Costa Concordia: Project Progress

On June 22, Titan-Micoperi reported that all the starboard sponsons for the wreck of Costa Concordia had been attached, including the troublesome S13 flotation tank featured in my previous post. That one needed a do-over. 

That leaves four sponsons to go, all on the port side, which is less damaged than the starboard side. So that's good news for the wreck-refloating and removal later this summer. (Photo, Parbuckling Project)

The next step is an evaluation by the government on Thursday, June 26, about the project's readiness to cope with what is now a very fragile hulk. 

JLG Crawler-lift: Ditching ladders and scaffolds for "high inside" work

Finished training last week on how to operate a scissor-lift, and during a break, the instructor showed me a compact, crawler-mounted boomlift marketed by JLG. Here's a photo of it inching through a doorway (twentywheels.com):

I haven't used it, but the idea is cool enough - a track-mounted machine that:

• Fits through a 40-inch-wide doorway;
• Can crawl up a 40 percent slope;
• Expands its footprint via hydraulically actuated outriggers; 
• Is powered by rechargeable batteries, needing no IC engine or power cord inside;
• Has a railed platform at the end of an extendable boom that, in the largest model, would let me change a light bulb 75 feet off the floor; and,
• So I hear, costs a quarter-million dollars.

Photo from JLG of the big one in action:

And, for the well-heeled handyman, it would be very nice for roof work (photo, twentywheels.com)