Dry Storage, keel support

[nics0car]

I'm curious about storing your boat for the winter in the boat yard. When the boatyard operator had our boat in the sling and was preparing the spot to set her down with the winged keel resting on a block and additional 7 hull supports, I was told that the winged keel could handle the weight of the boat. I'm not so sure...?? Especially since we've had issues with water seepage from the leading edge of the keel. The yard operators adjusted each of the 7 outside support racks but the bulk of the weight rested on the keel. What harm if any could this do to the integrity of the hull....?? And should the bulk of the boat's weight be resting on the 7 supports...??

Thanks, Nick Carter

 

[Bilbo]

It would seem to me that the supports should be equally distributed BUT the authority of any answer here should give way to one from the company. I strongly suggest that you try asking them.

 

[sinnettc]

The majirity of the weight of my fin keel Capri 22 rests on the keel on the trailer, not on the 4 stands built into the trailer. The stands do bear some weight but they're mostly there for stability. I'm pretty sure that's going to be true of most fiberglass hulls. I don't believe the hull is made to support the weight the keel like that on the hard. I've seen a boat where the hull was pushed in a good inch at the stands because the keel wasn't adequately supported. Seemed like it could cause a problem over time.

 

[Bilbo]

The majirity of the weight of my fin keel Capri 22 rests on the keel on the trailer, not on the 4 stands built into the trailer. The stands do bear some weight but they're mostly there for stability. I'm pretty sure that's going to be true of most fiberglass hulls. I don't believe the hull is made to support the weight the keel like that on the hard. I've seen a boat where the hull was pushed in a good inch at the stands because the keel wasn't adequately supported. Seemed like it could cause a problem over time.

On the Cat 22 S/K the boat is probably about 95% supported on trailer by the bunks. This should indicate that the hull is able to support itself and I don't think that the basic hull is different in strength from one model to another in the molding process. The back of the keel should rest on the roller but that isn't the total weight of the 550 lb keel. I was always led to believe that if the hull dimples, it's most likely because the stand isn't located correctly according to the bulkheads or that it's pad is too small.

 

[Ray Bowles]

Keel loads when on the hard.

We recently had an Island Packet 38 with a full keel and had it on the hard to do a bottom strip, reseal and paint. There were another 12 boats in the U-do-it yard of various keel design and all were set the following way.
The travel-lift supported the boat as wooden blocks were placed along the bottom of the keel. Ours had 4 blocks and the fin keel 35 next to us had 2. After lightly setting the keel on the blocks 6 to 8 stands were placed under the hull, based on length, and the boat was lowered totally. That's my experence.
My only input was how I wanted the deck/cockpit raked for drainage of these areas.
I think your boat is OK as the wing keel is still a standardly installed keel just shaped differently than the same boat with a fin keel.
If you have keel/hull interface problems they should have your total attention first in your repair program.
Good luck, Ray.

 

[Big Windy]

It would seem to me that the supports should be equally distributed BUT the authority of any answer here should give way to one from the company. I strongly suggest that you try asking them.

Agree...call the company that built the boat.