Building the cradle Part One

We searched the web for specs on Alberg 30 cradles and boats. The previous owners also sent us some pictures of the vessel on the trailer and provided some additional measurements. We designed a cradle to fit atop and inside of our existing hydraulic trailer.

The steel was ordered and Gary (pictured below) purchased a new band saw for the shop to be used for cutting the steel. Did I mention I have the greatest boss and friend anyone could hope for? Well I do!

Today after our regular work day was completed at the shop. We stayed "after hours" and began cutting the steel for the cradle (thats me in the picture). Tomorrow we'll complete the cutting then we'll spend a few hours a night over the next few nights and get the cradle welded together.

The boat

February 2007

I have been watching Alberg 30's for years and have been pursuing getting a project one for the past five years. When this one first came up on eBay it was exactly what I was looking for but was over 2,000 miles away. I was concerned about whether the trailer was up for the long haul from Michigan to Idaho and decided to to bid on it at the last minute and didn't go as high as I should have with my initial bid. You would have laughed if you'd seen me fumbling at the keyboard to get a final bid in , but alas it was not to be. I was outbid in the final seconds of the auction.

May 7th, 2007

I was delighted to see the same vessel come back up for auction on eBay. The vessel had been painted and was being tendered without the trailer. I corresponded with the owner to see if I could find a way to get the vessel out west. It was too expensive to pay professional haulers to truck it and the current owner was understandably not interested in hauling the vessel out west.
I resigned to the fate that this vessel was not-to-be for me.
I work for Expert marine technology Inc. A marine repair facility in Coeur d'Alene Idaho. On the final day of the auction I was out for lunch with my boss Gary and was reminiscing on how I wish there was a way to get the boat out west so I could bid on it.
When we got back to the shop after lunch there was 27 minutes left on the bidding. Gary walked out to look at his main hydraulic trailer that is set up for power boats and came back and told me we could modify it to fit the boat. In the last ten minutes of the auction I was back in the bidding! This time it wasn't getting away! I waited until the final 30 seconds of the auction and bid on and won the boat.