Mac 25 on a lift

[Shaun19]

Does anyone keep a Mac 25 on a lift? I just bought my first sailboat this week, and I want to put it on a lift at my house over the winter. The current configuration of my lift is two 16 ft wood beams 2.75 in. wide and 9 in. tall, braced 40 in. apart on parallel I-beams. The (original) trailer for my Mac has 6 in. wide beams spaced 27 in. apart with a 19.5 in. clearance for the keel. I'm not as worried about the keel just yet, as I believe I should be able to position the boat over the I-beam before raising the lift. My bigger concern is whether or not the hull of the Mac will support its 2,000 lbs weight on only 2.75 in. wide un-canted beams, and whether or not I should move the beams closer together more like the beams of my trailer. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Shaun

 

[THECUSCUS]

My V25 has spent the last 3 winters on my "lift" with no hull problems. Its just the width of two 2x10's (3-1/4"). I have one in the back (pictured) and another in the front. I do crank the keel down to the ground to take some weight off and to lower the center-gravity, as I am always climbing around on it doing upgrades.

 

[sailingandsuch]

Why do you want to "lift" you Mac 25? I used to own a Mac 25, great boat.

Unless you are doing some serious bottom work I wouldn't worry about "lifting" it. Even if you are, that seems a little overboard. You could just leave it supported on the trailer and lift the front and bcak at different times. That is what I did on my Montgomery 17 (1600 lbs displacement)

 

[Shaun19]

Sorry I should have clarified a bit more. This is a boat lift in my backyard. I don't plan to ever use the trailer.

 

[timebandit]

If this is some kind of lift that will just lift the boat out of the water and keep it suspended out of the water then NO.

The keel needs to be suported and not hung from a boat not in the water.

The stock trailer has a cross bar that the keel is lowered on to when when out of the water.

Leaving the boat on he trailer with the cable holding the keel up will damage the bottom of boat.

If you want to do the lift thing you need to get an S or D model that has water ballast and still be sure to remove the ballast for storage.

 

[Sumner]

Sorry I should have clarified a bit more. This is a boat lift in my backyard. I don't plan to ever use the trailer.

I would just try and duplicate the trailer as much as possible and take care of supporting the keel as TB suggested.

People put these boats on other than stock trailers and some of us have modified our trailers so you do have some leeway. I would just keep an eye on the boat and see if it seemed to be sagging inwards in the area of the supports over time. If not then I wouldn't worry and those lifts sure look nice.

Due to the way they are constructed I'd support a water ballast boat, D's and later, with supports like on the their trailers that go across the boat and the earlier Mac/Ventures with longitudinal supports.

Good luck and welcome to the board,

Sum

Our Endeavour 37

Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

Our MacGregor S Pages

Mac-Venture Links

 

[MrBill_FLL]

add a center brace between the two I beams for the keel.

pic's of your lift?

these types seem very popular around here:
http://img.nauticexpo.com/images_ne/photo-g/boat-lift-185243.jpg

 

[Shaun19]

Photo of the lift with our Byte on it.

 

[arknoah]

I can almost envision where this is, like on the canal near the William B. Tennison in Solomons, and the marine museum. Are there other folks who have boats similar to the Mac 25 near you and on lifts who you could consult? In any case, I think the advice you've already received seems really on target.

My 25 is still at West Basin Marina, but we'll have it on the trailer next week and on the hard.

 

[Sumner]

Photo of the lift with our Byte on it.

Here is a picture of what is suppose to be a ....

.... a Mac 25 trailer. I'd make some bunks like those on the trailer and bracket them to the tops of the bunks on the lift. Then add a diagonal brace from them down to the bottom cross members on the lift to put them at the angle you needed and to further locate them.

Make some "U" shaped brackets out of say 1/4 X 3 inch wide aluminum strap (online metals if you can't find it locally). Bolt the "U"'s to the bottom of the new bunks and sides of the lift bunks. Locate them a little off center on the new bunks. Put the boat on the lift (it is rated for the new weight?).

Lift the boat and the bunks should bend the "U" 's enough that the bunks will angle to the bottom of the boat.

Next I would add a diagonal on each side from the new bunk down to the lift cross-members. They would just help to locate things and give some side to side support and help the new bunks stay at the proper angle. You could put in mounting bolts through the new bunks before putting the boat on.

Now please realize that I'm not there to decide if the above is the best or safest way to go. You are going to have to decide that. Please be careful and constantly assess the situation,

Sum

Our Endeavour 37

Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

Our MacGregor S Pages

Mac-Venture Links

 

[Shaun19]

@arknoah - Nailed it. I'm one street south of there.

@sumner - thanks for those details. I've got some time off over the holidays, and may try to reconfigure the lift.

 

[timebandit]

 

[Shaun19]

@timebandit

"Leaving the boat on he trailer with the cable holding the keel up will damage the bottom of boat."

Why is that? When the boat is in the water, is it also a problem, or is the buoyancy of the keel such that it isn't an issue.

 

[timebandit]

When the boat is in the water the force on hull is support by many sq. ft. of area but when on the trailer the weight is carried by just the narrow planks.

@timebandit

"Leaving the boat on he trailer with the cable holding the keel up will damage the bottom of boat."

Why is that? When the boat is in the water, is it also a problem, or is the buoyancy of the keel such that it isn't an issue.