The 800 lb radiator

Back at it with a little more vigor than the last year allowed. Scanning through the photo archives shows some pretty serious gaps in progress. Life gets busy blah blah blah you know the rest. I recall Papa telling me something like 70% of wooden boats never get finished. A frightening statistic that I have no plans to be involved in.

There's a couple of keys events to highlight. Beginning with the most dramatic, the boat has been moved and not in the usual graceful fashion that most are. There was no water involved and not even a proper trailer. Why, we'll just toss it in slings and heft it down the hill I said. My friends all give me the same measured tone in their replies. I am blessed with understanding friends who are willing to go along with a half baked idea. It helps that we're all still fairly young, strong and uninjured.

Turning it on its side was the only way to get it both out of the shop and into my basement. I can't remember how many times I answered the question, "did you measure?" Yes I measured.

I improvised an older trailer of Papa's, making a bed of cross members for the boat to sit on. Trucker straps around the whole works ensured that it wouldn't walk away without us noticing on the slow drive to town.

Up until I had to lift it up, I had estimated the weight at somewhere around 500-600 pounds. However, the extra epoxy, fiberglass, and matting on the bottom was making itself known. Not to mention that I got the anti-fouling paint on too, so a couple extra pounds of copper.

Huck and I had recently moved a few of his cast iron radiators around his house so he could refinish his floors. He had estimated the largest of them to be 400+ and with the boat sling burning into my shoulder I was pretty certain that my boat was nothing more than a radiator intent on crushing all of us.





So If I had to guess, and boy do I love guessing, I'd say this boat is pushing 800 pounds already. 'Course you know how guessing goes, it's what got this whole mess started in the first place.

Next question please, "how are you gonna get it out of your basement?", asks the peanut gallery" "Roll it on some PVC," answers the guessing man. Makes me think maybe I should find an actual boat trailer soon before it gets much heavier.