removing trailer from boat in driveway
- Thread starter tim burke
- Start date
I don't think there's anything quick, clever, or easy. I had a Precision 23 that needed to come off the trailer for service to the swing keel and bottom paint.
I used pieces of 2x8 wood about 12" long...lots of them, to crib up the trailer. In other words, I lifted the boat AND trailer. Used a couple of bottle jacks. When I was sure I'd raised it enough, I put a couple stands I had built under the stern. At the bow, I had stands that I'd built positioned on each side of the boat. Far enough apart so that the widest part of the trailer would fit through them with a couple inches to spare. I placed a beam across those two forward stands. The middle of the beam was made with a notch to fit the shape of the bow.
Then, using the bottle jacks again, I lowered the trailer by un-cribbing...removing the pieces of wood cribbing. Finally, the trailer tires were back on the ground, and I pulled the trailer out from under the boat by hand. The stands I had built had broad bases so there was no dangerous movement of the boat. Because I was going to be lying under the boat, I wanted an extra level of safety, so I placed a stack of boards under the keel amidships.
It takes a couple of hours, plus the time it takes to make the stands. I figured I'd be doing it every other Michigan sailing season as I would be repainting the bottom regularly, so the stands could be used multiple times. I did the job myself, although a helper would be handy during the cribbing process.
In my case, I had to work on the boat, not the trailer. In your case, because you're working on the trailer, you could save yourself a hell of a lot of hassle by launching the boat and leaving it in the water while you work on the trailer IF you have a place to do that.
Of course, check YouTube for examples of people getting their trailer out from under their boats. I don't recall any of them using anything other than the cribbing method. Some of them appear well engineered and safe, while others...not so much.
I used pieces of 2x8 wood about 12" long...lots of them, to crib up the trailer. In other words, I lifted the boat AND trailer. Used a couple of bottle jacks. When I was sure I'd raised it enough, I put a couple stands I had built under the stern. At the bow, I had stands that I'd built positioned on each side of the boat. Far enough apart so that the widest part of the trailer would fit through them with a couple inches to spare. I placed a beam across those two forward stands. The middle of the beam was made with a notch to fit the shape of the bow.
Then, using the bottle jacks again, I lowered the trailer by un-cribbing...removing the pieces of wood cribbing. Finally, the trailer tires were back on the ground, and I pulled the trailer out from under the boat by hand. The stands I had built had broad bases so there was no dangerous movement of the boat. Because I was going to be lying under the boat, I wanted an extra level of safety, so I placed a stack of boards under the keel amidships.
It takes a couple of hours, plus the time it takes to make the stands. I figured I'd be doing it every other Michigan sailing season as I would be repainting the bottom regularly, so the stands could be used multiple times. I did the job myself, although a helper would be handy during the cribbing process.
In my case, I had to work on the boat, not the trailer. In your case, because you're working on the trailer, you could save yourself a hell of a lot of hassle by launching the boat and leaving it in the water while you work on the trailer IF you have a place to do that.
Of course, check YouTube for examples of people getting their trailer out from under their boats. I don't recall any of them using anything other than the cribbing method. Some of them appear well engineered and safe, while others...not so much.
I'm yet to remove the boat from the trailer, but it's on my list of things to do. I've mounted four Reese Pro Series jacks and lifted the trailer off the ground in order to relieve the tires. I've then lowered the trailer down an inch or so from the top of the jacks, onto cinder blocks, to relieve the jacks. So, my trailer's weight is on cinder blocks with jacks mounted to the trailer for when I'm ready to use them next.
From here, I could either a) slide something under the jacks and jack the trailer up even higher; or b) just jack up that one remaining inch and slide my wood beams and such underneath the boat, and then jack the trailer back down to the ground.
It's the same principle as what most others do, only the jacks are on the trailer. The added benefit is that I can always lift the trailer off the ground and save my tires a bit of strain (if I'm going to park the trailer in one place for months at a time). I've never seen anyone mention this method, nor have I done it myself, yet. But I think it'll work. I'll flush out the jacks after I launch the boat in the ocean, to try to keep them nice.
From here, I could either a) slide something under the jacks and jack the trailer up even higher; or b) just jack up that one remaining inch and slide my wood beams and such underneath the boat, and then jack the trailer back down to the ground.
It's the same principle as what most others do, only the jacks are on the trailer. The added benefit is that I can always lift the trailer off the ground and save my tires a bit of strain (if I'm going to park the trailer in one place for months at a time). I've never seen anyone mention this method, nor have I done it myself, yet. But I think it'll work. I'll flush out the jacks after I launch the boat in the ocean, to try to keep them nice.
This may not be possible for you. I suspended my 170 from the floor joist in my basement/garage with cargo straps.
Another popular method is to use a cross beam at the bow and cribbing at the stern to lift just the boat high enough that the trailer can be removed under the crossbeam. If you search YouTube you'll find several examples, especially for Catalina 22's.
A 19 is not too heavy, if you know someone with a back hoe they might be able to lift it.
A 19 is not too heavy, if you know someone with a back hoe they might be able to lift it.
lower the tongue of the trailer to the ground
place cribbing under the stearn
raise the tongue of the trailer as high as you can (a floor jack works well) which will get the stern off the trailer
secure the bow to whatever is handy or fabricated with straps
lower jack and pull trailer out from under boat
place cribbing under the stearn
raise the tongue of the trailer as high as you can (a floor jack works well) which will get the stern off the trailer
secure the bow to whatever is handy or fabricated with straps
lower jack and pull trailer out from under boat
The Precision 18 is around 1100lbs so theres plenty of options. I would look into suspending it from scaffolding which can be bought or rented. Chain hoists provide a lot of leverage and a lot of precision. I found out that they're better than a forklift when I had to remove and re-mount a 400lbs outboard on my motorboat. I've also used them to lift an entire sailboat inside a warehouse
I was about go post a description of how I'd use overhead trusses until I saw RussC's most elegant solution. That gets my vote.