Catalina 27 position on cradle

[Kopite]

Hi, I have an '84 Std fin keel which came with a Catalina design cradle. I'm going to be unbolting the keel to remove the wood from the keel stub, and so keel loading is important to me. Does anyone know where the boat should be located fore/aft in the cradle ? I've currently got the boat sitting level in the cradle, but the load looks to be too much on the rear of the keel, and the front unsupported. I've placed a picture in my profile. If my location of the boat is correct, I'll add some blocks under the front end of the keel..
Thanks.

 

[Joetech]

Sorry no one got back to you before. Good thing you are planning to redo the keel because sitting like it is, it's going to have to be done. A few years ago when we did my C27 haulout the Travelift driver set it in so that some but not all of the weight was on the rear less than one minute. We redid the blocking and got the weight up front. The next spring I had a leak in the hull in the very back where the v of the bilge goes up toward the engine under the floor. I got some of that underwater epoxy made by Petitt Paint and after about 4 layers, got the leak to stop. The next fall at haulout I could not find any cracks on the outside even after scraping down the paint to bare hull. That was 2 seasons ago and all is good. My boat is an 86 so I'm sure there is not a lot of difference to your 84. The wood filler does not go all the way back to this area. It stops just about even with the bulge cover.
I don't know what your marina's policy is on haulout. Some just set a date and do the haul and don't care if the owner is present. Our marina requires the owner to be present. If yours has the former policy they did a very pour job and should at least give you a free lift or more to correctly position the boat.
There is a diagram I've seen somewhere that all of the weight MUST be on the front half to 2/3 of the keel. Your keel trunk may or may not have needed repair before, but it sure does now.

 

[Kopite]

Thanks for the reply. My marina is very helpful and they will lift the boat for me to adjust. I was actually there when we pulled the boat but it was at the end of the day/ getting dark, so we were a bit rushed. I didn't notice the issue ( top pic) until I started thinking about the keel job.
I'm planning to move it so that the rear cradle support is directly under the radius at the rear of the keel as I had it last year. ( as in lower picture ) Does that sound about right ?
The cradle design is such that the supports are somewhat "flexible" and so hopefully I didn't damage the hull, but I will check it. I did also add support to the keel front end when I first noticed the issue..