Removing a boat from its trailer?

[BellBoyBob]

Hi All:

In order to prep, prime and paint my BB, I will have to get it off of its trailer in the garage. Can anyone give me the technical step by step to do this? I was going to slide the boat back a couple of feet, jack up the transom end and place cinder-blocks under outside edges of the transom with 2x4 wood blocks on top of the cinder-block to protect the fiberglass, ease the trailer forward and place a jackstand with a 2x4 on top of it somewhere under the keel towards the bow. Will just those support points be stable for me to be climbing in and out of the boat while I am working on it?
Any suggestions would be very welcome / appreciated!

thanks,

Bob

[Marty Loken (Norseboater)]

Removing Boat from Trailer

Bob -

You can probably do it the way you described, but I'd recommend blocking the hull in more than three places once you get it off the trailer (and before you start climbing around in the boat), just to be sure.

One alternative you might look into is foam blocks, which offer a soft landing for the hull--but provide tons of support. (There are the foam logs, more or less 2 feet by 5 feet by about 18 inches thick, that are used to support docks and floats. They can easily be cut into smaller sizes if you prefer, but they offer tremendous support for boats and you can drop the hulls off the trailers and onto the foam blocks without worrying about damage to the gelcoat or anything else.)

If you manage to find any of the foam blocks, place two of them in the stern corners (facing fore-and-aft so they support the hull along the chine edge), then drop the bow onto a third foam log, making sure it's place far enough aft that it can't slip out of place. When it's time to put the boat back on the trailer, just back the trailer up under the bow and winch the boat on...pulling it off of the foam blocks.

When you need to apply bottom paint where the foam blocks are, just use a floor jack with carpet-padded wood blocks to temporarily elevate the hull where each of the blocks were...one at a time until you've painted the entire underside of the boat.

We use lots of the foam blocks at the park-n-hide lot--a handy and low-tech way to support trailerless project boats.

Good luck....

- Marty

[BellBoyBob]

Marty thanks for the advice. I wonder if the marinas around here would have those large, under-dock blocks of foam? If I found some at your described dimensions, could I lower the boat on them positioned so that the 5' side was on the floor and the 5' top side ran along the chine? That would have the transom 2' off the floor and the chines (cir 2 1/2" ) would sit on the 18" side. Will they stay in place as the boat's weight increase while I drive the trailer forward?
Thanks,
Bob

[Marty Loken (Norseboater)]

Boat off the trailer

Bob -

Is there anything you can tie the stern of the boat to, so that the hull is not allowed to slide forward as you pull the trailer out? The boat and foam blocks might otherwise slide forward as you start removing the trailer.

- Marty

[BellBoyBob]

Well, the trailer in question is a Holsclaw, original to the boat purchase in 1960. It uses rollers and not bunks so that should reduce the drag as I ease the trailer out from underneath. I could screw in a couple of eye bolts into the studs in the garage rear wall? Connect that with rope to the ski harness eyes in the transom? I can just imagine bringing the wall down?? On the other hand, if the transom is jacked up a couple of inches off the rear of the trailer, the blocks are positioned under the chines and then the boat is lowered onto the blocks, that would leave the weight of the fore side only on the front roller trucks and the keel rollers. Not a lot of drag, right? What do you think?

Bob

[Tim McCrain]

Bob,
I wouldn't worry too much about pullling the garage down, if you can crank the boat onto the trailer by hand there isn't enough drag to damage your wall framing. Unless, of course, the garage is built like a cardboard box and you're built like the incredible hulk ... I've pulled the Sabrecraft backward on its Holsclaw trailer by hand before.

I think that unless the boat is anchored to something the drag of the hull on the trailer may exceed the drag of the foam blocks on the floor (due to their wide weight distribution) and the whole thing scoots forward with the trailer. Anchoring the hull at the rear just tips the scales in the right direction.

Tim

[Skagitguy]

Bob, Please call me. 1-800-637-9190 Chuck