Is it Okay to....

[Roy 845]

Hi all,
I'm at the point with my winter repairs that requires me to fill in the divots in my Shoal draft Keel but to get at some of the areas that need attention I need to get the Trailer out of the way. On the weekends I am able to put said Boat and Trailer inside my employers shop and my plan is to suspend the Boat from the ceiling with straps one fore and one aft of the Keel to raise it a couple of inches off the Trailer enabling me to access the underside of the Keel for grinding damaged areas and Epoxying over them in preparation for the bottom coat of paint.
My question is it safe to do this as far as the stresses from the weight of a #600 Keel pulling down on the Hull go? I have no concerns as far as the strength of our ceiling is concerned as heavier loads have already been applied to various areas of the supporting structure.
I have replaced the core of the Transom and redrilled all of the various holes and I then moved forward and removed a rotten block of wood that the Bow eye was bolted to and re epoxied and glassed the Bow and installed a 3/8" Stainless "U" Bolt and now I really need to make the Hull below the waterline ready for paint. Everything above the Waterline can come later. I attached a pic of my as yet un named Boat in the shop at work.

 

[Brian S]

Nope, that's not safe. You should put it on properly braced boat stands after you get it off the trailer. When you lift it, you should also join the straps together so that they don't decide to walk out to the ends of the boat while you lift.

 

[cb32863]

My question is it safe to do this as far as the stresses from the weight of a #600 Keel pulling down on the Hull go?

What is under your keel supporting it when the boat is in the water?

I would go with what Brian is saying. Just hanging that thing from the ceiling is asking for trouble if you are not using specifically designed lifting equipment.

 

[Hydro Therapy]

I think it depends on how wide your slings are. I have my boat lifted off my trailer at the beginning and end of each season. In the spring they suspend it for me with the slings so I can bottom paint the areas that I can't reach while on the trailer. It sets in the slings for a few hours. The slings are probably 12 inches wide.

That being said I don't think I would want it hanging for more than a few hours.

 

[LeeandRick]

If you are sure the area where you plan to support is strong enough go for it. I used 2 two inch wide straps on each end just past the keel. Support the keel as much as possible while working under the boat. Also get something under the boat for it to fall on and maybe miss you.

With that said,
Don't do it, you could be killed.

 

[Ned Ludd]

I would rather be killed by my falling sailboat that a drunk driver t-boning me

 

[LeeandRick]

After looking at your picture I would not hang a boat from those open steel trusses. They are probably overloaded with what's stored up there.

 

[Brian S]

After looking at your picture I would not hang a boat from those open steel trusses. They are probably overloaded with what's stored up there.

LeeandRick, you just made me think of something. Our office has open decking ceiling with trusses like that. It's good for holding up the ceiling and HVAC. However, the boss got a bug in his ass once, and decided he wanted a whole building generator after we lost power for 2 days a few winters ago. He though it was going to be cheap like what he had installed at his house. Yeah.... no. Anyway, the guy who came in to quote out the job was like: "Where you gonna put this big generator?" I was like, "On the roof?" and he was like "This roof is not made to support a generator of that size. Would have to go on the ground in the back yard or something."

Yeah, unless you've got some engineers saying trusses could hold the load, I would be very cautious about flat roof trusses like that holding up a boat. But I'm not an engineer, so I don't know for sure.

 

[Roy 845]

Hi Brian, Yes we have staff engineers and those trusses are supporting a poured concrete floor with offices above. This is a production scale factory that houses 30 to 2000 gallon Reactors and the supporting structures are quite robust. Routinely we have chain hoists supporting loads of up to #2000 at one pick point and I want to hang my boat at around #2200 at 4 separate points so maybe 550 lbs at each of four corners. My concerns were not for the strength of our factory but are that I'm not going to stress the Hull of the boat in some fashion that I'm not aware of. I'm kind of new to sailboats and I feel that if I support her from slings right in front of the keel and right behind the keel I can raise her a few inches so I can do my prep work for painting. I think that the hull is probably thickest at these points and not going to be a problem but I wanted to check with forum members first before I started to lift.

 

[CloudDiver]

I have a Catalina 22, used a 2 inch wide tow strap around the bow just forward of the keel. Two boat stands go at the stern, make sure you place them where the glass won't oil can or use a cradle. I made a cradle out of furring strips laminated with regular wood glue. Cranked up the boat stands by hand and then lifted the bow with the strap/winch/snatch blocks. trailer went out by hand rolling, then placed boat stands at front and relaxed tension on winch, but didn't lower it. It would support the boat if a stand got knocked out. You are fine with that space you have. BTW, the $20 tow straps from HD work well for this, and I did all this in a home garage.

 

[Apex]

wider straps the better. When slinging, tie the two straps togeter to prevent them from sliding fore/aft individually.

 

[agprice22]

My concerns were not for the strength of our factory but are that I'm not going to stress the Hull of the boat in some fashion that I'm not aware of. I'm kind of new to sailboats and I feel that if I support her from slings right in front of the keel and right behind the keel I can raise her a few inches so I can do my prep work for painting. I think that the hull is probably thickest at these points and not going to be a problem but I wanted to check with forum members first before I started to lift.

Yes, and no... and no... and yes.
Yes. You can lift your boat with the keel attached and not break the boat.
No, you cannot lift it with straps directly in front or behind the keel unless those are the designated lifting points. Look inside the boat, the designated lift points usually are under the forward and aft bulkheads. You could damage the hull if you lift it in the wrong spot. This is not likely with a small boat, but better safe than sorry.
No, you cannot work under a boat that is not supported by floor stands which are tall enough to give you room to safely work.
Straps AND stands must be connected to each other, so they do not slip away from each other and drop the boat. Straps are normally tied with rope. Stands are normally chained.
As an alternative, you could remove the keel entirely and work on it away from the boat. This would give you a chance to replace the hanging bolt as well.
Yes, people do break both these rules and live to tell about it. The rest of us are either more cautious, or we are the unhappy subjects of Youtube videos and the evening news.

Enjoy your boat! Sounds like you are making her proud.
Andrew

 

[Roy 845]

thanks Andrew,
This is a Shoal draft Keel and is fixed in position. I haven't noticed anything that would indicate designated lifting points. I will put a 5000 lb pallet jack under the keel where i'm not working and move it as needed to provide a safety.

 

[Sunbird22358]

As an alternative, you could remove the keel entirely and work on it away from the boat. This would give you a chance to replace the hanging bolt as well.

Andrew

<GRIN!> Removing the keel will require a saw and then would require a lot of strong fiberglass repair work later to re-attach. on the 22 the keel is molded as part of the hull, can't be removed.

 

[Roy 845]

Well Said! This past weekend I added a third strap and raised her off the trailer entirely. I got lots accomplished with the trailer out of the way. Iv'e been filling in a multitude of blisters and perhaps if all goes well I have a can of Micron CSC ready to go in Shark White and Blu Glo White for above the waterline. Many of the deck fittings have been removed and the mountings for the shrouds have been drilled to 1 1/2" diameter then refilled with epoxy and reinforced with G-10 before drilling new bolt holes. I'm feeling like she'll never get in the water. Monday evening I was issued my slip assignment but remains empty til I can catch up with my repairs. Amazon sent a 100W Renogy Solar Panel my way which needs to be mounted somewhere? Maybe clamped to lifeline posts , not sure about that yet though.