I bought it, now for the cribs...

[HeelBoy]

Well, I made an offer and it was accepted, I’m picking the boat up Sunday.
The keel needs to come out and the trailer needs work. Being a woodworker gives me a great toolset for building cribs.
Keel will be loosed, the boat will come up, and the keel will be rolled away with the trailer.

I have a method for plucking it up off the trailer and raising it off the ground, and that method is greatly helped by having the cribs placed further apart. It also seems like a more stable setup, which is important because of all the work I’ll be doing down there. Two more stabilizing supports will be added on either side of the keel, after the trailer is pulled away. But for a few minutes, the full keel-less weight (1475lb?) of the boat will be supported as pictured.

The hull contact points will be over a square ft, plus contoured and padded to prevent pressure points. There will be 2 at the bow, 2 at the stern (the 2 amidships won't be in place yet). Is the hull ok to take a load like this? Are there any hull points where one should not attempt to support the vessel?

Thanks again!

 

[rgranger]

I've done this with a Balboa 26 without any hull damage. BUT!.....If your hull seems too thin to take the weight at the cross beam, then try to line the beam up to run athwart with an internal bulkhead. That should disperse the load.

Does your hull seem thick where you want to place the cradle beam? Here is a pic of my "cradle"

I did not use the trailer to take the keel out. I built a keel-cradle with coasters. YMMV

Here are some before, during and after shots of the keel repair with the keel cradle in case you like that idea. I found the cradle useful for moving the keel about.

 

[THECUSCUS]

Congrats on your 25 purchase. You will enjoy the simplicity of the boat and her sailing ability. Take a look at my photo album on this site, there are many pictures of my cribbing setup and my keel rebuild.

 

[HeelBoy]

Rather than start a new thread (I'm posting a lot) I thought I may ask this here:
Can the bow be lifted with the tow eye? The boat will be lacking 650lb of keel.

I never considered it, untill I saw some chap do it on Youtube with a different boat. I know this is an extra strong portion of hull, but it's built for tension and not shear.

 

[THECUSCUS]

I wouldn't lift there, that eye is backed by a piece of scrap wood and is probably rotten, which will allow the eye to pull through your hull. Many discussions on the Mac sites about this and the various ways to reinforce and reinstall the eye.

 

[HeelBoy]

I wouldn't lift there, that eye is backed by a piece of scrap wood and is probably rotten, which will allow the eye to pull through your hull. Many discussions on the Mac sites about this and the various ways to reinforce and reinstall the eye.

What are some good mac-sites? I've been poking about, this one seems to get the most traffic. I would definitely like to back that eye with some 316, guessing I have to reach through the weee access panel in the forward V berth.

Thanks again!

 

[THECUSCUS]

MacGregorsailors.com
MacGregor Venture Classic Sailboats on Facebook

 

[THECUSCUS]

You can always make the opening larger.

 

[HeelBoy]

You can always make the opening larger.

Perfect! I was wondering if that panel was structural.

 

[Tsatzsue]

I've done it.