The Great
Haul-Out of 2003
From June 18, 2003 to
July 30, 2003, the Challenger was out of the water at Gravelle's Boat Yard in
Moss Landing, CA for routine hull maintenance and repair. We replaced a
substantial amount of steel, removed both propellers and sent them away for
repair, rebuilt every valve allowing water to pass through the hull, and
repainted the entire vessel from Keel to Pilothouse during our 6 week stay in
Moss Landing. The ship underwent a notable transformation.
The Haul
At 82 feet
long, 17 feet wide, and weighing in at 60 tons, the Challenger was the largest
vessel in physical size to be hauled out at Gravelle's. The slip was 100 feet
long, but only 50 feet was useable due to sand concentration, and only 19 feet
wide, quite a squeeze. Needless to say we drew a crowd.
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Entering the 19 foot wide slip with our
17 foot wide vessel. |
Sticking out Just a little.. |
The squeeze |
Lifting out of the water. The Largest
vessel yet to be hauled at this boatyard. |
Pressure Washing the Hull |
Those props definitely need some work |
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Another View
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The Crowd |
Skipper Davis and the mighty Challenger |
Moving around the yard |
Parallel Parking.... |
Settled in for the "long haul" |
The Work
On the menu for this haul-out:
replacement of deteriorated hull plating, rebuilding of all thru-hull valves,
removal and repair of both propellers, alignment of the engines and
transmissions to the shafts, painting of the entire vessel: keel to pilothouse,
stem to stern, and anything else that came up during our time out of the water.
Mounting studs for our forward rub rails rusted the hull,
resulting in the necessity to cut these holes. Needless to say the forward
rub rails are no more. |
The view through the bow |
Sanding the bottom |
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What do we do with these? |
 |
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Morning Star hard at work prepping the
pilot house |
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Hard at work |
Chief Engineer and JO aligning engine
to shaft. |
Chief Engineer and freshly repaired
prop. |
Beachfront property... |
The power plant fire. This photo was
taken at about 3PM with clear blue skies above. |
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|
Cutting torch lesson with Paul the welder |
Prepping for welding |
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Contemplating the propeller |
Let's just lift it |
Making a tool for the prop nuts |
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A fresh coat of high gloss white |
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A new boot topping |
Some hand painted draft marking |
"The beginning
of wisdom is to call things by their right names." |
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The paint master and his 40 cans of
bottom paint |
Painting the Hull
Quart..... |
by quart....
|
by quart.... |
by quart. |
Finishing up... |
And it's
done!!!
Presenting
the new and improved S.S.S. Challenger
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The Finished Product |
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Back in the water |
 |
Floating Again |
The Haul-Out
Crew
