BoatBanter.com - suspending for painting

Chris,
I read your 'note' on the NG.

I have seen a similar arrangement on a club members Mariner. Small
'lifting eyes' were attached to the Port & Starboard chainplates and a
cleat was used for the third lifting point. These were used FOR A FEW
MINUTES to transfer the boat from the trailer to the 'railway' launching
dolly. I think the boat weighed less than my 1250 pound Potter 19.

When a rig is 'tuned' there is a LOT of pressure on the chainplates. In
fact, there have been stories of bottom-stepped masts being DRIVEN
through the bottom !! OR the chainplates could be torn out of the hull;
it all depends on how your chainplates are attached.

In any case, there was a story in a recent issue of 'Boatbuilder' where
someone adapted a 'garage door opener' to hoist his SMALL boat off a
'put together yourself' folding utility trailer, to the garage rafters,
and I've read an article where the owner of a West Wight Potter 15
suspended/stored his boat from the beams of his barn. NOTE - this was a
small, home-built plywood boat, and a WWP-15 weighs about 375 pounds.

I would NOT 'suspend' a boat over my head - other than by an INSURED
marina's sling hoist for a number of reasons.

1}They are designed for HUGE boats and are periodically inspected &
'certified'; mine looks like a peanut in them when I've had her
'splashed'

2) Even they don't leave a boat in them for more than maybe 24-hours;
any long-term storage or bottom painting is done on stands and/or 'keel
blocks'.

3}Variation on the Col-Regs 'Rule of Gross Tonnage' - "It would be gross
to put my body under that tonnage"

4}No 'safety stands'

5}The hull is not designed for this type of stress; you can induce
PERMANENT damage in the form of 'rocker'.

I believe the 'Santana' is still being built. If you have the 'manual'
that came with the boat, consult it first. If no help there, then
contact the manufacturer about where to place 'dry' or 'yard storage'
stands. Note, these almost always have pads about a foot square to
spread the 'point load'.

If you are going to use sawhorses, more is better. I would figure on
FOUR; Aft, Aft of the keel {slot}, fore of the keel {slot}, and forward.

Hoist her up & pull out the trailer,
arrange to 'horses,
lower the boat to JUST TOUCH the middle two horses,
arrange 'blocking' to conform to the hull,
lower so horses start to take the weight,
lower the keel onto a block {so the weight is OFF the boat/horses},
arrange blocking on Aft and Forward horses,
lower so hoisting 'ropes' are a couple of inches slack and horses are
taking FULL WEIGHT
now WAIT . . . maybe even over night
IF the horses or blocking haven't moved, and there is the same amount of
slack in the hoist, you should be 'good to go'. If there is LESS, or NO,
slack . . . lower the hoist till there is, measure it, and wait
24-hours. You want everything to 'settle' - to make SURE it won't move
AND handle the weight.

NOW, it should be "safe" to work under . . . however I still wouldn't do
it without a 'safety man' in attendance. I didn't even work under my
boat when it was in a professional yard without Joanne standing by . . .
but then I'm 'paranoid'.

Hello all,
I have just purchased my first boat. a 21' Santana fiberglass-hull
sailboat.
SNIP
Christopher Hunt
Hoquiam WA