How to Repair the Bottom of a 1,000-lb Boat?
 

I am wondering how people get access to the bottom of a boat for
repair. If the boat is light, we can simply turn it upside down. But if
the boat is around 1,000-lb, I doubt that we can turn it upside down
just by manpower. Unfortunately, in a home environment, we don't have
the heavey equipment to turn a boat upside down. How do people get
around with this problem?

Is there a way to safely and easily turn a boat upside down for
repairing the bottom of the hull using manpower and some kind of
home-made jigs?

Can we repair the bottom of the boat while the boat is still on the
trailer? This is probably OK for a small area. But what's about the
damage area is large?

I am trying to figure out what I can and cannot do with a boat that has
large damage on the bottom of the hull. If this is not possible to
repair the bottom of the hull in a home environment, I will have to
stay clear of boats that have large damage in the bottom.

Thanks in advance for any info.

Jay Chan

How to Repair the Bottom of a 1,000-lb Boat?
 

Hi

It is possible to build a cradle around the hull to turn it if it is
only that weight, but you better stay clear if you don't design the
cradle perfectly safe. anyway if your boat are fiber glass, I suggest,
you look into how to make a sheet to fit exact and around the edge of
where the dameage are, if you before this angled the remaining edges in
the hole the right amount, you can from inside use that patch to mold a
new surface that in glasfiber or Epoxy and glasfiber then patch the
hole from inside.
So maby your repair don't ask you to roll the boat.

How to Repair the Bottom of a 1,000-lb Boat?
 

If the keel breaks it's a problem.

But if the keel is sound, boats can usually be safely supported on blocks
under the keel, with the hull braced along the sides to it stays level.
Take a look around any fishing port or boat yard.

If you are on salt water the boat can be left high and dry at low tide.

If you are on dry land the boat can be jacked up with bottle jacks and
blocks put under the keel. You can get a boat off it's trailer that way.

Boatyards tend to use a frame from which belts are slipped under
the hull to raise it, and pull the trailer out from underneath.

Another method is to hire a crane. Yacht clubs often have or rent a crane
for a day to lift the member's boats out of the water at the end of the
season.

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How to Repair the Bottom of a 1,000-lb Boat?
 

If you build a cradle to support the boat you can work on the hull. We
do it in the boatyard all the time.

How to Repair the Bottom of a 1,000-lb Boat?
 

It is possible to build a cradle around the hull to
turn it if it is only that weight, but you better
stay clear if you don't design the cradle perfectly
safe.

Now that you have pointed this out. I surely have a feeling that
rolling over a 1,000-lb boat is not such a good idea in a home
environment. I should repair it with it sitting upright on dry land.

anyway if your boat are fiber glass, I suggest,
you look into how to make a sheet to fit exact
and around the edge of where the dameage are,
if you before this angled the remaining edges in
the hole the right amount, you can from inside
use that patch to mold a new surface that in
glasfiber or Epoxy and glasfiber then patch the
hole from inside.

Sound like a plan. Thanks.

By the way, the boat is probably something like 700-lb instead of
1,000-lb as what I had mentioned. Regardless, this is too heavy for me
and my friend to roll it over using manpower alone.

Jay Chan

How to Repair the Bottom of a 1,000-lb Boat?
 

If the keel breaks it's a problem.

Thanks for pointing out one type of damages that I should not attempt
to fix. I will stay clear of boats that have broken keel.

Any other damage in a fiberglass boat that is too severe for repair?

But if the keel is sound, boats can usually be safely
supported on blocks under the keel, with the hull braced
along the sides to it stays level. Take a look around
any fishing port or boat yard.

Good to know this. I think I kind of know the braces that you are
referring to.

If you are on dry land the boat can be jacked up with
bottle jacks and blocks put under the keel. You can
get a boat off it's trailer that way.

This is the part that I don't quite understand. The boat is still on a
trailer. How do we move it from the trailer to the wood blocks where we
can jack the boat up? Do you mean constructing the wood brace right
under the boat with the trailer still in place, and then jack up the
brace (in other words, don't move the trailer)?

Thanks in advance for any following-up message.

Jay Chan

How to Repair the Bottom of a 1,000-lb Boat?
 

If you build a cradle to support the boat you can work
on the hull. We do it in the boatyard all the time.

I assume the cradle is a wood brace that supports the boat hull, and is
not something that we use to roll over a boat.

This means I should visit a boatyard to see exactly how a cradle/brace
is constructed.

Thanks.

Jay Chan

How to Repair the Bottom of a 1,000-lb Boat?
 

How to roll over a boat:

1. rent two half ton chain hoists.
2. hang hoists above boat
3. attach blocks with very large throat/shives to hoists.
4. buy nylon hold down trucking straps.
5. pass straps around boat and thru block.
6. lift boat
7. roll over

It's a one man job.

How to Repair the Bottom of a 1,000-lb Boat?
 

Jaykc.. please exchouse that don't know all the english words , but
what I tried to show is the way I done such repair several times , ----
emagine you could find a simular boat and the owner was a nice guy .
Then you find the same area of his boat and simply make a small mold
covering the hole in your boat, so when you repair the hole you cast
the form from a simular boat. The important thing is to make that flat
mold in say two layers of glasfiber and resin , treadhis boat with the
right slip solvent -- usealy some water soluted agent that often is
plain carpenter glue and plenty of wax, before you start taking the
mold.
Such patch are easy temp. glued over the hole and as long as you dried
out the edges and angled them the right amount ,make the build up
repair cover the edge well , then such repair can be made so the boat
is as good as new --- but no cut corners everything need to be
perfectly clean and dry and the small cracks that will show just need
to be filled with a 2 compoment epoxy filler.

How to Repair the Bottom of a 1,000-lb Boat?
 

Jaykc.. please exchouse that don't know all the english words , but
what I tried to show is the way I done such repair several times , ----
emagine you could find a simular boat and the owner was a nice guy .
Then you find the same area of his boat and simply make a small mold
covering the hole in your boat, so when you repair the hole you cast
the form from a simular boat. The important thing is to make that flat
mold in say two layers of glasfiber and resin , treadhis boat with the
right slip solvent -- usealy some water soluted agent that often is
plain carpenter glue and plenty of wax, before you start taking the
mold.

Thanks for the idea of making a copy of the damaged area from the same
boat model. This sounds good as long as I can find the same boat model.
If not, I will have to make a mold from my boat, fine tune the mold,
and form a patch using the mold.

Jay Chan

How to Repair the Bottom of a 1,000-lb Boat?
 

Go to http://www.westsystem.com/ hit the "PROJECTS" tab, then select
"TENACIOUS, a look back" Scroll down about 2/3rds of the way to see the
scheme used for this tall ship (and for submarines).

On a more constructive note, I've seen photos (which I can't find) of
home-built rings slapped together from plywood. One does want level ground
for the turning.

Roger

http://home.earthlink.net/~derbyrm
wrote in message
oups.com...
I am wondering how people get access to the bottom of a boat for
repair. If the boat is light, we can simply turn it upside down. But if
the boat is around 1,000-lb, I doubt that we can turn it upside down
just by manpower. Unfortunately, in a home environment, we don't have
the heavey equipment to turn a boat upside down. How do people get
around with this problem?

Is there a way to safely and easily turn a boat upside down for
repairing the bottom of the hull using manpower and some kind of
home-made jigs?

How to Repair the Bottom of a 1,000-lb Boat?
 

Go to http://www.westsystem.com/ hit the "PROJECTS" tab, then select
"TENACIOUS, a look back" Scroll down about 2/3rds of the way to see the
scheme used for this tall ship (and for submarines).

On a more constructive note, I've seen photos (which I can't find) of
home-built rings slapped together from plywood. One does want level ground
for the turning.

Roger

http://home.earthlink.net/~derbyrm
wrote in message
oups.com...
I am wondering how people get access to the bottom of a boat for
repair. If the boat is light, we can simply turn it upside down. But if
the boat is around 1,000-lb, I doubt that we can turn it upside down
just by manpower. Unfortunately, in a home environment, we don't have
the heavy equipment to turn a boat upside down. How do people get
around with this problem?

Is there a way to safely and easily turn a boat upside down for
repairing the bottom of the hull using manpower and some kind of
home-made jigs?

How to Repair the Bottom of a 1,000-lb Boat?
 

Go to http://www.westsystem.com/ hit the "PROJECTS" tab,
then select "TENACIOUS, a look back" Scroll down about
2/3rds of the way to see the scheme used for this tall
ship (and for submarines).

That big boat-roller is beyond me. I think I will just settle with
fixing the hull in place or just avoid those old boats that have a lot
of damages in the bottom of the hull.

On a more constructive note, I've seen photos (which I
can't find) of home-built rings slapped together from
plywood. One does want level ground for the turning.

I can see problem getting the boat off the trailer even with home built
rings. I think I would be more than happy just to jack the boat up a
couple feet higher. But I am better off avoiding the problem all
together by selecting boats that don't have a lot of damages in the
bottom.

Jay Chan

How to Repair the Bottom of a 1,000-lb Boat?
 

) writes:
Jaykc.. please exchouse that don't know all the english words , but
what I tried to show is the way I done such repair several times , ----
emagine you could find a simular boat and the owner was a nice guy .
Then you find the same area of his boat and simply make a small mold
covering the hole in your boat, so when you repair the hole you cast
the form from a simular boat.

I recall that discussion and recall pointing out that all he has to do is
walk around to the other side of his own boat to make a matching mould,
most boats being symetrical. :)

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How to Repair the Bottom of a 1,000-lb Boat?
 

I can see problem getting the boat off the trailer even with home built
rings. I think I would be more than happy just to jack the boat up a
couple feet higher. But I am better off avoiding the problem all
together by selecting boats that don't have a lot of damages in the
bottom.

The bottom may not need repair but it will need cleaning and painting from
time to time so you're not quite out of the woods yet.

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How to Repair the Bottom of a 1,000-lb Boat?
 

The bottom may not need repair but it will need cleaning
and painting from time to time so you're not quite out
of the woods yet.

I see. But I will leave the boat on a trailer most of the time. I guess
the boat probably doesn't need to clean and paint that often (unless I
beach it by accident).

Jay Chan

How to Repair the Bottom of a 1,000-lb Boat?
 

rolling a boat, or any other heavy object need not be a dramatic
affair. In my work place we regularly roll or move objects weighing up
to 4000lbs wiith just two people. if you are lucky enough to have
structural overhead beams then chain blocks are quick and easy, if not
you can often build some sort of a fram for very little money (sub $50
if you use scrap metals) and can weld. if you cant weld, buy a second
hand stick welder and learn. i bought my first welder for $50 and
after reading a bit on it was competent enough to make decent welds.
within a month i could weld high strenth suspension components for
competition jeeps. 5 years later im a structurally certified welder in
most positions for stick and mig. one you get a welder you'll be
surprised at how you ever get by without one. it is to steel what
resin is to glass. a million uses.

if you dont have these means or dont want to get involved then use your
head instead. levers and pulleys give a _tremendous_ amount of
mechanical advantage if you understand a few basic principles. If you
have a couple of strong sawhorses or plenty of loose lumber its
actually pretty simple to move or roll anything if you're not in a
hurry. I've pulled stuck jeeps out of rivers with nothing more than a
bit of rope and some lengths of pole found at a construction site down
the road. many of the greatest marvels of the world were bilt with no
more technology than this; look at all the enourmous stone statues, the
pyramids ;-)

How to Repair the Bottom of a 1,000-lb Boat?
 

... levers and pulleys give a _tremendous_ amount of
mechanical advantage if you understand a few basic
principles...

Thanks for your suggestion. But at this point, I think I will avoid a
boat that has many major damages in the bottom that are so severe that
require me to roll the boat up to have a clear way of the bottom. I
figure that if I narrow my selection to boats that have very limited
damage (if any) in the bottom, I probably can get by without rolling
the boat.

Jay Chan

How to Repair the Bottom of a 1,000-lb Boat?
 

drydock simple
wrote in message
oups.com...
... levers and pulleys give a _tremendous_ amount of
mechanical advantage if you understand a few basic
principles...

Thanks for your suggestion. But at this point, I think I will avoid a
boat that has many major damages in the bottom that are so severe that
require me to roll the boat up to have a clear way of the bottom. I
figure that if I narrow my selection to boats that have very limited
damage (if any) in the bottom, I probably can get by without rolling
the boat.

Jay Chan

How to Repair the Bottom of a 1,000-lb Boat?
 

I avoid the whole issue of "fixing the boat bottom" by buying a boat
that doesn't need any repair on the bottom. This is a good thing
because the boat alone weight something like 1,500-lb instead of just
1,000-lb.

Jay Chan


wrote:
I am wondering how people get access to the bottom of a boat for
repair. If the boat is light, we can simply turn it upside down. But if
the boat is around 1,000-lb, I doubt that we can turn it upside down
just by manpower. Unfortunately, in a home environment, we don't have
the heavey equipment to turn a boat upside down. How do people get
around with this problem?

Is there a way to safely and easily turn a boat upside down for
repairing the bottom of the hull using manpower and some kind of
home-made jigs?

Can we repair the bottom of the boat while the boat is still on the
trailer? This is probably OK for a small area. But what's about the
damage area is large?

I am trying to figure out what I can and cannot do with a boat that has
large damage on the bottom of the hull. If this is not possible to
repair the bottom of the hull in a home environment, I will have to
stay clear of boats that have large damage in the bottom.

Thanks in advance for any info.

Jay Chan