Installation date fixed

The news this week is that I have now fixed a date in the middle of June for the lifting of the boat and the installation of the new support cradle. On the Isle of Man it's usually a good idea to avoid programming complicated site work during the TT Festival in May/ June, so as to avoid getting in the way of the many visitors who visit the Island at that time to enjoy the fun and thrills!

Hydra-Capsule Ltd, of Bishops' Frome, Worcestershire will be lifting the boat for us; they are bridge lifting specialists but have lifted boats before, too. The cradle itself will be delivered in bits, by crane, into the the yard outsides the cellar. It'd be a lot easier if the yard weren't completely walled-in... 

 

Nautical Museum Basement level Ground Plan by APA Architects



Then it's simply a matter of inserting the 8 metre central keel support (by hand) and assembling the arms and ribs. The foam inserts that are designed to fit snugly between the steel ribs and the hull are now on order from Polyformes Ltd of Leighton Buzzard.

Meanwhile, I am getting quotes in for the removal of the bank in the foreground of the photograph (see my previous post dated 4th March 2013).