OK guys. Here's the scoop on the boat stands. I bought them at Brownell's Boatyard in Mattapoisett Ma where they make them.
http://www.boatstands.com/ This place is right in your back yard Peter. I have the SB-3 sailboat stands but if you have a larger boat, you need to find out which stand is best for your boat by checking the info on their site.
As I've mentioned in the past about boat stands. They were never made to raise a boat, but these particular stands are strong enough to raise mine and I also raised my friend Ray's O'Day 26 with them by placing four in the stern portion and using a hydraulic jack under the bow.
I picked up a straight powerboat stand in a yard sale for $15 and I use it in conjunction with the hydraulic jack under the bow.
I usually start off with four jacks, two on each side close together near the stern, plus some 6X6X 3.5" blocks crisscrossed under the stern.
Last year I bought two large car stands in a yard sale for 15 bucks and I used one of them under the keel for an extra added safety precaution. I placed a wood block between the top of the stand and the bottom of the keel. I also use a block on my jack.
I usually place a couple of planks or 6x6s on the trailer under the bow and jack up the bow from them. Then, the powerboat stand is placed under the bow closer to the front of the keel.
After the boat is raised up high enough to clear the trailer bunks, the hydraulic jack is let down and the trailer can be rolled forward a little until a cross member rests up against the bow stand.
Of course it helps if you can loosen your keel boards and slide them to one side out of the way, which is very easy with those brackets that I told you about in previous posts.
I'm sure that you get the idea by now of how I do it.
If you're going to do this, just remember that it's dangerous and a lot of unforeseen dangers can crop up if you don't think it through.
The trailer needs to be on level ground and the boat needs to be kept level as you're raising or lowering it. If for instance the bow is lower than the stern, the boat can tip over off the stands sideways or fall off the stands forward.
If you have to do this in an area that isn't level, you can always use planks under the wheels of the low side.
After the boat is up high and clear of the bunks, the trailer level won't make a difference but when you go to finally lower the boat back down on the trailer you need to make the trailer level.
When you get through and finally are able to get the trailer under the boat again and the keel is not going to line up with the keel board on the trailer, you can slide the trailer over by placing a plank on the ground under the middle axle and raise the trailer wheels off the ground and pull or push the trailer by hand and line it up with the bottom of the keel. Just make sure that the boat is high enough off the ground and clear of the trailer bunks.
This is a long slow process that is not only dangerous but time consuming. I was achy when I got through doing it last week.
A friend of my on this forum named Brad down in the Carolina's came up with a good idea for holding the stern of his O'Day 222 and I've been thinking of building one like it to use for holding the bow of my boat. That way, once you get the boat jacked up, you place this beam with the two saw horses under the boat, and just roll the trailer forward out from under the boat in one easy operation. A small metal eye beam about 10 to 12' long would work, or a wood beam like Brad's might provide enough clearance over the trailer bunks to work. I'm really not too sure. I think that a 10 or 12' galvy square stock trailer tongue could be used for a beam in conjustion with the horses. The thinner and stronger the beam is, the less height is needed for the trailer to clear the hull, I think.
So that's it in a nut shell. If you choose to do this, think it through as you go along and take your time. Above all, take every precaution by utilizing every safeguard you can. By that I mean, placing shoring blocks under the hull in the stern area, and shoring under the keel as soon as it gets clear of the last trailer cross member. Remember one thing,---if you get killed doing this, I'll never speak to you again. The horse/beam picture posted is from Brad's posting on this site. Many thanks to Brad for posting it. Also, many thanks to Brad for giving me the idea of using Trex on my boat.
Joe
http://www.boatstands.com/ This place is right in your back yard Peter. I have the SB-3 sailboat stands but if you have a larger boat, you need to find out which stand is best for your boat by checking the info on their site.
As I've mentioned in the past about boat stands. They were never made to raise a boat, but these particular stands are strong enough to raise mine and I also raised my friend Ray's O'Day 26 with them by placing four in the stern portion and using a hydraulic jack under the bow.
I picked up a straight powerboat stand in a yard sale for $15 and I use it in conjunction with the hydraulic jack under the bow.
I usually start off with four jacks, two on each side close together near the stern, plus some 6X6X 3.5" blocks crisscrossed under the stern.
Last year I bought two large car stands in a yard sale for 15 bucks and I used one of them under the keel for an extra added safety precaution. I placed a wood block between the top of the stand and the bottom of the keel. I also use a block on my jack.
I usually place a couple of planks or 6x6s on the trailer under the bow and jack up the bow from them. Then, the powerboat stand is placed under the bow closer to the front of the keel.
After the boat is raised up high enough to clear the trailer bunks, the hydraulic jack is let down and the trailer can be rolled forward a little until a cross member rests up against the bow stand.
Of course it helps if you can loosen your keel boards and slide them to one side out of the way, which is very easy with those brackets that I told you about in previous posts.
I'm sure that you get the idea by now of how I do it.
If you're going to do this, just remember that it's dangerous and a lot of unforeseen dangers can crop up if you don't think it through.
The trailer needs to be on level ground and the boat needs to be kept level as you're raising or lowering it. If for instance the bow is lower than the stern, the boat can tip over off the stands sideways or fall off the stands forward.
If you have to do this in an area that isn't level, you can always use planks under the wheels of the low side.
After the boat is up high and clear of the bunks, the trailer level won't make a difference but when you go to finally lower the boat back down on the trailer you need to make the trailer level.
When you get through and finally are able to get the trailer under the boat again and the keel is not going to line up with the keel board on the trailer, you can slide the trailer over by placing a plank on the ground under the middle axle and raise the trailer wheels off the ground and pull or push the trailer by hand and line it up with the bottom of the keel. Just make sure that the boat is high enough off the ground and clear of the trailer bunks.
This is a long slow process that is not only dangerous but time consuming. I was achy when I got through doing it last week.
A friend of my on this forum named Brad down in the Carolina's came up with a good idea for holding the stern of his O'Day 222 and I've been thinking of building one like it to use for holding the bow of my boat. That way, once you get the boat jacked up, you place this beam with the two saw horses under the boat, and just roll the trailer forward out from under the boat in one easy operation. A small metal eye beam about 10 to 12' long would work, or a wood beam like Brad's might provide enough clearance over the trailer bunks to work. I'm really not too sure. I think that a 10 or 12' galvy square stock trailer tongue could be used for a beam in conjustion with the horses. The thinner and stronger the beam is, the less height is needed for the trailer to clear the hull, I think.
So that's it in a nut shell. If you choose to do this, think it through as you go along and take your time. Above all, take every precaution by utilizing every safeguard you can. By that I mean, placing shoring blocks under the hull in the stern area, and shoring under the keel as soon as it gets clear of the last trailer cross member. Remember one thing,---if you get killed doing this, I'll never speak to you again. The horse/beam picture posted is from Brad's posting on this site. Many thanks to Brad for posting it. Also, many thanks to Brad for giving me the idea of using Trex on my boat.
Joe
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