Hoist Beneteau 235 by keel bolts

[DIYC235]

Has anyone hoisted a Beneteau 235 by the keel bolts? The marina has 3 hoists and they hoist 2-10 ton boats in and out of the water with amazing efficiency. To hoist my boat I need to determine where the center of gravity is on the boat ( between the 2nd and 3rd or 3rd and 4th keel bolts) Then I need to cut a hole in the deck to thread the nylon strap to a bail attached to the bolts. I would prefer to cut only one hole! Anyone have an idea as to where to put that hole ?

Thanks !

 

[Steve L22188]

Hasn't the yard heard of a sling?

If I have this right, the entire weight of the boat is focused on one set of threads on one keel bolt?

Don't understand this at all.

I don't like cutting holes in any boat -- whether it's on a deck or a hull. I always figure boats work best when the water is outside.

Anyone else ever hear of this kind of lifting strategy?

 

[Steve Dion]

They do it all the time with those light weight race boats. Just screw an eye on one of the bolts and lift the boat out. They do this every time they use the boat. These boats are stored on trailers and are typically only in the water for the duration of the race.

I would also suggest that they use the travel lift, but it is probably a lot more expensive.

 

[sinnettc]

I have a lifting setup for my Capri 22, though I haven't used it. As I recall there's a plate that attaches to 2 keel bolts and a lifting cable attaches to that. I think maybe there's a bridle that goes to the genoa winches too, but I don't remember for sure. No holes are necessary with the main hatch open.

 

[Joe]

If I have this right, the entire weight of the boat is focused on one set of threads on one keel bolt?

Don't understand this at all.

I don't like cutting holes in any boat -- whether it's on a deck or a hull. I always figure boats work best when the water is outside.

Anyone else ever hear of this kind of lifting strategy?

Very common at yacht clubs, where fleets of 18 to 24 ft race boats are dry stored. Fast, clean and effecient. Slings take a bit longer to set up when you lift the boat out of the water.. plus they can mar the boat if you're not careful. A hook and lifting eye is much, much faster.

 

[seadaddler]

STOP

Keel bolts are used for light racing boats and would never cut a hole in my boat that's just crazy.
Does their lifts have the normal sling for big sailboats or not and if so use the sling system and no cutting a hole.
Nick

 

[Alex Dare]

lift point

Yep, do it with J24's, Melges'...ect all the time. Wouldn't imagine it being a problem for a 235. A bridle setup sometimes works better. Use a couple attachment points on the keel bolts with each cable coming up to a big ring or shackle then out the cabin top or companionway. Might be worth a call to Beneteau as they've probably seen it done on this boat before. If you end up having to cut a hole in the cabin top, a nice 6" or 8" Sopac access port would work well.

 

[Tim R.]

Has anyone hoisted a Beneteau 235 by the keel bolts? The marina has 3 hoists and they hoist 2-10 ton boats in and out of the water with amazing efficiency. To hoist my boat I need to determine where the center of gravity is on the boat ( between the 2nd and 3rd or 3rd and 4th keel bolts) Then I need to cut a hole in the deck to thread the nylon strap to a bail attached to the bolts. I would prefer to cut only one hole! Anyone have an idea as to where to put that hole ?

Thanks !

Don't bother finding the COG, find a new marina. Much easier.

Are you actually thinking of cutting a hole in your deck? Or are you messing with us?

 

[higgs]

Cut a hole in the deck/cabin top of your boat for this purpose? Not me.

 

[Ron20324]

I used to have a 235, and though I wonder about the sanity of cutting a hole in the "deck", I would think it would be difficult to pre-determine the center for balancing puroses. If the marina could bolt a plate on (as previously suggested) perhaps they have a bent arm through the companionway to attach to the plate and, this one time, find where the balance point would be on that plate, thus where to place a hole in the overhead. No doubt such a hole would be in the area of the sliding hatch recess- not the actual "deck".

That aside, I'd say putting a pop-out solar vent in the proper hole location would make this all doable if you really want/need to do it.

 

[gdanza]

I have seen the bridle set up on several club racers, such as lasers, capri 14's thistles, etc, but not one with an actual cabin/companionway. My nephews are handy with the winches at the Mission Bay YC, and after their Thursday Night Thing (TNT), they hoist most of the boats up by a bridle that is already part of the boat rigging, that appears to be part of design for quick launch and dry storage. I haven't observed any boats with single purpose holes in the decks for lifting.
BTW, at the TNT, it appears the YC has staff to do the lifting, if you want. They wear shirts with the club logos, so I assume they are trained in what they do. OTOH, one sailor asked me to run the controls because I was standing there... after advising him I understand gravity more than hoisting, he assured me it was fool proof, as the system was engineered for ease of operation.I didn't drop the boat, and he guided it on the trailer with out incident,. which was the point, but then again, it was fool proof....
Don't know about other than racers and day sailors, though. I'd use straps on my C22 if I was going to lift it. Or I would pay someone who is insured to do it....

 

[Steve Dion]

What happens if you mis-calculate COG? Do you need to cut another hole?<g>

 

[Richard19068]

Center of gravity

I need to determine where the center of gravity is on the boat ( between the 2nd and 3rd or 3rd and 4th keel bolts)

If you can't find any other 235's that have this setup to use as an example I would suggest contacting Beneteau. They should be able to tell you the appropriate lifting point(s).

 

[DIYC235]

If you can't find any other 235's that have this setup to use as an example I would suggest contacting Beneteau. They should be able to tell you the appropriate lifting point(s).

Thanks for all the replies. At DIYC we also have Thursday night races and all the J24's, Melges... and even larger boats go in and out like this. I contacted Beneteau in S.C. and the directed me to Finot.com the naval archetects that designed the "First 235" I can recall enough of my french and understand from the website that they have designed a zillion boats and have neither the staff or resources to answer questions.

So... I'm back to estimating where when the boat is loaded with the outboard and the sails stuffed in the bow, along with the other equipment is the balance point. I'll bolt down the flattened M piece of steel ( anchored at bolts 4, 3 and 2) remove the hatch and the cover cut my 4 inch hole over the space between 4 and 3. During the lift if the bow lifts first I'll hang a 5Gal bucket of sand on the bow. If the hole is too far aft and she lifts stern first I'll put the bucket on the cockpit. If I mis-estimated... and it takes 100's of lbs to balance it out I'll have to repair that hole and recut the other over the space between 3 and 2 :-(

 

[Ron20324]

If the facilities are available, how about putting the boat in slings and lowering it onto a piece of pipe athwartships. Move the pipe back or forth under the keel until a resonable balance can be detected? It won't balance, but you could find a fulcrum point.

 

[Alex Dare]

fork lift

If the marina has a large fork lift, it may be possible to get one or both forks into the cabin through the companionway. It might then be possible to chain or cable the lift eye to the forks, pick the boat up with the forklift and see if you've got the right attachment spot. Just a thought.
By large, I mean one of the ones used to put boats in and out of the water.

 

[Liz1812]

At Seabrook Shipyard's "dry store" on Galveston Bay, TX the boats are lifted off their trailers with a variety of bridles. For the Wednesday night races they launch a dozen boats sometimes. The J24 I crew on has a stainless steel ring on a heavy bar between the two aft keel bolts. We thread a very heavy (4K lbs?) strap thru the ring and up thru a hole in the seahood and the companion way and just pick it up with the crane. After we are done, there is a screw in cover for the hole - also known as an inspection port. It is totally stable.

If your only choice is a crane - there will be locals who know how to do it.