's cleaning up nicely.

The old Volvo MD7A is a little tired and I've got a Beta 13 going in over the next few weeks. To help with the heavy lifting, I built a gantry from a 14' long 2x8', with a 12' long 2x3 glued & screwed to the bottom. One end is supported by a sawhorse arrangement, the other by my old maple tree. The trolley is just a 2x3 with a plywood skirt. Bevel cuts on the end of the 2x3 readily accept the 1" wooden dowel bits I used for bearings. It rolled along pretty smoothly, hand feeding the bearings back into the front end as they popped out the back. It really can't run away like this; it would just skid to a halt as it runs out of bearings after a foot of travel. A simple come-a-long does the actual lifting.

After lifting the 400lb Volvo, the Beta felt like reeling in a flounder. If you need to lift, move, and lower something big, a gantry might be just the thing.








Honestly, this is one of the few trees that actually deserves a hug!



Cheers,
John

[Rachel]

Welcome to the forum, John!

Great set of photos -- you've obviously been reading along and know how to get in good with the gang :D

Rachel

PS: I'd love to see more of your CD 28 if you ever feel like starting your "own" boat thread.

[Peter]

Welcome, John. The Cape Dory 28, one of my favorite boats. She doesn't look too rough from what I can see. In fact she looks very good. Yes, more photos are a must :-)

[John, CD28]

Welcome, John. The Cape Dory 28, one of my favorite boats. She doesn't look too rough from what I can see. In fact she looks very good. Yes, more photos are a must :-)

Thanks Rachel, & Peter.

She was a bit rough when I bought her, but the restoration is nearly complete. Generally, she slowly went from this...






To this...


The projects included full bottom job & barrier coat, change over to mid boom sheeting, new head & holding tank of my own design, and of course, lots of teak cluttering up my cellar for a long time.

You can see more here if you'd like: http://www.yachttantalus.us/TechnicalTantalus.htm

Cheers,
John :)

[Rachel]

Ooooh, she looks great now!

That old Volvo didn't half take a while to start, eh? I found myself leaning forward to help it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoEXEg4dRkY

I'll look forward to one of the new Beta.

[Tim Mertinooke]

Welcome John. I've enjoyed reading your posts over the last few years on the CD site. You'll fit in perfectly here.

[John, CD28]

Ooooh, she looks great now!

That old Volvo didn't half take a while to start, eh? I found myself leaning forward to help it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoEXEg4dRkY

I'll look forward to one of the new Beta.

Thanks again Rachel, & Tim.

Yes, that is indeed Plan B on YouTube. I can't believe that video got over 2,400 views in 5 months! That's really funny :)

This is my current favorite: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-9qV78lN8M

Here is the whole digital treasure trove ;) http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=Stellwagen



Cheers,
John :)

[suntreader]

Good looking gantry. I like the wooden dowels idea. I used two lengths of galvanized pipes one within the other with the lifting line through them. Didn't work great. Was the tree suspended end of the gantry raised to let the car slide downhill over the gunnels?

Here's a shot of my set up. Man that was fun.


Dave

[John, CD28]

Good looking gantry...Was the tree suspended end of the gantry raised to let the car slide downhill over the gunnels?
Dave

Thanks Dave, and great gantry!




My gantry beam was level. I suspended one end from the tree with low stretch halyard, set a 2' level on it, then blocked up the other end with a vertical 2x3 to level it. After I got it level, I went back to the tree and added the "T" shaped pine brace to keep it from wobbling around. It worked; the beam was level and stable. The trolley moved along easily after feeding some dowels in the front.With a good shove the trolley moved slowly, and had no tendency to move either way without a good push.

John