Can I hoist H23 by cleat bolted to top of Keel?

[leftcoastpj]

There is a cleat bolted to one of the keel bolts under the floor of my wing keel 86 Hunter 23.
It is suspiciously appearing to be in the center of gravity. With the hatch out of the way I have clear vertical clearance.
Could this be how Hunter moved the boat around in the factory?
Can I use it with a gantry and chain hoist to paint the bottom and some minor keel repair?
I've got hours chasing down links and watching videos, cannot find info.

Thanks much!

 

[kloudie1]

Dunno.. I'd be kinda suspicious of that since a typical cleat is designed to take loading parallel to the top horn and not perpendicular to it.. If it were a lifting ring it'd make more sense.. Not saying the cleat is not there for lifting, since a big beefy one with proper connection to the keel would work.. just saying that a cleat would not be a first choice for a vertical lift fitting.. Careful !

 

[Kermit]

It's there for something but I doubt it was put there by Hunter. It sounds suspiciously like a previous owner put it there for something other than lifting the boat. But if you try it make sure to post a video. And you *must* say, "Hold my beer!" before starting the lift.

 

[SFS]

The "hold my beer" must be immediately followed by "watch this".

 

[leftcoastpj]

If nothing else seems like an excellent safety for a standard hoist using straps, carry some of the weight.
I'm second owner, bought in 1981, the guy didn't mention installing this odd bracket/cleat. I'm away from the boat another 9 days, wish I could snap a pic.
It is a hurculean piece of stainless about 6" long bolted to the keel with a 70ish degree bend upwards then a nice 1" hole. Anybody else have this under your floorboard bolted to the keel?
Great forum, spent all day reading, thanks for helping/heckling a new forum member
Patrick in Oregon

 

[Kermit]

...thanks for...heckling a new forum member
Patrick in Oregon

That's what we do best!

 

[Kermit]

I'm second owner, bought in 1981...
Patrick in Oregon

Sweet! You bought it 5 years before it was built! How long before it was built did the original owner buy it?
(Sorry. I really couldn't help myself. Consider yourself one of us now.)

 

[leftcoastpj]

Ha! 1991, sorry the decades are such a blur now.

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

Hunter never did put a cleat in the bilge and I would not raise a boat in such a fashion nor did Hunter either. If you do so, I for one will tell you that you will see the remanents of a boat and possibly someone injured. Not only was I a dealer but was the top dealer for that boat as well. I watched how this boat was made and they were moved on a cradle/movable dolly in the factory. Any lifting was done with straps by either a gantry crane or travel lift at the factory in Alachua, Florida.

 

[leftcoastpj]

Well that settles that! Thanks Dave, I knew somebody here could speak with authority, clearly the previous owner added it, and I will be hoisting my boat conventionally.
Thanks everyone!

 

[Jackdaw]

Lifting by a cleat??? No way.

On some boats you will see a lifting eye on top of one of the keel boats (or on a plate connected to several) designed to lift the boat. This was done more often on race boats. The eye is designed to take this load in this direction. Cleats are not.

BYW, lifting by an eye is not always the sweet and easy thing it appears. Most boat's CG is ABOVE that point, and the boat needs bracing against the lifting strap to not fall over.

 

[flynhi4u]

Good point Jackdaw, CG is 3D position that is not only for and aft but also vertically and depending on how the boat is loaded, laterally as well. Sometimes things get real interesting when lifting something from a single point from below the vertical CG point. Real interesting.

Sam

 

[isaksp00]

FWIW my 23 has no such cleat, strap or eye on top of the keel.

 

[Kermit]

I figured out what the cleat is for. The H23 is somewhat prone to collecting water in the bilge at the keel bolts. As long as there's water there and the kids are bored you may as well let them play with toy boats. They have to tie up somewhere. What better place to put a cleat than attached to a keel bolt.
You're welcome.

 

[leftcoastpj]

Most boats CG is ABOVE that point

Of course! My 23 has 800lb keel, boat weighs 2400, bolted at the exact top of the 800 lb mass? wow! I'm embarrassed I didn't see that. Imagine the nearly guaranteed disaster, definitely shoot video if you try it!
Thanks much!

 

[leftcoastpj]

So...
Tie up toy boats in bilgewater
Drop the keel out of the boat?
The greatest ground for a tiny bilge pump ever.
You are too stupid to be sailing and your boat should be destroyed test?

Go ahead, get it out of your system, great forum, thanks again.

 

[Rick Webb]

Not sure I'd poo poo the idea of hoisting it this way without at least seeing it. the hunk of metal is not a "cleat" but rather a lifting bracket.

Presumably the boat is all in one piece. The guy who went through all the work to add this either did not use it or used it and it worked well enough that the boat is still around.

We used to lift Rhodes 19s and Cal 20s regularly. daily almost exactly this way there were some other boats alittle bit bigger that used the same system but I can't remember for sure what boats they were Columbia 22 or 23 maybe,
The trick is that the center of balance needs to be within the opening of the hatch not all are.

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

Folks, lets put this thread to rest. That cleat in the bilge was not added by Hunter nor any dealer with any sense plus I saw how the boats were made at Hunter. That alone should answer but I am glad that Jackdaw did point out the CG or center of gravity which many of us fail to take into account when lifting. Yes there are smaller boats but the question was on the Hunter 23 wing keel only.

 

[dachelpo]

When I first got my Hunter 216, shorter than your Hunter 23, I considered keeping it at a local sailing club that put their racing sail boats in over a sea wall via two cranes. Although this worked for the small 1/2 person sailboats and even for their Hunter 217's they used for training sailboats for people wanting to learn to sail, I researched and found it was not suitable for my Hunter 216 unless I used straps under the haul. None of the cleats are suitable to lift the boat.

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

Definitely not the Hunter 216 ACP construction.