Instead of boat supports or a cradle...

[Sybarite]

I read a long time ago about somebody who attached chains from a ground piece to the toe rail. With 4 chains you can have complete access to paint the bottom without having to touch up the support points later.

He had always done it like this but said that his biggest problem was convincing the yard that the boat was secure and they normally added props anyway.

Has anybody else tried it? It seems a much cheaper way of doing things.

John

 

[davel]

I tried it a couple of times but the chains kept collapsing. Then I realised that chains work better under tension rather than compression so I attached them to some sky hooks !
/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[andy_wilson]

It's the Scandinavian way I believe.

Sit the keel in an H frame of suitable dimensions and chain the 4 corners to the deck edge.

 

[jenku]

Well, in my club we have one boat (a powerboat) that uses this system. All the other boats are in cradles or have other supports (except for mine which does not need such silly things). So far for the Scandinavian way.

However, it certainly does work for this powerboat and has done so for years.

 

[fireball]

In theory it would work - assuming you can get enough tension in the chain/line or whatever - problems would be fore-aft trim and compression in the keel -> hull through the tension required to stop the boat from "flopping" around. You'd have to be very sure of your toe rails - or get better fixing points too!
Could be tempting if your ground stood and long keel .....

 

[DJE]

There was a boat in the yard at Wicor last week with 4 large timber legs up to above deck level. these were attached by chain and tensioners to the toe rail. All props below the waterline were then removed to allow a single continuous coat to be applied to the bottom. The boat (a Vancouver 34 I think) had a very long keel with a staight flat bottom which must have helped.

 

[boatmike]

Have done it many times. It works best with long keeled boats where you can land the keel on two or three steel cross beams at ground level which extend slightly beyond the beam. From the extreme ends of the cross beam chains with bottle screws terminating in gunwale hooks are run. The whole issue can be adjusted at will to trim the boat to vertical even on uneven or slightly sloping ground. One thing to add to make it even more secure however is keel stops which can be bolted or welded on to the cross beams either side of the keel to ensure the keel does not slide sideways even if the beams slope away...

 

[Spyro]

I would be concerned about the strength of the toe rail and how well its fitted to the deck. That could be a lot of tension on one small area.

 

[boatmike]

Quite! I agree with you. If we are talking about modern lightweight plastic boats with poxy bits of aluminium as "toe rails" forget it! I am talking about substaintial vessels with long keels and proper structural upstands around the deck to hook on to. If there is nothing substantial to get a hook around the only other alternative is a webbing strip around the mast or fix to bollards, and/or cleats either side. Either way the weakest link will be the structure behind any fixings used.
It also won't work on fin keelers. Common sense must prevail.

 

[fireball]

Why would it not work on fin keelers ?? It would - but you'd have to balance out fore-aft as well ... however, common sense would seem to suggest that props are probably a better bet.!!

 

[ashanta]

The PBO published an articale on this some years ago. Apparently in Scandinavia (don't ask me which country) boats in a certain yard were stored by this principle but not with chains. They used the flat (Jackstay type) material that you see cargo secured on lorries, with the ratchet to tension them. the theory being that on displacement vessels ther is very little weight laterally if the hull and keel are straight and vertical. if the lines emplyed are tensioned sufficiently it keeps the boat at 90 degrees and therefore the weight stays directly below.
It seems a reasonable set up but I prefer to something more substantial.

Regards.

peter.

 

[TheBoatman]

What about all that weight?

In my club I have put a lot of fin keelers (AWB's) into cradles this winter and our method is to lower the boat until the fin is taking some weight and then do up the props so that they also take some weight. Most cradles tend to support the hull near the engine with a chain system all that weight is hanging out beyond the keel!
It seems that with a chain system you have the entire weight of the boat siting on the keel and then add some more by pulling it down.

Won't this have an adverse effect on the hull shape over 4-6 months especially with some of the modern lighter weight boats that are made today? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif