Removed some more railings from the South end of the veranda with the help of the working party so the new section can be tied in to the old. Cyril comes up with another good solution to beefing up this corner by extending the new handrail support timber right back to the longitudinal main beam and we've got a piece of timber that will do the job.
As there is a winter talk the working party is deployed to pass all the 5 metre oak out from the club room onto newly installed joists on the veranda extension. As there's probably 5 tonnes of oak it's getting a load test....of course nothing moves, not even a faint creak.
In the afternoon float the upper float under the ramp and wait for high tide. At the top of the tide the edge of the float is just touching the under side of the ramp and providing no lift at all. Stretch a rope down the access ramp and note that to bring it up to a constant slope the middle hinge needs to be lifted by 90cms. Though Walcon can adjust the freeboard of their pontoons using rods to drop the float downwards relative to the deck, I can't believe that they can be dropped almost a metre using that technique.
Wednesday, 9 December 2009
7th December 2009
Well the good news is that the ladder looks OK and so does the roof. The temporary support had been torn away, but as the roof was on three supports the other two held it up OK. Put the temporary support back in position and nail it in place. Breathe very large sigh of relief!
Back to the access ramp problem. Walcon think my proposal is too over engineered and will add too much weight to the ramp and exacerbate the problem. We look at the way the ramp is positioned at high tide and don't think that it'll float even with the upper float in place. Decide to position the float under the ramp tomorrow as the tide is rising to see if it picks up the ramp properly; before brackets are made. The good news is that Walcon are accepting that they need to solve our problems and they will get the brackets made ASAP.
Back to the access ramp problem. Walcon think my proposal is too over engineered and will add too much weight to the ramp and exacerbate the problem. We look at the way the ramp is positioned at high tide and don't think that it'll float even with the upper float in place. Decide to position the float under the ramp tomorrow as the tide is rising to see if it picks up the ramp properly; before brackets are made. The good news is that Walcon are accepting that they need to solve our problems and they will get the brackets made ASAP.
6th December 2009
Sunday morning, I wake up and think **** I forgot to stow the ladder yesterday. Unfortunately I'm in Kent and the ladder has already been pushed up by the overnight high tide. Try to work out whether the ladder will be bent into a concertina or whether my lashing will have slid up the support post until it lifted the lean-to roof off its support. I think I'd rather the ladder was bent on the whole as the roof was thoroughly refurbished last year and I don't suppose the working party would fancy a replay this winter.
Ring Tam and let him know, he seems relatively relaxed, not to say slightly amused.
Ring Tam and let him know, he seems relatively relaxed, not to say slightly amused.
5th December 2009
It's Saturday morning and before I go to my Mother's 90th birthday party I draw up the proposed brackets, then realise that I'm not sure how we measured. I pop down to the club and check some measurements; use Tam's ladder to get down to the floating pontoon and safely tie the top of the ladder to a temporary support for the lean-to roof. Forget to retrive the ladder and stow it on the veranda.
Carry on home and draw up the proposal, scan it and send it to Walcon by email, not thinking about ladders at all.
Carry on home and draw up the proposal, scan it and send it to Walcon by email, not thinking about ladders at all.
4th December 2009
Turn up this morning to see that the access ramp has been installed....that's the good news! The bad news is that the float on the top section fouls the cross beam even though all the drawings were checked by Walcon. John Davis comes down for a consultation; between Cyril and ourselves we devise a proposed pair of brackets to shift the float a foot further up the ramp.
I ring Mike Jackson to see whether he has suitable steel in stock and how long it would take to make and galvanise it. Also ring Walcon to let them know we have a problem.
The ramp is installed with the float removed so at high tide the top section doesn't float and the lower section slopes UP from the midway hinge to the landing pontoon! Not quite as the designer intended.
I ring Mike Jackson to see whether he has suitable steel in stock and how long it would take to make and galvanise it. Also ring Walcon to let them know we have a problem.
The ramp is installed with the float removed so at high tide the top section doesn't float and the lower section slopes UP from the midway hinge to the landing pontoon! Not quite as the designer intended.
2nd December 2009
Now the railings are removed Dave Wagstaff and I dismantle the river facing edge of the veranda, this is made from an oak joist about 7x2, some spacers then a 7x2 joist that's looking a bit soft then a 6x3 softwood backing plate about 10 feet long. The three are held together by a variety of threaded rod and nuts, stainless bolts, bracket etc etc, quite difficult to find clear places to saw through.
As we crowbar off the oak the joist behind which doesn't look too rotten, just crushes and release a lot of water......its just like a sponge really. All the debate yesterday as to whether we should replace it is resolved instantly. We make a temporary support for the mast as we've decided to get rid of all the old timber and replace with new.
At the end of the day the veranda is about a foot narrower and there's quite a big heap of extra timber near the bonfire site.
As we crowbar off the oak the joist behind which doesn't look too rotten, just crushes and release a lot of water......its just like a sponge really. All the debate yesterday as to whether we should replace it is resolved instantly. We make a temporary support for the mast as we've decided to get rid of all the old timber and replace with new.
At the end of the day the veranda is about a foot narrower and there's quite a big heap of extra timber near the bonfire site.
1st December 2009
With the help of the working party a start is made on dismantling the veranda. Temporary supports are made for the crows nest and for the lean to roof. The railings are removed and some pices of oak decking used to make temporary barriers between the door and the changing rooms. The railings sit on a piece of 3x3 timber, when I take this off I find rot near the oar store in the oak beam to which the swinging arms were attached. Over about a foot the rot has destroyed half the beam for the top 3 inches! However the rest of the beam looks relatively good.
30th November 2009
The barge has been moved back up river so that more braces can be installed. The hardwood that we have been using for the majority of the braces was bought from the pile suppliers as it had been intended as infill for railway level crossings but not required. We bought the timber cheap, and it is really strong but does have its disadvantages; its is difficult to drill and is so heavy that it requires the crane to hold it in place.
24th November 2009
The platform at the top of the ramp is starting to look fairly complete with the handrail support beam in place. Another improvement is made by using a spare top section of a pile to link the platform right back to the club by crossing both ranks of piles.
It was a shame that one of the greenheart piles was trimmed about 30mm short, the only one where this happened out of 29 piles and unforunately just about the only pile where this would be visible! So a pad is made to fit on the pile and John declares that this is not a problem from a structural perspective so we don't have to put another length of timber in its place.
It was a shame that one of the greenheart piles was trimmed about 30mm short, the only one where this happened out of 29 piles and unforunately just about the only pile where this would be visible! So a pad is made to fit on the pile and John declares that this is not a problem from a structural perspective so we don't have to put another length of timber in its place.
23rd November 2009
Well the AGM went OK. We even still had access to the toilets which was probably just as well as Kevin had organised free coffee and biscuits. The free coffee and oportunity to see the rate of progress wasn't that attractive as we had about 33 members at the start of the meeting; with a quorum of 30!
Work continues on the bracing under the club, starting with the top platform that will provide access to the ramp down to the pontoons. It starts to look impressive; Cyril observes that the structure would provide a secure mooring for a medium sized container ship!
Work continues on the bracing under the club, starting with the top platform that will provide access to the ramp down to the pontoons. It starts to look impressive; Cyril observes that the structure would provide a secure mooring for a medium sized container ship!
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