HELP! Hull dents from cradle pads

[risingSailor23]

I recently bought my first sailboat, a Columbia 27 that has been sitting on cradle for 2 years. As a result, there’s some significant hull deflection where the cradle pads are (and some surface level crack in the anti fouling)

Based on what I’ve read, this means that too much weight is resting on the pads, and not enough on the keel. The pads are smaller than they should be, only about 6 inches.

How can I fix this issue?

I was thinking of building a wooden support to support and then jack the boat up to adjust the pads. Is there a better way to do this?

 

[Rich Stidger]

I had a similar issue many years ago when the yard blocked the keel on a narrow spot with plywood. Over the winter the plywood buckled and the boat settled. The pads pushed into the hull creating dents. I contacted my insurance and they sent a surveyor/adjuster. He convinced the yard to repair the damage, which they promptly did without cost to me.
IMHO this damage should not be ignored because the pressure spot could be delminated.

 

[marcham]

Was the cradle supporting at the bulkheads? Is there any sign of displaced cabinetry? Is it your craddle or the yard's? Have you taken possession? If not, I'd leave it as the seller's problem.... could be expensive to fix.

The boat should be lifted with a crane or marine lift.

 

[john2]

Make bigger pads ! best are in shape of the hull. The pads can only have little weight, just to keep the boat up right.
After 2 years on the hard maybe the hull did some flexing, If it's not to bad it will return to the old shape.
a lot of boats have "dents" in them.

I saw an old 20 ft sailboat on the hard this summer and there the pads went about 2inches in to the hull. Think it was there for over 5 years and had 2feet of water inside the boat.....

 

[sailme88]

as a rule of thumb, stands are placed where bulkheads exist. Cradles don't alway offer this, especially if the cradle was designed for a different boat. Get some relief to the hull and then look to move the pads to align with bulkheads or sell the cradle and acquire stands...

 

[Project_Mayhem]

I also bought a boat that had been on the hard for a couple of years. It's sitting on the factory Catalina cradle. The hull is pushed in so badly that the inner floor liner has buckled in a couple of places. Going after the yard would be difficult. I talked to the yard manager and they added four extra stands and dropped the pad making the impression. This will help the hull relax but it's yet to be seen if it will regain 100% of its original shape. The yard came up with a reasonable approach for the time being and acted quickly. I will fix the liner and tabbing once the boat is in the water. I'm not worried about delamination within the hull itself

 

[higgs]

I think the best approach is to make sure the weight is on the keel and the pads get moved off the deflected areas. This may mean getting the yard to re position the boat. If the deflection is to go away the pads need to not be in their present position. If the deflection does not go away the fix is probably more than the boat is worth. I have seen the hull rebound once the pressure is off. A properly stored boat does not need to have the pads at a bulkhead since the weight of the boat is on the keel. The pads bear little weight if the the keel is properly supported.