Nekton
Member
Hello folks,
this is my first post here and I would like to say thank you in advance for any responses. I came across this forum while searching for info about the Koehring 405 and found a couple of threads that sounded like there were some friendly and experienced people here so I thought I'd put a few questions out there and see if anyone can help. Apologies in advance for the long post.
I'm a member of a small yacht club in northern Ontario (Canada) and we have an old Koehring 405 that has not run in over 30 years. Age and model unknown. I've attached a picture of it, and the info plate from inside the cab, but unfortunately it is worn and hard to read. It was donated to the club and parked in its current location by a member who has now passed on and there is nobody left in the club who knows how to operate it. It was left in the position you see in the picture. A small electric winch was mounted on the house with a line going up to a block at the end of the boom, and then down to dock height. We use this for raising and lowering masts on sailboats. The maximum load we lift on this winch is about 500lbs.
The age of the pendant lines and boom hoist reeving is unknown (but assumed to be at least 30+ years old) and both are showing signs of significant surface corrosion, so we feel it is time to consider replacing these lines to ensure the boom stays up and we can continue using it. The easiest way to do this would be to rotate the crane and lay the boom down on land, rather than trying to re-rig with it in the air. (I am a rigger, and we have access to a crane truck and operator in our club, so it's within our ability to do, but much safer and easier to lay the boom down of course.) I took a quick look under the crane and can see all the control linkages, and with a bit of thought can probably figure out everything does what, but I'm hoping someone can point me in the right direction.
Assuming the crane can not be made to run again, the plan is to replace the pendant and reeving lines with new static lines that will just support the boom at its current angle. I was able to get a pic of the pendant line swage terminals, and zooming in shows a 1 1/8" stamp, so we'll probably go with that the whole length and eliminate the reeving system all together. Solid and simple, even if way over built for the loads we will put on it.
So here are my questions:
- Can someone share, or point me to, instructions on what all the control levers and pedals do? I've briefly searched online for an operators manual but can only find one on ebay for almost $200. Worth the price if it contains the info I need.
- Any warnings or cautions right off the top? 'Don't mess with this because you don't know what you're doing' is totally fair and understood. I'm not planning to touch anything until I know what it does. I gather this is a friction driven system, so potentially the boom is currently being held up just by a clutch and moving the wrong lever could be catastrophic. I'm hoping it is also dogged somehow. I'd like to be able to check and confirm at least this one point.
- Which lever/linkage will release the house to allow it to turn? Would it be dogged as well? The plan (hope) is that we can release and rotate just by pulling on it (carefully) with a vehicle or loader. I know things might be rusted or seized, so we're prepared to lubricate, heat, cut or remove whatever is needed.
- Same question for raising and lowering the boom. The plan would be to support it with a crane, release the drum and lower it. If needed we'll cut the cable.
- What's the chance this machine could be brought back to life? It hasn't run in 30+ years. We have good mechanics in our club, welders, equipment operators etc., and access to heavy equipment services, engine, mechanical, and rigging, so could potentially do whatever is needed up to a full rebuild, but is it worth it? Even if it couldn't crawl, being able to start up, rotate, and raise and lower the boom would potentially be a big asset. If the load line could be made operational that could be huge.
- And finally a total long shot... if it can be made operational again, including being mobile, I read another thread where the OP had purchased this type of crane for pond dredging. We will have to dredge our shoreline some time in the next 10 years or so, and the cost will be significant. It may be worth it to consider restoring this machine if it can be used for that purpose. Any advice on where to look, and how to source, the bucket and related equipment to outfit for that purpose would be much appreciated.
Thanks again for any advice or insights.
this is my first post here and I would like to say thank you in advance for any responses. I came across this forum while searching for info about the Koehring 405 and found a couple of threads that sounded like there were some friendly and experienced people here so I thought I'd put a few questions out there and see if anyone can help. Apologies in advance for the long post.
I'm a member of a small yacht club in northern Ontario (Canada) and we have an old Koehring 405 that has not run in over 30 years. Age and model unknown. I've attached a picture of it, and the info plate from inside the cab, but unfortunately it is worn and hard to read. It was donated to the club and parked in its current location by a member who has now passed on and there is nobody left in the club who knows how to operate it. It was left in the position you see in the picture. A small electric winch was mounted on the house with a line going up to a block at the end of the boom, and then down to dock height. We use this for raising and lowering masts on sailboats. The maximum load we lift on this winch is about 500lbs.
The age of the pendant lines and boom hoist reeving is unknown (but assumed to be at least 30+ years old) and both are showing signs of significant surface corrosion, so we feel it is time to consider replacing these lines to ensure the boom stays up and we can continue using it. The easiest way to do this would be to rotate the crane and lay the boom down on land, rather than trying to re-rig with it in the air. (I am a rigger, and we have access to a crane truck and operator in our club, so it's within our ability to do, but much safer and easier to lay the boom down of course.) I took a quick look under the crane and can see all the control linkages, and with a bit of thought can probably figure out everything does what, but I'm hoping someone can point me in the right direction.
Assuming the crane can not be made to run again, the plan is to replace the pendant and reeving lines with new static lines that will just support the boom at its current angle. I was able to get a pic of the pendant line swage terminals, and zooming in shows a 1 1/8" stamp, so we'll probably go with that the whole length and eliminate the reeving system all together. Solid and simple, even if way over built for the loads we will put on it.
So here are my questions:
- Can someone share, or point me to, instructions on what all the control levers and pedals do? I've briefly searched online for an operators manual but can only find one on ebay for almost $200. Worth the price if it contains the info I need.
- Any warnings or cautions right off the top? 'Don't mess with this because you don't know what you're doing' is totally fair and understood. I'm not planning to touch anything until I know what it does. I gather this is a friction driven system, so potentially the boom is currently being held up just by a clutch and moving the wrong lever could be catastrophic. I'm hoping it is also dogged somehow. I'd like to be able to check and confirm at least this one point.
- Which lever/linkage will release the house to allow it to turn? Would it be dogged as well? The plan (hope) is that we can release and rotate just by pulling on it (carefully) with a vehicle or loader. I know things might be rusted or seized, so we're prepared to lubricate, heat, cut or remove whatever is needed.
- Same question for raising and lowering the boom. The plan would be to support it with a crane, release the drum and lower it. If needed we'll cut the cable.
- What's the chance this machine could be brought back to life? It hasn't run in 30+ years. We have good mechanics in our club, welders, equipment operators etc., and access to heavy equipment services, engine, mechanical, and rigging, so could potentially do whatever is needed up to a full rebuild, but is it worth it? Even if it couldn't crawl, being able to start up, rotate, and raise and lower the boom would potentially be a big asset. If the load line could be made operational that could be huge.
- And finally a total long shot... if it can be made operational again, including being mobile, I read another thread where the OP had purchased this type of crane for pond dredging. We will have to dredge our shoreline some time in the next 10 years or so, and the cost will be significant. It may be worth it to consider restoring this machine if it can be used for that purpose. Any advice on where to look, and how to source, the bucket and related equipment to outfit for that purpose would be much appreciated.
Thanks again for any advice or insights.