| The "Launch Daze"
is over! Around
9:30 am
on April 6,
2004 the boat movers arrived. They had moved another
extra-wide catamaran before but never one with so much clearance
between the bridgedeck and waterline. Many adjustments to the
hydraulic arms and air-bag suspension were required to lift SEDATION 4 off the assembly
cradles. Unfortunately, there was not enough vertical lift to
permit sliding the cradles out from beneath her, so we split both in
half and man-handled them out of the way. |
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| Areas previously obscured by the cradles were prepared before 2 coats of the Teflon® + copper antifouling bottom paint were applied. By 11:45 we are ready to move. |  |
| SEDATION 4 is much too big to turn-around at the launch ramp so she was backed down the winding road. |  |
| Her 21' 5.5" beam spans the roadway and shoulders.
Maneuvering is tricky at best. |
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| Rounding the corner, at the south end of Kemp Street, was
tight but accomplished with skill. |
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| Almost there! The launch ramp is visible in the photo
at right. Soon afterward, SEDATION
4 is afloat on the Banana River. |
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| Word gets around quickly when you move something this big
and people showed-up by the dozens to witness the event.
Unfortunately, my photo-documentation duties were superseded by launch
coordination tasks, so I have no further snapshots. Many folks
were shooting video, digital and film cameras so I will post their
pictures when available. I set-up my camera on a tripod at the
ramp and captured most of the activity in motion-video. If you
have the bandwidth, here are a few edited movies to enjoy. Watch
several times to see the jolting, sliding and other gyrations as the
vessel inches toward the water. |
Click for hi-res version (7.8 MB) Click for low-res version (2.1 MB) |
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