Boats are lifted in slings. It would be unwise to
try lifting at hard points unless you have it in writing from the
designer AND your insurance is paid up.

Brian w

On Sat, 06 Sep 2003 16:04:04 -0500, Christopher Hunt
wrote:

Hello all,
I have just purchased my first boat. a 21' Santana fiberglass-hull
sailboat. I want to do a little hull painting this winter and would
like to suspend it. I see there is a "hard-point" or lift-eye about
midships on either side and one aft. Do you think that these three
points would be strong enough to suspend the boat for an extended period
or are they just used for temporary lifting? Any ideas or suggestions
on how to store this thing providing easy access to the hull would be
most helpful. Thanks!

Christopher Hunt
Hoquiam WA

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

the usual practice is to use props to steady a hull sitting on blocks
rather than suspending from rafters. If you suspend with rope its bound to
stretch and shrink with changes in the weather and time of year.
I imagine suspending with chain would be more costly than using props.
Maybe not. You should be able to consult standard sailing texts for the
recommended load for various thicknesses of rope of different materials
and of chain of different thicknesses. I recall seeing this information in
the old copy of "Royce's" I have here.

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