Boat cradles

[JaySauls]

Hey folks! With winter coming on I'm going to pull my long-abused and in need of help boat out of the water and rebuild it from the bottom up. I've noticed several cradles in pictures and have tried to take notes on how they are constructed, set up etc.. I'm sure I can build supports to hold the boat, but how do you guys get the trailer out from under the boat? I'd love to hear/see any steps you've gone through to get the boat off (and then back on) the trailer.

Thanks,

 

[Sumner]

See if these help...

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/macgregor/outside-3.html

and...

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/macgregor2/outside-39.html

... and if you can do a search you will find much more on how to walk the trailer out from under the boat. Be very, very careful as you are dealing with something that could kill you,

Sum

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]============================[/FONT]

Our Endeavour 37

Our MacGregor 26-S Pages

Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

Mac-Venture Links

 

[JaySauls]

Thanks for the info!

 

[Barnacle Bill]

Nothing like using large lumber. I wouldn't work under the boat in that picture. Make your cradles hefty please. I prefer steel. You can also use jack stands and slowly remove your trailer as you block up the jack stands. You need to use a bottle jack too. The best thing is to go to a boat yard and let them lift your boat into a cradle. No sense killing yourself (literally) doing it half ass and dangerously.

 

[Sumner]

Nothing like using large lumber. I wouldn't work under the boat in that picture. Make your cradles hefty please..

Heft doesn't necessarily make it right. The stand is well triangulated with gussets and the main weight directly supported. I've built 3 of my houses and one commercial building with no failures so far .

I will say that if one doesn't understand loading on a structure they should not attempt putting something overhead that can kill them,

Sum

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]============================[/FONT]

Our Endeavour 37

Our MacGregor 26-S Pages

Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

Mac-Venture Links

 

[vizwhiz]

And don't forget that these boats are not heavily-weighted fixed-keel ocean cruisers, the D and S boats weigh less than 2000 pounds in the motorless configuration that Sumner has shown. Those structures are (obviously) well able to support one end of the boat (roughly half the boat weight).
And don't forget that the trailer bunks are four simply laid-out (and flat!) two-by boards, supporting the whole weight of the fully-loaded boat with motor under dynamic loading conditions of driving down the road at higheay speeds.
I'm all for being safe...and i think Sum makes some very good points about safety if you read his website about the whole job.

 

[tricyclerob]

Sumner,
Sorry, I agree with Bill. I don't think I would work under that cradle.

It can be worth your life, and I think bigger is better. The design looks good, but made from 2x6's it would look better. With bolts or lag screws at least, [bolts preferred], not what appears to be drywall screws.
Consider the size of the tubing welded boat stands are constructed of. Granted, they need to hold boats of all sizes, but also consider the boats are blocked to the ground and stands serve only to balance the boat.

In this situation, I would rather "over-engineer" than get squished.

Just my 2 cents.
robj

 

[Sumner]

Sumner,
Sorry, I agree with Bill. I don't think I would work under that cradle.

Just my 2 cents.
robj

Everyone has to do what they feel comfortable with but there are 4 vertical 2X4's used in the stands. In a single story house with 2X4's used for studs on outside supporting walls one stud will have to carry well over 1000 lbs. of possible live and dead loads. Here ...

http://www.strongtie.com/products/connectors/post_capacities.asp#

... it looks like 2000 lbs or more is allowed per 2 X 4 and that is at an 8 foot height. I think 4 should hold up 900 to 1300 lbs. I would not use these on anything but level ground though.

. The design looks good, but made from 2x6's it would look better. With bolts or lag screws at least, [bolts preferred], not what appears to be drywall screws

Did you take the time to go to the links before replying?

Please post pictures of the stands that you have made and used.

You know it is no wonder why more people won't share what they have done on these forums considering how one's offerings are often picked apart base on personal preference and little fact. Maybe I should just remove most of what I've got up on the net myself. It would save me about $250 a year,

Sum

 

[Squidd]

This is a wooden cradle I built to bring my boat home from washington DC to Wisconsin...

Yes it's on a trailer (with associated shifting loads) but could just as easily be placed on the ground and the boat craned onto it...


This is the trailer/cradle I built to haul and store the boat on at the marina..

 

[tricyclerob]

Sumner,
My intent was not to offend or to pick apart your work. If I did offend I apologize.

Like I said, this was my 2 cents. I too have built many things including 2 houses and countless other projects in my 60 years of "fixing things".

My issue was not so much with the 2x4's in compression, but more with the scantling of the materials to resist any twisting forces.
I did look at your other photos before posting, and in looking again, I realized your supports were for getting the boat off the trailer and not for working under the boat.

For lifting, I built a similar set-up, but as I was spanning 20', I made beams from 3 , 2x12's, with plywood glued and screwed between each board, then lag bolted together. When I lifted the boat I had maybe 1/8" deflection in the beam.
The chain falls are on a aluminum 14" I-beam with 3/4' thick webs that set on the cross beams so I can move the chainfalls to space the straps where I like.

I found a reasonable deal on boat stands and used them for working under the boat.

For working inside, I made a different set of stands that fit the hull shape, for the boat to sit close to the ground.

Again, sorry if I offended, but like I said, just my 2 cents. Maybe I tend to overbuild, but then again, better safe[er] than sorry.

By the way, I recently, [about a month ago] read your entire blog as I'm heading to the Keys for 2 weeks next winter, and enjoyed it very much.

robj

 

[MrBill_FLL]

I think the PY26 and the oday23 are 2x or 3x the weight of the 26s.


the other way people have gone is making a lifting stand like a playground swing set and used come-a-longs or ratcheting straps

 

[JaySauls]

I've seen a bunch of cradles and boat stands. The boat stands, too me, look like a dangerous way to work on the boat. I've had cars fall off jack stands and that will make you go inside and change your shorts! How stable are the boat stands?

 

[tricyclerob]

Jay,
I agree with cars on jack stands, I've had my moments. Never lost one, but when they shift a tiny bit to settle, Yikes!!

The boat stands are quite stable as a chain connects the stands from one side to the other so they can't slide apart. In the forward portion, the angle of the pad wants to push them apart and the chain holds them together, so it ends up pretty stiff.
I like having the one in the front to resist any fore and aft movement so I [almost] always use 5 stands.

Regardless, it pays to be cautious, especially on uneven ground or gravel such in an outside yard.

I repaired about a gazillon tiny [BB size] gelcoat blisters, sanded, faired and sanded and sanded, [and sanded some more] and applied 6 coats of West System on the bottom throughout last summer and felt secure working under the boat. I was still very careful, especially when using an additional stand to move one.
As you can see, it looked like I had moved in.
robj

 

[JaySauls]

Rob,

Thanks for the input! I'm certain my wife would make sure my life insurance was paid up before getting under the boat!

 

[MrBill_FLL]

you could always get about 15 cbs blocks and some timbers and make a safety wall.

Since I had never done it before. I did. -Just in case...



Heck, Rob could have parked his car under there!



only thing I don't like about stands is, the ground can shift in heavy rain or flooding.