Moving Boats

Jan Adkins wrote a book called Moving Heavy Things.  The other day I decided to use the two ton crane at the shop to lift a kayak up into storage.  A bit of overkill for a 40 pound boat, but what the heck. The thing was unwieldy and sometimes a crane is just the thing to use, assuming of course that you have one.

Hook it up,

and hoist it.

And of course, sometimes your boat is actually big enough to require a crane, this time, the Italian Americas Cup boat, Prada going from the concrete apron into Alameda's seaplane lagoon.

Swedish Americas Cup Boat

I thought I'd post some more pictures of the Swedish Americas cup boat.  Far as I know, it's the same as all the other contenders' boats except for the paint scheme.  These pictures have no particular significance other than that my shop is right next to Alameda's seaplane lagoon where the Swedish team is keeping their boats and so I see these boats on a pretty regular basis and occasionally feel compelled to take pictures of them when they are looking particularly impressive.

A shot of one of the smaller boats.  The Swedes have one with white lettering and one with red lettering.

On an afternoon when the wind is blowing, both of the Swedish boats are out on the bay with their support boats following behind.

A few Saturdays ago, the Swedes put their big boat in the water.  Crane at the right. 

A tighter shot of the big boat.  Crew members in red shirts hang around on shore, probably drinking something with alcohol in it.

Meanwhile, the smaller boats are still around.  The rainy season has started.  Hence the clouds.

The big boat being towed into the seaplane lagoon with the reserve fleet in the background.

The Americas Cup

The Americas cup is one of those sailboat races that has been going on for a long time and happens again and again at various intervals.  Seeing as it involves large sailboats, only the very rich can compete, albeit with hired crews.  This year the race or part of the race is happening in San Francisco Bay on which I live and so the news about it reaches me.  I have nothing to offer on the merits of the race but it did happen that the Swedish race team is working out of an aircraft hangar close to my own modest boat shop and so on the way to work or going home from it, I see the boats that compete in the event.  So I want to offer some photos of the Swedish boats because I find the boats interesting.
By the way, I understand that the current crop of boats are a short version of what will be in the final competition.  And all the boats were built in New Zealand by the same builder to the same specs so that he race is about who has the best crew and not about who has the best boat.

 This is one of the two Swedish boats tied off to a buoy in the Seaplane Lagoon.  In the background, one of the maintenance hangars from the Naval Air Station days.

 The boats and the sails are moved in and out of the water by a crane.  They are not that heavy as boats go, around 3000 pounds. 

 Here is the boat itself, without its rig.  Dagger boards are in their retracted position.

 And the America's Cup logo and Swedish flag.

 The boat has a wing and a jib.  The wing is symmetrical about the center plane unlike an airplane wing which is usually flatter on its bottom face.  

 And there are the Swedes, out on the bay doing their stuff with their support boats motoring behind them.