Thanks for the info Rick. I didn't even consider that the pins might be tapered. I'll try measuring both sides diameter and see if I can identify which way they went in. The stands are supposed to be here Thursday. We hope to get the crane here next week and drop the keel while we move her off the trailer. A bit nervous about this? Yes, I am. I still have to come up with something to put the keel on so we can move it around without killing ourselves once its out. In my next life I plan on having unlimited funds so I can pay professionals to do all this. But then I'd miss having all that pride in the finished project....hahaha. What would I do to keep myself busy.....sail? :-) While waiting to get her hoisted the work continues on stripping the bottom on the areas I have access to while she's on the trailer. Using Peel-A-Way helps, but its no picnic. It takes at least two 24 hour applications and removal sessions to get through all the layers of bottom paint down to the old barrier coat, and that's not really "peeling", its more like "scraping". Then the remaining paint and barrier coat have to be sanded off. S--L--O--W. Very interested in your re-gelcoat job. Are you having it done or doing it yourself. Since I have so much bottom work to be done and all of my gelcoat topsides is in "fair" condition, I'd love to have the same thing done but figured the cost would be prohibitive. Sean