Gary Thompson
Olympia, WA
Boat Name:
Model/Year: Catalina 22/1972
Hull No. 1324
Hailing Port: |
 03/01/2009 10:08 PM Pacific Time
I have a Catalina 22 swing keel mounted on a trailer.
Does anyone have a design for a home built cradle that I can make?
I would like to raise the boat enough so that I can pull the trailer out.
Once the trailer is removed the cradle would have to be solid enough so that maintenance work can be done topsides and on the bottom.
The work will be done in my backyard not a boat yard. |
Al Gearing
Burleson, Texas
Boat Name: Torch of Freedom
Model/Year: C-22 '76
Hull No. 6448
Hailing Port: Arlington YC |
03/02/2009 7:52 AM Pacific Time
Gary,
There have been a number of ways that folks have done this, all depend on what you have around to work with and the room to do it.
If you have access to pipe and welding, an A frame similiar to a frame for a childs swing set is very handy. Of course it will need to be heavier pipe. I have the heavy aluminum frame built at LSU as an engineering project, to weigh all the boats at Nationals, here in '96. Great frame, built the drive the boats thru and pick them up with come-a-longs. I have changed it some by closing the top, so the uprights don't pull together, but it affords attacking the come-a-longs to the lower forward chain plates, and the backstay attacting points. This gives band free bottom to work on. I have dropped keels and re-paint bottoms with safety and ease. It is not on cement, which makes it hard to move a keel over, so you might give that some thought as to location. My access is mostly from the bow end, Gene Ferguson had/has a A frame with side access. Only saw his once many years ago and cannot remember to many details.
For what it's worth,
Al Ge |
David Torrisi
Santa Clara, CA
Boat Name: Dumbo
Model/Year: 1975 C-22
Hull No. 4330
Hailing Port: Santa Clara |
03/02/2009 10:35 AM Pacific Time
Gary,
Here's some photos of my setup. It was up on barrels for 3 months while I did the keel and bottom. I spent lots of hours under there wet sanding and painting. I'll likely be doing it again to get the trailer sandblasted soon.
http://dumbo.torrisi.org/gallery/Keel-Project
David |
Gary Thompson
Olympia, WA
Boat Name:
Model/Year: Catalina 22/1972
Hull No. 1324
Hailing Port: |
03/02/2009 12:29 PM Pacific Time
Thanks Al and David for the quick feedback.
David I was studying your two small hull support areas.
Weren't you a little worried about your hull rolling sideways?
I went to our local marine repair yard and they had side hull support stands on opposite sides of the hull. They were chained together so that the support pads would resist any rolling of the hull. All of the boats I saw were fixed keel and the keels were resting on blocks with the side supports to keep them upright.
David did you go topside and work inside the boat while it was resting on your barrel supports?
Al do you have a picture of you A frame rig?
Thanks again guys. |
David Torrisi
Santa Clara, CA
Boat Name: Dumbo
Model/Year: 1975 C-22
Hull No. 4330
Hailing Port: Santa Clara |
03/02/2009 1:56 PM Pacific Time
Gary,
>Weren't you a little worried about your hull rolling sideways?
Yes, but the fitted blocks on both sides kept it pretty solid. I shaped them to fit the curvature of the hull and then added the thin carpet for minimal padding. The keel of the hull bore all the weight on the beams. The blocks were only to keep it from rocking just like the hull stands you see in the yard. An earthquake would have brought it tumbling down, but I got lucky there. While the trailer was still under it, I did grab the toe rail amidships and tried to rock it and it only moved very little. Maybe 1/4".
>David did you go topside and work inside the boat while it was resting on your >barrel supports?
I only went in twice. Once to release the keel winch and another time to tighten it back up. I stayed on the centerline and didn't linger, even though my weight is a tiny fraction of the boat weight.
I'm not the first or the last guy to use the 'barrel method'. It was a great way to work on the boat and after I was done, I re-sold the barrels and used the timber for my kids sandbox. I still have the support blocks 'just in case'.
David |
Al Gearing
Burleson, Texas
Boat Name: Torch of Freedom
Model/Year: C-22 '76
Hull No. 6448
Hailing Port: Arlington YC |
03/03/2009 5:48 AM Pacific Time
Sorry, Gary, I do not have a digital camera.
Basically it is two square frames that you drive the boat into. It is more expensive than most since it was designed to be portable, and assembled and unassembled in the field; which it was, then no-one wanted it. I have two acres and a 1500 sq. ft. workshop to play with, in the country. Most sailors live in the city and don't have the room that I do. Gene Ferguson's was on a city lot, however, and was a lot less expensive. Gene is a very clever man, write to him, is the editor of the Mainsheet, the C22 magazine.
Al Ge |
Kip C
Cincinnati, Ohio
Boat Name: Knot Work / Quietude
Model/Year: '86 Cat 22 / '90 Cat 25
Hull No. 13358 / 6021
Hailing Port: Brookville Lake, Indiana |
03/04/2009 5:55 AM Pacific Time
Another method similar to barrels, is cinder blocks topped off with sand bags. If you could rent and use boat stands, that would be the most portable and safest.
As said before there are lots of ways. Some more labor intensive, more expensive, and some not as safe. Which ever way you chose, take your time and don't rush.
Good Luck, |
Greg Baker
Charlotte, NC
Boat Name: Sea Sharp Minor
Model/Year: Catalina 22 - 1984 - Swing Keel
Hull No. 11823
Hailing Port: Lake Norman Sailing Club |
03/05/2009 7:27 AM Pacific Time
I know lots of people do it but I would never work under anything held up with cinder blocks. Unlike barrels or wood cribbing, they fail by crushing rapidly and catastrophically so the load goes all the way to the ground. They fail very easily if there is a concentrated load on their surface. I know the sand bags mentioned are to help reduce concentrated loads but I still would not use them.
Greg Baker |
paul osborne
Lima NY
Boat Name: Emy Lyn II
Model/Year: 1984
Hull No.
Hailing Port: Rochester |
03/05/2009 8:32 AM Pacific Time
The reason blocks fail are they are old and or they are used wrong. They should be stacked so you can not see through them horizonal. and a double row for safety. the sand bags are to conform to the hull shape . Out of machinery"s Handbook. the compression load of a concrete block is 1200#.
paul |
Mike Bracket
Clinton Twp, MI
Boat Name: Gunsmoke
Model/Year: 1979
Hull No. 9150
Hailing Port: Lake St Clair MI |
03/05/2009 7:56 PM Pacific Time
I have raised my boat a number of times. Initially I used a cradle stand made from 2"x6"on the stern and later I invested in 2 standard boat stands. They were about $110 each but a lot easier. For the front end I used some concrete blocks. I used the 10" ones, 4/side. Yes Paul, I set them with the open sides up, just like standard block construction. I bridge the gap with a 10'x6'x6" oak timber I bought from a local sawyer for $75. I set the blocks far enough apart that the trailer will roll out forward. Where the boat rests on the timber, just in front of the keel, I fashioned a wooden box 6"x18" that sits over the timber. The top edge is shaped to conform to the shape of the hull. It is 1/4" plowood and is filled with expanding foam. There is no hull deformation at all.
I get the boat high enough to slide the trailer out using 4 blocks on each side. This allows me to do the necessary sanding etc. Once the boat is set up and the trailer is out, I lower the keel to the ground and let it rest on a wooden block. This allows me to do any repairs to 90% of the keel. I do get up into the boat but I am careful to stay on the centerline. One could put some 'wedges' on the timber that would give more lateral stability.
This works for me and is overall cheap enough. Wish I had the shop space that Al mentions.... |
Gary Thompson
Olympia, WA
Boat Name:
Model/Year: Catalina 22/1972
Hull No. 1324
Hailing Port: |
03/08/2009 9:04 AM Pacific Time
Thanks for all the ideas guys. I think my son and I have settled on the 3 barrel idea that David Torrisi used. We think that after the trailer is pulled out we will put a vertical post under the beam that supports the bow for added safety and some kind of stand that will attach to the chain plates on each side of the hull to keep the hull from rolling.
|
