On the eve of the feast of our Holy Father St Alphonsus the time and tide are just right to easily remove the Monastery barge, St Alphonsus, from the water in order to undergo some maintenance.
The trailer having been rolled down the slipway and under the St Alphonsus, both are slowly pulled back up the slipway.
Whilest each tractor individually has the pulling power to do the job, they do not have the traction to pull the St Alphonsus's 20-plus tonnes, so the wheels spin.
With both pulling in tandem, however, the objective is easily accomplished.
Br Romuald checks with Fr Magdala if this is far enough.
Using a powerful jack, the vessel is lifted off the trailer.
Each pull of the lever lifts the St Alphonsus's bulk only a few millimetres, but by this an enormous weight is lifted with little effort.
With the weight lifted off the wheels by the jack, Fr Magdala and Br Edmund bring more blocks to place underneath. The St Alphonsus is not sitting quite correctly on the trailer. With the weight lifted, the trailer can be repositioned.
The trailer having been repositioned, Brother moves the slightly precarious support-blocks at the back of the boat further forward so that they are lifting both the boat and the trailer off the ground.
The aim is to ensure that the massive weight of the boat is not resting on the wheels for longer than it needs to, in order to prevent damage to them.
Done. The St Alphonsus and its trailer are held securely, just slightly above the ground.
We wish a very happy feast of St Alphonsus
to one and all!