Adiice on modifying a yacht cradle to fit

[joe17]

I have been offered a second hand metal yacht cradle to replace my existing wood cradle. The problem is the base of the cradle seems to be too long and therefore the corner supports cannot be put into the most optimum positions on the hull.

I was about to decline the offer but then I thought why not cut the base of the cradle to fit? As far as I can see the base (the spars that are on the floor) are mainly there to hold the bottoms of the arms that support the boat in place i.e. stop them moving away.

I thought if I cut the base spars to fit and then drill the necessary holes to allow them to be rejoined it would be good for the job.

Anyone got on advice on this? Are my assumptions correct.

Thanks,
Joe.

 

[paulrossall]

Provided the metal is not too thin you should be OK. The alternative would be to cut and then weld the base which might be quicker. You will need sharp drills to drill any depth of metal. Good Luck. Paul

 

[Avocet]

It's hard to say without seeing it but if the piece that you're thinking of shortening normally lies on the ground (so it's not taking a bending load from the weight of the keel pressing on to it) I'd have thought you'd be OK cutting and shortening it. Rather than cut a piece out of the middle and re-join it, would you be able to cut the extra length off one end and then just re drill the relevant holes to re-attach the vertical bits to it? That way, you wouldn't have a joint in the finished cradle.