Hi everyone,
Very excited to *finally* chime in again. I painted my pier with cold gal (yes, I'm lazy) and last week got around to installing it and using it. Getting the bolts in the concrete to match up was a bit difficult, in the end resorted to gently using a hammer to move them into position. Hardly scientific I know
I also purchased a heavy duty BBQ cover from bunnings as a cover.
Having a pier is by far the best thing anyone can ever get in this hobby, if you're into astrophotography
First night I used Alignmaster to get to within an arc minute or two and got 2min unguided easily. I imaged two targets over three nights, and spent another two nights faffíng about with the pier and automating my capturing. Over those nights the pier held PA well and was able to pack up & it was great being able to go from zero to imaging in 20min, and vice versa.
Most useful feature is that the top plate separates from the pier. So during period of known rain and/or overcast I can simply remove the top plate with the mount attached. This way when I put it back on, the mount is very close to good PA and needs minimal adjustments.