At 12:27, the fight was over and the final leg pin yielded after two weeks and a mighty struggle. Note: There was a loud cheer!
It all started off well this morning, with the arrival of a new weapon in the armoury in the form of a hydraulic wedge.
Rated at 0.5T and easy to slip in between the boat side and the pin end, real progress was being made, well, that was until there was a loud bang and the casting on the actuator half broke.
So, it was back to the previous method of using a jacking screw. Slower, as mentioned before, but did make a small shift after every application of full push load. Bit by bit you could tell that the load was lightening. What looks like a splined end in the image is just the impression of much Stillson activity
Both front hydraulic cylinders have now been extracted and lay ready for collection. The time after lunch was spent dredging yet more detritus from the stern bilges.