School of the boat 16 Dec (Torpedo Tubes) Batfish part 1

[Darrin]

To save time and energy on this one, this is going the be an instructional piece where there are no answers to be had.... This one is about the posibility of back hauling a weapon on the USS Batfish and this is JUST the tube side and nothing about set up at all nor is there really anything for you to look up, it however gives you a unique chance to look at a boat out of the water who's shutter doors have been removed and IF this one happens there will be pics and hopefully video to be had that are nearly priceless seeing how there hasn't been a torpedo go through the muzzle doors of a WWII boat in a LONG time let alone the USS Batfish.
Merry Christmas to all of you, there may or may not be a school of the boat next week..... Seeing how I am in Florida next week I don't see it happening, maybe that slacking Chief can finish his bit of Electrical or start on the electronics side of these boats...
Here's the link to the Batfish back hauling thread
http://www.submarinemuseums.org/forum/index.php?topic=591.0

[Mark Sarsfield]

I'm getting a video camera for Christmas.  So, I'll be more than happy to film this event whether we load from the front or take it down the stairs and load from the rear.

My main concern is the uneven ground near the bow.  How do you get a fork lift to stay level?  We're only working with 80 thousands of an inch clearance or 40 thousands on each side of the torpedo.  The torpedo is bound to flex a little as it sits on the fork lift.  Another conern is drivingt h lift down into the basin without the torpedo falling off.  That will be a fun project getting it out of the dirt.

[Darrin]

I have thought about that one for a while now and the only thing that I can think of is for the Batfish crew to construct a platform for these weapons to go on and have a dolly underneeth the weapon so that you can move it right and left, it may be a good idea for you to put in adjusters either on the platform or on the dolly so that you can raise the weapon up and down as required. To keep the weapons from falling off of your forklift is pretty straight forward, use rachet straps to hold it to the lift either on the dolly or off of the dolly.