Using a cradle to beach a boat

Kelpie

Kelpie

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Hypothetically, what would be the difficulties/pitfalls in setting up a yacht's cradle on the shore and driving the boat onto it at high tide? Does anybody actually do this? Ideally I would just use legs but wondering about a cradle as an alternative.
 
There was an article some years ago of a farmer who did just that with a (I think) Macwester 26 in PBO. Having driven into his cradle he waited for low tide and then had some hydraulic arrangement from his tractor to lift the cradle and drive it back to his farm!
 
Rather than a cradle, I've seen boats that dry out between four well fendered piles driven in just fore and aft of the maximum beam position. I'd expect that to be a better system as the load is taken on the keel with no 'pads' to punch through the hull if the boat bounces whilst drying.
 
Also at Looe in Cornwall.
More of a 'toast rack' than a cradle perhaps?

The pitfall is the boat can bounce on the cradle due to wash or waves while it's just or nearly afloat.
Some places around here float boats onto yard trolleys then haul them ashore at low tide.
 
That's all quite encouraging, thanks. I was wondering if people had problems getting the keel into the slot, etc. I suppose some wooden boards could act as guides, and a wetsuit and mask would let you see what was going on.
 
lw395 said:
Some places around here float boats onto yard trolleys then haul them ashore at low tide.
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That's what I do every winter. Basically the boat sits on cross bars on the trailer and is held vertical by four arms which come up to deck level and the boat just leans against them. Never any great trauma. Only the occasional powerboat in a hurry to get home causing a big bow wave and bouncing us a bit, the trailer tyres take some of the shock out of it.
 
It's not terribly different from floating into trailer. I used to do that with a Folkboat. I had guides for the keel, and two substantial legs, which positioned and then held the boat up until the bilge supports were put in place, .nce out of the water. When the legs were in line with the cockpit / cabin bulkhead, I knew that she was in the correct position. It didn't involve any wading.
 
As said.
I recovered my 25ft. Tomahawk regularly, onto a trailer this way..
I had a bow-post and 2 well padded side posts bolted onto the trailer. They need to be fairly rigid and quite high to give latitude to your tide height calcs.
I also laid out a couple of ground anchors to take in over each quarter to help hold the boat accurately as the tide ebbed.
Fairly straightforward, even singlehanded, but could be a longish day.
 
As lw395 mentions, they do this at Looe in Cornwall, also used to at the Old Harbour St Helier but I have't been for years so don't know if they still do, but I knew an Anderson 22 owner at Looe who was happy with using a floating cradle.

I'm pretty sure one wil only get to do this at places where it's already an established practice, a ' normal ' moorings agent / harbourmaster would probably have a purple fit at the suggestion, as I expect would DEFRA, ' item on seabed ' or similar nonsense.
 
Mavanier said:
Hypothetically, what would be the difficulties/pitfalls in setting up a yacht's cradle on the shore and driving the boat onto it at high tide? Does anybody actually do this? Ideally I would just use legs but wondering about a cradle as an alternative.
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Have a chat with the RNLI.
 
The cradle I have in mind is a fairly normal collapsible affair. I'm a little concerned that it will be very difficult to line up with it, perhaps as a bare minimum I should be putting pole on to help with this? Fortunately I am only contemplating this as being done a couple of times a year at most.
 
Mavanier said:
The cradle I have in mind is a fairly normal collapsible affair. I'm a little concerned that it will be very difficult to line up with it, perhaps as a bare minimum I should be putting pole on to help with this? Fortunately I am only contemplating this as being done a couple of times a year at most.
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I don't think you could safely use a cradle which was relying on bilge supports. It would be too easy to damage the boat. If you can devise a way of rigging legs to guide, and then support the boat, you'll be fine.
 
Mooring cradles are usually made of wood and constructed differently, and the boat is secured to them before the tide goes. They become part of the boat so to speak
I would not consider drying out on sand in a cradle made for hard standing, for one, a boat hull is not designed to take its weight on four pads.
When lowering a boat by crane into a cradle the weight is first taken on the keel, once settled it is held in the slings, then the props and pads are tightened up. You will not be able to do this in a controlled manner with a falling tide.
Maybe six guys with waders on could give it a go, but for me it's a no no.
 
I agree with KREW2, Mavanier I didn't realise you meant using a shore cradle, I think a non starter.

All the drying out cradles I have seen have been very substantial heavy affairs, made of railway sleeper type wood or even heavier, with floating sides to dock into, and a two tiered sort of construction.
 
Seajet said:
As lw395 mentions, they do this at Looe in Cornwall, also used to at the Old Harbour St Helier but I have't been for years so don't know if they still do, but I knew an Anderson 22 owner at Looe who was happy with using a floating cradle.

I'm pretty sure one wil only get to do this at places where it's already an established practice, a ' normal ' moorings agent / harbourmaster would probably have a purple fit at the suggestion, as I expect would DEFRA, ' item on seabed ' or similar nonsense.
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They still use floating cradles in St Helier some quite large boats as well there are some skilful skippers who actually sail into their berths.
Up here at Glasson and Skippool they are some 35/40' boats on trailers that they float their boats onto and haul out up slipways, I hope they are tied down to night the winds in Morecambe bay are gusting 80 mph
Mike.
 
Pagetslady said:
They still use floating cradles in St Helier some quite large boats as well there are some skilful skippers who actually sail into their berths.
Up here at Glasson and Skippool they are some 35/40' boats on trailers that they float their boats onto and haul out up slipways, I hope they are tied down to night the winds in Morecambe bay are gusting 80 mph
Mike.
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Sorry for poor picture but this was taken in Jersey of the permanent wooden cradling in operation:

View attachment 39941

Just thought it might be of interest ...
 
Thanks, looks pretty beefy. Perhaps I could use a normal collapsible cradle as a starting point and add heavy timbers. All still hypothetical at this stage...
 
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