Post #696340 by No No on Mon, Oct 14, 2013 8:18 PM

Most high rise building projects require the use of a crane. Tahara'a was no exception. this is a story of the hammer head crane used at Tahara'a.
Tex, the project super, was in his job site trailer, looking out the window over Matavai Bay. He was anxious and cranky. Mumbling under his breath about some innocuous construction problem, we all knew the real reason for his irritability. Where was his house boat? It was several days overdue. With his binoculars he scanned the horizon all the way to Moorea. Then without warning, he let out a jubilant cry...There it is!! There it is!! He jumped up, ran out, got in the Rover and headed to Papeete. It seemed that Tex had hired a sailor of sorts to bring his house boat from Sausalito,(near San Francisco) to Tahiti. A daunting task, to be sure, for the very best of nautical men. Tex was happy. The red haired, bearded adventurer was not so happy. He was out of a job. But Tex had a solution to that problem. See that pile of crates over there, Tex said with a smile,... those are crane parts. That over there, is the concrete pad where it gets built. I am going to sail my house boat to Moorea for 2 weeks. When I get back, if it is standing tall, you have a job....see you later. Oh, by the way, the assembly instructions are written in French......The sailor became a hammer head crane operator.