Moving a small yacht onto a trailer

seanfoster

seanfoster

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Does anyone have any ideas how to (cheaply) lift a 25ft yacht weighing about 2 tons onto a trailer, without a crane?

The yacht is currently chocked up in a garden.
(I've had a quote for a crane, but because access is limited a large one is required to get the reach and the cost is pretty astronomical)

I wondered whether there was any sort of portable hoist you could hire (or even make up)?
 
I used to load and unload my YW Peoples Boat (24ft 2.5 tonnes) with a three trestle frame made from good scaffolding poles, and four beefy ratchet straps (5 tonne bs).

I got a proper scaffolding man to show me how to triangulate the frame properly, and how to use the couplers and joiners. Once you have done it, it's easy and just like giant Meccano. Take it steady when lifting and you can raise the boat about 2ft6in in under two hours just starting with a pile of poles.
 
A couple of tripods made from scafold poles with chain hoists and strops. 2 tons is not too heavy, you just have to be prepared to take things slowly.
Allan
 
I'm think of buying it, but if the moving costs could make it uneconomical. It was delivered to the current owners on a trailer which could move up or down (I don't have the exact details but I gather it had hydralic jacks that could 'surround' the boat and lift it up (I don't mean like the sort of thing you get in a boat yard)
 
I would have thought that the cost of moving it from an awkward location should be negotiated off the price. One effect of suggesting this might be that the current owner would suddenly remember that the trailer concerned belongs to his mate round the corner and that he can get it moved for you for the price of a couple of pints. [/end cynic mode]
 
I lifted a 20' Vivacity bilge keeler onto a trailer using timber sleepers, blocks & hydraulic jacks. I used two timber beams about 4' longer than the width of the trailer. I fitted the beams either side of the bilge keels onto large wooden blocks. Then I jacked up the centre of one beam about 4" and blocked the ends. I repeated this on the other beam. Gradually I'd lifted it up about 18" which was sufficient to roll the trailer underneath, then lowered the beams so the boat rested on the trailer. It took all morning and was slow but sure. Cost practically nothing!
 
We regularly move 1T keelboats onto trolleys using jacks and manpower. If you can raise the boat progressively to the point where the trailer can be wheeled under, then swap blocks and jacks around as the trailer is moved back. The key is keeping the boat upright side to side, it's probably too tall to rely on people steadying it, so some sort of 'hilo' support each side might be needed.
Hard to be specific without seeing it.
Some sort of scaffolding cradle to keep it upright is another possible.
Or maybe build a wheeled cradle under it and winch it onto a flat bed. This would not be cheap, but the cradle would have lasting value.
I'm sure its possible in most cases!
Keep moving blocks under the keel so it can never fall more than an inch or two.
Take care, take your time, agree a plan with lots of helpers.
 
I used to do something similar to PetitFleur and aitchw, when I had a 25ft Folkboat. I had a couple of steel beams and two 5 ton ratchet jacks, and did it quite often, without any drama.
 
Yes, the Folkboat has a long keel, so the Keel sat on the RSJ "I" section beam, but with a soft wood pad between to increase friction. The ratchet jacks are things called "Toe Jacks", and can get in to lift into a space of about 1inch. I used two at a time, with a helper, so we would lift the forward beam a few inches, then block it up, and change the jacks to the aft beam, and so on. Obviously, you have to watch the bilge supports while jacking.
 
A friend has a fin keel 21ftter. About 1.5 tonne. He built a system to lift it off the trailer for keel removal.
It is 4 steel vertical posts with cross members over the deck high enough to clear the deck when boat is at it s highest point. The 2 pairs of post and cross members are braced to one another fore and aft. Webbing slings and chain blocks from the cross memebers actually lift the boat.
I have borrowed the system and found it ideal for lifting the hull. But it is all a bit expensive initially to purchase.

This guy also built his own trailer for the boat. Consisting of U channel steel making a long member which the keel sits into. The axles attach to this as does the draw bar. A single set of side supports keeps the boat vertical. A post at the bow supports the boat longitudinally. This trailer is used each autumn to haul; the boat home. The trailer is rolled into the water on the end of a rope until the boat can float on then is hauled out with the car on the rope until it can be chocked and the car moved down to attach the drawbar. Likewise on relaunching.
While using this kind of trailer would mean only lifting the keel about 10 inches off the ground you would still need a way to lift the hull 10inches to get the trailer under.

So you either hire gear to lift it and hire a traiiler and cradle or spend the money now to buy your own for future use.
It is a great joy if you have room to have the boat at home for the winter where you work on it at leasure
good luck olewill
 
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