Hard times

Stemar

Stemar

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The times the boat's on the hard that is.

Jissel is a Snapdragon 24 with encapsulated bilge keels and weighing a couple of tons.

At present, she's standing on what amount to 4 small piles of wood and seems secure enough, so I expect she'll stay as she is until she goes back in the water in April. Other boats have all sorts of weird and wonderful arrangements of props.

The other day I was in Aldi; they were selling sets of 2 tonne axle stands for cars and I got to wondering whether they'd be any good as boat stands for next time she comes out. I'd need 5 stands, a pair for each keel and one for the skeg, as the centre of gravity is close enough to the aft end of the keels that a couple of people in the cockpit bring her close to tipping point. Obviously, they'd need close inspection before being put to work and replacing as soon as anything more than surface rust shows up.

Why is this a bad idea? and if it isn't, why haven't I seen anyone else doing it?
 
As someone who chocks boats for a living I would sanction against this for the reason above. Three legged stands built for boats have a very wide base to distribute loads, and reduce the risk of tipping. You'd only have to walk around a yard during a period of high wind to realise just how much resonance can be set up by a rig, or a radar post, wind generator etc. which can have a catastophic effect on a chocked boat if it's not on a stable enough base.
You could however, get someone to weld a piece of flat plate on the base of each stand (I should think around 750mm square) to obviate this risk, but if the hardstanding is not absolutely level itself (and few are) there is still a risk of stands moving sideways under load.
Timber is a great material for chocking boats - A large enough block spreads the loads well, and handles plenty of compression without moving, it grips well to a variety of surfaces, and if bought in the form of old railway sleepers, is dense, long lasting, and above all cheap!
BTW if chocking a bilge keeler, please always prop the bow as well, with the weight of anchor and chain on board, it only takes one fat b*****d (like me) to walk up forward and the boat can tip forward quite readily on occasion!
 
I think that may be a bad idea. I would not have though they were stable enough. You would need wooden packing between them and the keels and I suspect the tops would need to be modified to provide a large enough flat platform. They may tend to sink into the ground unless you have a very solid surface to stand on or spread the load with timber. I also suggest that would be wise to go to heavier ones than you have seen as it appears from what you say that nearly all the load will be on the pair at the back of the keels.

I think the best idea that I have seen is what the yard where I am based uses.

They can best be described as pallets. Three pieces of 3x2 about 18" long are nailed across 2 or preferably 3 pieces of 3x3 about 12" or so long.

We normally use them stacked two high with an additional length of something solid on top plus some thin packing to get every thing level if necessary. Two stacks under each bilge keel and another stack under the skeg when necessary.

That puts us 12 to 14 inches off the ground, It depends on the height of the trolley being used really. For the bigger boats that are craned out we usually just stand them on four single pallets just to get them off the ground. You do not say how you boat is handled. By crane, boat lift, yard trolley or what or how high you actually need it of the ground.

Every year at the autumn working party weekend a group of us invalids and geriatrics creosote them all ready for the coming winter.

I remeber Jissel from the late 1970's She belonged to a chap called John Mitchell.
 
I would have thought that the closer the boat is to the ground the better for easier access and less concern about wind pressure. It all depends on how your boat is deliverd to its stand ie crane or trolley.

One device I am very fond of is the cheap jacks provided in modern cars. The type that have a screw horizontally to squeeze a trapezium to raise the jack. They can be welded to a stand if necessary and caan have a suitably shaped adaptor on top to suit say a deep vee of bow. They have huge range of lift.

If I had a bilge keeler I would fit one of these at the stern on the skeg and one near the bow. Wind up the jacks until they are taking a good share of the load to stabilise and relieve the pressure on the bilge keels. Just a thought from someone who knows nothing of winterising in a boat yard. Mine comes home on the trailer for my winter tinkering. good luck olewill
 
[ QUOTE ]
If I had a bilge keeler I would fit one of these at the stern on the skeg and one near the bow

[/ QUOTE ] I have a small bilge keeler and I don't. I prop the stern usually but as I don't have skeg it is propped with a block of wood, a prop and a wedge under the stern as close to the transom as possible. Despite it being under 3/4 ton and, like Jissel, having rather more weight on the backs of the keels than the front I can stand on the stern without it tipping even without the prop.

Once in 30 yrs it has been moved by the wind on the type of pallets I have already described but that was I think because the rear ones were not right under the backs of the keels. Once it has been knocked off onto the ground when another boat fell and pushed the one beside me against it during exceptionally high winds. That goodness for a soft muddy field rather than a solid unyielding hard standing!

With a small bilge keeler you need it up off the ground a bit in order to scrub off and antifoul between the keels but basically we leave them just about the height of the yard trolleys so they only have to be lifted slightly to get the trolley underneath in the spring. Access is no problem with a salvaged section of an old ladder.
 
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