lifting boat up a few inches in cradle

[ripvan1]

Well done, but couldn't you simply have put a cover over the area the rain comes in

 

[LittleSister]

All done, thanks for all replys.

I used a 5 ton jack as the 2 ton wouldnt touch it.
I should have mentioned the cradle the boat sits in has 4 supports, the boats weight is all on the keel so these side supports just keep it upright, i added a few pit props as extra support.

I removed these and took the pads out of the aft supports, put the jack under the front of the keel,well padded and up she came,i had 1 x 12inch blocks that i put under the keel when a gap appeared.

In all i took the front up 6 inches, the only thing i had to be worried about was the clearance at the aft supports.

the yard guys loaned me the jack

Well done.

I did something similar on a 3.5 ton 26 foot long keeler for the same reason not long ago. I put the jack (4 tonnes, i think) under the lower part of the bow, as this has much greater mechanical advantage (it was little effort) than closer into the keel.

I moved it up about a centimetre at a time (as someone above also suggested), so that if anything moved or gave way it couldn't move far.

At each step I'd first lower the aft props a little (so the weight would remain on the keel, not try to hold the hull up on the cradle), then jack up the bow about a centimetre, tighten the forward props a little (still able to turn the pads, but no slack), then drive wedges further under the front of the keel to take the weight in the new position. Then I'd release the jack, move the jack supporting blockwork and wedge aft a bit, and repeat as many times as required.

 

[chrishelen]

Well done, but couldn't you simply have put a cover over the area the rain comes in

didnt think of that

 

[ripvan1]

didnt think of that

i bet you did ..... but ?

 

[stevebrassett]

the yard guys loaned me the jack

Well done, and you obviously consulted the yard before doing it, which is what I was about to suggest. At least that way they had the chance to either offer advice or do it themselves.