Two years ago we were in Princess Cove on Wallace Island, BC in a blow. Stern tie was called for so that is what I did. Came in, got a good set on the 40 pound Danforth, then proceeded to secure the stern tie to an anchor ashore. Very difficult, but I did manage to get it secured, trimmed things up, then settled in for the afternoon.
Southerly was pushing hard against Belle-Vie abeam and over time caused some small amount of drift in the set. This pressure, I believe, is what caused the bend in the anchor shank as shown. Keep in mind Belle-Vie displaces 35,000 pounds, so a bend like this makes sense, even though the shank is one half inch thick by two inch wide steel:
Time to put things straight again. Our schools district has what we call a Skills Center where high schoolers come to obtain vocational skills before graduating. Welding, aviation mechanic, auto mechanic, diesel mechanic, etc.
Brent heads up the diesel mechanic center, so two weeks ago I talk to him about the bent shank and can he fix it. Bring it in and let's take a look see, he says. So that is what I did. This morning I bring the anchor in for him to take that look see. He has maybe a dozen high schoolers hanging around him. Ten minutes later the anchor shank looks like this:
Now the magic of ingenuity in his technique. They have a small non-working bull dozer that the crew is doing an engine rebuild. They also have a fork lift. So Brent takes the anchor ears and wedges into the dozer tracks, inserts a piece of steel right at the bend between the shank and the tines, has a helper hold up the shank and he slowly drives the fork lift into the shank until it becomes straight again.
Sheesh, now that is some beefy nice tools that I need for my wood working shop, eh? What do I owe you, Brent? Nothing, he says, but if you want to make a donation to the Diesel Foundation, that would be appreciated, so that is what I did; $10. Not bad for ten minutes of work.
Southerly was pushing hard against Belle-Vie abeam and over time caused some small amount of drift in the set. This pressure, I believe, is what caused the bend in the anchor shank as shown. Keep in mind Belle-Vie displaces 35,000 pounds, so a bend like this makes sense, even though the shank is one half inch thick by two inch wide steel:
Time to put things straight again. Our schools district has what we call a Skills Center where high schoolers come to obtain vocational skills before graduating. Welding, aviation mechanic, auto mechanic, diesel mechanic, etc.
Brent heads up the diesel mechanic center, so two weeks ago I talk to him about the bent shank and can he fix it. Bring it in and let's take a look see, he says. So that is what I did. This morning I bring the anchor in for him to take that look see. He has maybe a dozen high schoolers hanging around him. Ten minutes later the anchor shank looks like this:
Now the magic of ingenuity in his technique. They have a small non-working bull dozer that the crew is doing an engine rebuild. They also have a fork lift. So Brent takes the anchor ears and wedges into the dozer tracks, inserts a piece of steel right at the bend between the shank and the tines, has a helper hold up the shank and he slowly drives the fork lift into the shank until it becomes straight again.
Sheesh, now that is some beefy nice tools that I need for my wood working shop, eh? What do I owe you, Brent? Nothing, he says, but if you want to make a donation to the Diesel Foundation, that would be appreciated, so that is what I did; $10. Not bad for ten minutes of work.
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