In the slings
Bit by bit , Nick and the crew have been stripping the old girl down. Topmast off, gaff off, canvas & running rigging stowed, and the ed gear unloaded long ago. They drove her up to Albany, secured the deck and eased the lifts, getting ready for the travelift to come scoop her up. And now the barge is slowly making its way up the narrow river.
This year is unique: A huge project with a huge twist. We are replacing the bow this year, a project that will cost in the vicinity of $300,000 and take the whole winter. Clearwater, more than any other, is the people’s boat, and though we took many bids from many far-off shipyards, we wanted to be home, among our constituents – we wanted to share the project with them.
So now we embark on an experiment. It is a calculated one, much like mooring a barge at Revival for the first time. We’ve done the math and have hired contractors we trust.
We will place our beloved sloop on a floating barge and tow her right back home…
And that is just what we’ve done. What a difference a day makes.
Heading over the barge
the long view over the barge
Upon completion of the first paragraph of this log, the Tug Cornell slid the Black Diamond barge skillfully into the slip at Scarano Boatbuilders in Albany, and both crews (Clearwater & Cornell) scrambled to get all the blocking in place. Once the project manager Kevin was satisfied, our old friend Eric Everson, Scarano’s expert yard foreman drove the sloop right on over and slowly lowered her down. The barge took the weight gracefully and, as darkness was closing in, the supporting stands were welded to the barge and we made ready to leave the slip.
We spent the night alongside a barge courtesy of our friends at Sims/Donjon Marine and the whole shebang got underway this morning around 0930.
Southbound
- At the Rip Van Winkle bridge
And what a sight to see; I have spent my day hopscotching the upper valley to document this groundbreaking little journey. Southbound with a fair ebb current they made their way past Coxsackie and Coeymans, Hudson and Athens, under the Rip Van Winkle Bridge and past Catskill for the final stretch to Saugerties light and the entrance to the Esopus Creek.
- Secure at Lynch’s
The barge, with its precious cargo, was secure alongside at Lynch’s Marina in Saugerties by 3PM. There remains much work to do to reinforce the long term stability of the unit and weather-proof the site so that the real work of rebuilding our bow can start – it will be a long, busy few weeks – but for now, we’re just happy to be in the closest place we have to “home”.
