Lifting a sailboat from a trailer question

[davidmhull]

I have an oday 22 that I need to get off my trailer temporarily. I have a friend who is going to hot dip galvanize it for me for free so I can't pass this opportunity up. The trailer is in very bad need of a paint job and this seems to be the time to do this. I have an overhead gantry with a chain fall that I'm sure will take the weight but I'm concerned with the fact that it only has a single lift point. I just need to get the trailer up a few inches so I can pull the trailer out from under her. She has a fixed keel and right now all the weight is resting on some 2" X 8" boards which are attached to the trailer. I'm assuming by this that it is okay to have all the weight on the keel. My plan is to use some canvas straps and place one under the keel and another one just in front of the keel with some ratchet straps forward to keep the strap from slipping toward the stern. As I said my gantry only has a single lift point which is not ideal for this. Another thought I had was to lift an I beam with the chain fall with the I beam running fore and aft. I would attach the straps at the ends of the I beam and that would spread out the lift points a bit. I'm thinking maybe a six foot or eight foot beam. Am I overdoing this? Do you guys think that just lifting by a pair of straps from a single point would do the job? I don't want to put an undue strain on the sides since they are designed to be supported by water and I'm not sure how much strain they can take. I don't have a lot of experience with fiberglass boats. They may be constructed so strong that I could just use a single strap under the keel and just hoist the whole thing up a few inches. Am I being overly cautious here? Thanks for any advice.

 

[Chief RA]

Jack your trailer wheel up high and put a strong floor mount crossbeam under the fore section. Put your single strap around the stern and lift. Just be sure you have the strap and beam secured so as to not slip or tip! Roll trailer out from under it. Add additional bracing if you feel you need to. Chief

 

[davidmhull]

Hi Chief. It sounds like I might be overly worried about this whole thing from what you are saying. I was trying to picture in my mind what you said and I realized that what I was thinking of doing is not going to work. The trailer has guides on either side of the hull that are about three feet tall. They are just boards covered with carpet mounted on steel uprights. If I put something under the bow I will not be able to drive the trailer out from under the boat because it will of course hit the uprights. If I put a floor jack under the bow I will have the same problem. The jack will be in the way of the cross members of the trailer and I will not be able to pull it out. Can you think of any clever way to do this? Maybe use two jacks and alternate between the two removing one, pulling the trailer forward until it hits a cross member then putting another jack in front of the cross member etc. Sounds kind of dicey but I can't think of any way to support it in the front without blocking in the trailer. The strap on the transom is going to be fine because it follows the contour of the boat. Thanks very much.

 

[Chief RA]

Sounds like the jacks might work. Just be careful that they are properly braced each time.
Chief

 

[Sumner]

With a Mac you can drop the front of the trailer down and that raises the rear.

... then block the stern or the keel and make sure the boat can't roll over if it is the keel you are using.

Then raise the tongue of the trailer (with a jack or the tongue jack if there is one) and let the back of the trailer swing down away from the boat (it is now supported).

Then position the strap further forward around the boat so that it is straight up at the sides so you aren't pinching the boat in. Drop the trailer back down and pull it out. No need to really jack anything doing it like this.

Then I'd support the keel under the strap for added safety and make sure the boat can't roll over. Above the straps are tight but most of the weight is on the blocks and after the picture was taken I screwed a couple horizontal boards into the side walls that went from the wall over to the rub rail just to make sure the boat didn't want to rotate. I get a little anal about having something up in the air that could kill you :cry:.

If you still have a problem pulling the trailer out after getting the boat up pull the wheels/tires off and pull it out on the hubs or support those on ...

... the roll around car castors if you have them.

I've done this a couple times so more info here....

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/macgregor/outside-3.html

Sumner

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[Rick Webb]

Lift From the Keel Bolts

I sailed out of a marina that had a fleet of Rhodes 19s and Cal 20s that lifted them on and off dollies with a jib crane lifting from two of the keel bolts and a chain bridle. Other folks there with private larger boat used the same system. I can't remember if they added a plate with an eye or added eye nuts to the keel bolts. I think the boats that stayed in the water used the eye nuts and the racing fleet had a plate across the keel bolts with a single lifting eye.

 

[davidmhull]

Thanks very much for the information and pictures Sumner. That's an interesting idea Rick. One of the problems is that I don't have a roll around type floor to work off of. The gantry I have is in the woods and I use it to take the front end loader on and off my tractor, split a tractor case or something like that. Has plenty of capacity but I don't like the idea of just snatching this boat off the trailer with straps. Do they just use a couple of straps at a marina? If they do then are the straps padded or do they make some kind of effort to spread out the force by putting long boards behind the straps? Thanks again for all your help. I will probably use a combination of all your suggestions.

 

[Rick Webb]

Straps

When hoisting a boat using straps they are usually on a frame or a travel lift or fork lift that can adjust the lift point to be at least as wide as the boat.

 

[davidmhull]

Re: Straps

Thanks Rick

 

[Doc_holiday]

I would just go put the boat in the water and take him an empty trailer. The boat will be fine

 

[shemandr]

I would just go put the boat in the water and take him an empty trailer. The boat will be fine

Ditto

 

[Benny17441]

How long is it going to take? Rent a marina slip or a mooring for a couple of days and enjoy some time in the water while the trailer is being worked on.

 

[Chris Patterson]

David, I just read your 'bio'.........too funny, man..

 

[davidmhull]

To those of you that suggested just putting it in the water that was actually my first plan. The problem with that is the trailer itself. I don't trust it. Well I don't trust it much. I have not even launched this boat before and I think I am going to need the tilt capability of the trailer to get it in the water. The trailer needs a lot of work to make it function properly. The roller is shot and the uprights are in need of replacement. I will need to do a bit of welding before I can get it galvanized. I did trust the trailer enough to drive up to Cape May NJ from Richmond and tow it down here but launching it is going to be a different story I think. I checked the local boat ramp and I'm not sure it is steep enough to get the fixed keel off the trailer without tilting it. I did contact a marina across the river and they said they would be happy to let me tie up there on any uncovered slip. I know them quite well as my father kept his boat there and I kept my 40' gaff rigged sloop there for about 8years. You may have seen another post of mine where I am beefing up the motor mount for the new heavier 4 stroke outboard I bought. All of that was in preparation of getting it from the launch ramp to the marina. I may still do that but I am just thinking how much easier it would be to take her off the trailer here. Well, it may be easier or maybe not and that's what I'm trying to determine. I would like to have that option in the future if it works out okay for things like bottom painting etc. If I don't put her in the water I will probably weld up sort of an H frame with a single lift point so that I can lift without having the straps put a lot of strain on the sides. That's really what I don't know. Will the sides take that kind of strain or not. I could also place an I beam under the keel and do most of the lifting from there with the straps fairly outboard. The way she is sitting on the trailer now infers that she is happy with most all her weight on the keel. Thanks again for all your suggestions.

 

[woodster]

this is how i did it with 2 chain falls and 2 straps on a portable gantry lifting a 22 ft Chrysler to get the swing keel out and do some bottom repair for a friend of mine here in Atlanta

 

[rgranger]

Sumner has the right idea. I used a picnic table out in the yard and lifted the front off with ratchet tow straps.

An O'day 22' is not so heavy. A 3" tow strap will be plenty strong enough to hold it up. Your lift should work fine, put a block under the keel once you pull the trailer out and slowly lower the boat back onto the block while your trailer is at the shop.

 

[Poodle Head Mikey]

Lift it with towing straps

2" eye-ended nylon towing straps will easily handle the weight loading.
Measure around the hull in front of and in back of the keel.
Add ten feet and get two straps - each one that long.
Secure them around the hull and hook the four loops over the lifting hook.
If the hook is too small loop a short 2" by 2' nylon strap through the four loops and put it's two loops over the lifting hook.
Put some slight tension up onto this rig and then cut 'spreader-bars' to 2" more than "deck-width" where the have arranged themselves.
Fit the spreader-bars (flat to the deck) between the sides of each lifting straps to take the 'crushing force' of the straps off the hull.
Two by fours are probably fine but use two by sizes (flat) if you worry a lot.

PHM
--------

I have an oday 22 that I need to get off my trailer temporarily. I have a friend who is going to hot dip galvanize it for me for free so I can't pass this opportunity up. The trailer is in very bad need of a paint job and this seems to be the time to do this. I have an overhead gantry with a chain fall that I'm sure will take the weight but I'm concerned with the fact that it only has a single lift point. I just need to get the trailer up a few inches so I can pull the trailer out from under her. She has a fixed keel and right now all the weight is resting on some 2" X 8" boards which are attached to the trailer. I'm assuming by this that it is okay to have all the weight on the keel. My plan is to use some canvas straps and place one under the keel and another one just in front of the keel with some ratchet straps forward to keep the strap from slipping toward the stern. As I said my gantry only has a single lift point which is not ideal for this. Another thought I had was to lift an I beam with the chain fall with the I beam running fore and aft. I would attach the straps at the ends of the I beam and that would spread out the lift points a bit. I'm thinking maybe a six foot or eight foot beam. Am I overdoing this? Do you guys think that just lifting by a pair of straps from a single point would do the job? I don't want to put an undue strain on the sides since they are designed to be supported by water and I'm not sure how much strain they can take. I don't have a lot of experience with fiberglass boats. They may be constructed so strong that I could just use a single strap under the keel and just hoist the whole thing up a few inches. Am I being overly cautious here? Thanks for any advice.

 

[davidmhull]

Well after looking at some of the pictures (thanks rgranger and woodster) I have had something of an epiphany. I was wrapped up in my skivvies over the single lift point causing the straps to wrap around the hull and put a lateral strain on the deck etc. Well duh! I can put two chain falls or a coffin hoist on the gantry and lift vertically from either side. That way I will even have more control over lifting it straight up to prevent any tendency to roll. If I do that under the keel more fore then aft it should take most of the weight and lifting the bow slightly can be done with the trailer tongue jack. After I get the bow up enough to clear the trailer and the guides I can hold it up with a ratchet strap leading back to the gantry and pull the trailer from under her. I have some monster ratchet straps rated to two tons so this should not be a problem. I have to apologize for being such a weenie on this but I am used to dealing with much heavier old wooden boats ( mine was 11 tons) and you have to be very careful about how you chock them on the rails because of the loss of water supporting the hull. I'm not saying you can tie the transom to a tree and jerk the trailer out from under it but from what I see you guys doing they must be pretty darn sturdy creatures. Thanks so much for all your help guys.

 

[davidmhull]

Great idea Poodle Head (I'm not going to ask). That would in affect make it much more of a straight lift keeping the strain off the deck.

 

[nutheastah]

my solution on a 22 foot Aquarius .. We had to fix the swing keel (rusted and stuck) and replace the cable to it. I lifted it with a strap using my JD310 Backhoe and set it on hay bales .then rolled it onto its side onto more bales. strapped it to a couple of maple trees and fixed the keel. Took us 20 bales to do the job and never a scratch or crack. remember the boat weighs the same no matter what she sits on. The Aquarius sat stable on 4 bales when we first set her down. and it took more work to get her to roll onto her side as she wanted to right herself. If you have a level spot to keep her I bet the hay will work for you. I still have pictures somewhere if you want to see the process.