Darryl,
I will attempt to describe the work that Gerald did, any errors are all mine. Neither the frame or hull were sandblasted prior to the welding. The areas were well cleaned with the aid of angle grinders and wire wheels.
Gerald decided that the frame should be done first to aid in determining the hull fit. He also decided to use "Bohler E 7018-1 1/8"rod since he didn't want to put too much heat into the hull or frame and introduce cracking.
Once the frame was square and true and welded up, we placed the frame underneath the hull and loosely bolted them together using the mounting points.
Using "come alongs" and spreader bars the two halves were aligned and tacked together. Then using wedges, shims, some welded oversize nuts, with smaller bolts the fine tuning was done until everything squared up.
We were very fortunate that when the hull was cut in half that they opened up the escape hatches first and we were able to use the doors as a further reference.
Backing plates were used and the sides of the old cuts were bevelled and then welded up in successive layers.
I am extremely pleased at his workmanship and how well it looks. The hull floor still requires work but that is for another day.
I just wish that I had taken more pictures of his work when it was taking place.
Peter
