just tie the rope around it no need to drill through it . if you can find 3 more people you can carry it there.

maybe two as it should weigh about 200 to 300 pounds.

Yeah, I didn't think it was totally necessary to drill holes, but I'll feel better if I don't have to worry about it slipping. One hole will end up being underground and I'll use the other one to bolt to the existing piling.

I tried to pick up one end. I deadlift once a week so I think I can guess. Easily over 300 lbs. I was surprised it would be that heavy.

Got it to the seawall!

And a reminder of your days back in Austin. That's when I found this thread, when you were doing the landscaping etc in that back yard.

hehe. I take a piece of Texas wherever I go.

That was made by my grandfather. It's older than I am.

speaking of stone henge i had the opportunity to fly in to smith private airstrip and golf course in montana. he built a exact copy of stonehenge and oriented to the rising as they did.
he said they hauled the giant stones up from texas in the dark on trucks as they were way too overweight and didnt get caught.

https://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/13708

there are many replicas but this one is the only perfect one that works.

there is another cool one in marysville washington off the freeway ive been too. i bet golddog has hit it on his trips that way.

Nope, haven't seen either of those. Did go by Carhenge near Alliance, NE last summer.

It's kinda fun in that kitschy Americana way. Didn't see any information whether it was aligned, a replica of Stonehenge, or just a pile of old cars that looks kinda-sorta like the original.

The thing I do remember was the builder had been an engineer in England for some time. He was originally from, and returned to, the area, and thought it was a good idea. in the 60s maybe?

I did go to the original in 1999. In fact, looking at a picture across the room. While the signs give good information, you can't get up close to the rocks. Ultimately, it's some big rocks out in a field.

Never seen any of that, but I'm amazed that anything like that ever happened.

tl;dr piling report

Got an early start because I knew I would need one. It was a bit nippy but the water here is still fairly warm.

First order of business was to get the piling in the water. We were able to push it in via a 2x4 lever. It fell into the mangroves, which I pretty much thought it would.



So, I attached a come-along to the first posts and wenched it in.



Easy peasy.

I floated the piling to the old piling and tied it up. I originally wanted to do this with a chain but I had limited chain and I though I would need it. I was correct on both parts. It would have been better to attach it with the chain, and I did need the chain for other things.



My initial thought was to put a rope over the board I nailed up on the top and just pull it up.



That was never ever going to happen. That thing is HEAVY.

So, I attached a come-along to the top and started wenching it up.



The problem is the come-along has limited pulling distance and I ran out of room. So, we tied a rope to the top and tried to pull it up the rest of the way from the seawall. That wasn't happening either. Way too heavy.

About that time my neighbor showed up to save the day.

He brought over this thing:



I had never used one but they are really cool. They don't take much effort at all.

We tied it to the tree and began wenching. Just like butter.



We got it moving pretty well and what I feared/suspected happened. The rope holding the two pilings together stretched and the bottom of the new piling got wedged on the bottom. No way to move it any farther. So, I hooked the come along (which had now loosened) lower down and tried to pull it up higher. Much to my surprise, it actually worked.



We got it vertical and in place. Now it was time to sink it. My neighbor, saving the day yet again, pulled his trawler next to the post and brought a pump with a 2" nozzle.



The amount of water coming out of that was amazing.



We jammed it down around the piling for a bit but it just wouldn't sink. There was some sort of obstacle on one side that we were guessing might have been an old piling that had broken off. We figured we might be screwed but we continued. It just wouldn't sink. We then thought that maybe some of the stuff we used to bind the two together was holding it up. We loosened some things and down it went. However, there was about a 4" gap between them now. I got down in the water with a come along to try to bind them together. We had created a massive crater that I immediately sank into over my head. That thing moved a ton of dirt. We messed with this for quite a while, alternately jetting water and trying to move the piling. It finally fell into place!!!!!



I'm going to leave it like this for a couple of days to let it settle.

The entire project took us over 6 hours. Most of the time was spent adjusting wenches and come alongs. It was a really slow process. I'm positive we would not have finished without our neighbor's help. However, the end result was successful.

I'm not sure I would undertake this sort of thing again.

Both Stonehenge and Carhenge are cheap kitchy knock-offs of Cadillac Ranch, but nothing will ever compare to the 2+2 Piling Project. I guess the next step is to get the dock lined up with the Solstice sunrise (coming up soon).

Good point Mack, boat needs to get on that alignment.

Wow. I would've never had the patience to keep plowing through the problem like you did, boat. Congratulations!

hehe. I need a firm footing before I can look to the stars. But who knows? Maybe it happens.

I tend to think about projects like this a LOT before I take them on. Once I get into them, though, I'm extremely patient, focused and determined.

My goal today was to get the back an center crossbeams bolted to the piers.

It took much longer than I thought to mark everything to make sure it would be level. The back of the dock, it turns out, was about a foot below the seawall. Not sure if they designed it that way or it just settled through the years. Bout I'm making it level.

I first measured from the top of the seawall the distance of a 2x10, 2x7, and a thickness of decking. This line would be the bottom of the beam. It was impossible to run string so I just measured that linee from the waterline and drove nails in each post that height from the water.

That allowed me to set boards on the nails to double check all was level.

I nailed some lighter 2xs to the back posts so the top was at the nail. I could then set my much heavier 2x10s on top, then nailed them in.

My neighbor has a little dingy i got in that allowed me to keep from getting electrocuted by my drill. I was quite surprised my 45 year old black and decker drill was able to drill through 2 2xs and a post, but it got the job done.

The rest was easy peasy.

However..... the middle posts aren't tall enough to bolt anything to, so i figured i would saw them down to the proper level and set the beams on top. I tried with my bow saw but that wasn't happening. My neighbor saw me struggling and came over with his chainsaw and took care of them in 5 minutes.

I still need some hardware to secure the middle beams to the pilings, but the back one is done. Feel good about it.

What kind of beer does the neighbor like?

Hehe. My wife made them some banana bread and we gave them a few bucks to help pay for the pump parts. Plus. I'm sure they'll call on me some time.

My goal today was to get the middle beam up. I used a triplr 2x10. I struggled some trying to piece together hardware to attach them to the posts. This really won't be too necessary once the sringers are all attached. That beam isn't going anywhere.

Wasn't too hard other than it was pretty heavy.

Part of the reason I wanted to get this done was because we plan on fishing tuesday. Unfortunately the tide will be extremely low and we won't be able to get the boat off the lift in the morning. So I'm going to put it in the water Monday night and tie it to the other side of our phantom dock. I laid some boards down temporarily so we can get to the boat. Note the difference in height between the old and new dock.

check weather. i saw some 10 to 15 mph and 2 to 4 foot seas at 5 seconds. thats a no go.

inshore might be okay.

tomorrow might have a different forecast.

icw on my side is choppy and dirty brown.

boat no harley yes.

Seas one foot or less on this side.

then good boating and fishing. but also i always check the far out seas as they can get you so be ready for them if out 20 miles or so as getting back in is tough and slow when it turns to sh** quickly.

The hits just keep coming.

I walked out of my house yesterday morning, rods in hand and found this:





Not sure exactly how it happened, but that doesn't matter.

I initially thought I could right it enough to pump water out of it. No way. My neighbors showed up and we tried to make it a group effort. I think we might have done it, but in the mean time we called Sea Tow and they showed up pretty quick. They said it was a salvage, which isn't covered in our membership. I really didn't want to pay it (over $5,000) but then they said they thought our insurance would cover it, which it did.

They got it up and floating and we hauled it to the ramp, pulled it out, and put it in my driveway.

I called up my mechanic and he got out pretty quick. There was water inside the engine. When he pulled the spark plugs, it came streaming out. He turned both motors over and water sprayed everywhere. He then replaced the oil. I learned that this procedure is called "pickling". He got the motors fired up and they sounded good.

However, he said that all of the electronics in the motors would need to be replaced, which was backed up by others I talked to. But in reality, the motors really have a much more limited life now. They were already 18 years old with 2,000 hours so I just don't see the point in trying to fix them.

The insurance company wants a detailed estimate, which is beyond the scope of my mechanic. He's mobile and couldn't replace engines.

So, I hauled it down to the marina down the road. The guy there speculated that the insurance company would total the boat. He also said they might sell it back to me but he sort of winced at the idea of keeping that hull.

To be continued......

i had a boat totaled. mostly because i made it so tough on them to fix it. but then i bought it back for the salvage bid they had gotten. and fixed up what little was broken and had a perfectly fine boat, still have it for a couple thousand bucks.

salt water intrusion usually means unless you get it really well flushed even then sooner or later the corrosion starts.
but the good part it usually doesnt stop you in the water but creeps up and gives you time to get new parts.

i would buy that back as the one head hasnt gone under and it was a short time. your electronics on the boat stayed dry or so it looks.

but you got 40,000 or more in repower going forward.
if you can show it was anothers fault their insurance becomes primary and you can force to be made completely whole. where with your own company you have to take what your contract says.
good luck.

Damn.

Best of luck.

What do we think happened? The tide got so low it got stuck in the mud and then stayed stuck long enough for the incoming tide to sink her? You didn't use the anchor, right?

This is what I've been thinking as well. I guess the only part I'm concerned about is that water got in the side of one of those stringers that go the length of the boat. And, a little worried about the gas tanks (and fittings). But, yeah I would love to keep the hull and go from there.

I "think" that i had the front tied too tight. I intentionally left what I thought was over 3' of slack but maybe that wasn't enough. I'm fully aware that this sort of thing can happen and I thought I was super careful about it not happening. The other thing that might have happened is the rub rail snagged on the top of the post. I say this because when they were wenching it up, the rub rail did actually snag and held the entire front of the boat up. I had no idea it would hold that kind of weight but I saw it happen.

Anyway, my theory is if the front got lifted just enough it allowed water over the transom deck and through the transom door just enough. Once it starts, there isn't much to stop it. I think if the boat had been lifted the opposite way it might not have happened. But who knows.