Raising a DS from trailer for Bottom Painting?

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Raising a DS from trailer for Bottom Painting?

Postby JoeCapeCod » Sun Apr 17, 2022 10:52 am

Has anyone devised a safe way of getting a DS off the ground at sufficient height to sand and paint the bottom? My boat is new to me (though I am an experienced sailor having owned a Bristol 27.7 for 20 years) and it is on its trailer, so I would have a hard time doing a decent job-- sanding, taping, painting-- the bottom myself while it remains on the trailer. Of course I can pay a yard to lift it and put it on stands for a day or two, but given the cost and how busy yards here on Cape Cod get around this time year, I'd rather do it myself. I've checked out purchasing adjustable jacks-- ones that actually incorporate a jack-- but found mostly ones that raise to heights of only about 18"and that wouldn't be much help. Maybe someone has figured out a system for yearly bottom maintenance with the bottom reasonably accessible, and if so, I'd love to hear about it.
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Re: Raising a DS from trailer for Bottom Painting?

Postby GreenLake » Sun Apr 17, 2022 3:20 pm

Yes, the easiest way is to launch the boat on the hard, with the mast raised. Then use he jib halyard to careen it.

Or, without a mast, get some helpers to roll it over onto some tires.

See also here: https://forum.daysailer.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=38757#p38757

There are other topics that discuss every imaginable way to raise, lift, roll, flip, careen or otherwise get your DS in a position to access the bottom.

Here's a picture of careening "underway" for getting at a stuck centerboard.
1804

Whatever you do, make sure for your helpers to wear matching shirts. It looks so much more professional.
~ green ~ lake ~ ~
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Re: Raising a DS from trailer for Bottom Painting?

Postby JoeCapeCod » Sun Apr 17, 2022 4:22 pm

Thanks. Problem is that boat is on the trailer at home and I'd want to keep it at home to do a decent job on the bottom...so careening would mean sliding it off the trailer somehow, and worse, trying to winch it (I guess) back on. Still, good to see that careening is doable and perhaps not such a big deal. (I can't see the photo; I think it is because my membership is still being reviewed. Are they checking my police record?) :D
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Re: Raising a DS from trailer for Bottom Painting?

Postby Anstigmat » Sun Apr 17, 2022 4:38 pm

It's super challenging for those of us without a bunch of people near by to help.

This year my plan is to put the boat in the garage where I've rigged up a way to sort of lift it off the trailer using two very heavy duty ratchet straps. They're attached to some metal bars I've secured in the rafters. Once the trailer is pulled out I'm going to put heavy duty saw horses underneath and have both set ups in place as back ups against each other. The boat will be resting on the saw horses at that point so that's where the load will be, with the straps only semi tensioned. That way I'll do my quick projects which include checking and adjusting the centerboard and a coat or two of bottom paint.

Ideally I'd make some kind of boat stand but even then it would be a challenge getting the DS off the trailer and on to the stand....
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Re: Raising a DS from trailer for Bottom Painting?

Postby GreenLake » Mon Apr 18, 2022 1:23 am

I've slid off and winched on several times. One time I had no other place than a parking strip in front of a house. Raised the mast, launched the boat (onto a tarp on the grass), had a friend pull her over with the jib halyard (mast blocking the street), removed the CB and let the boat sit upright over night

Next day, CB repair completed, did the reverse, then winched boat on the trailer. No issue.

Because we were blocking the street (even if for a moment) I needed a helper, otherwise, I run this operation by myself.

Tip: to get the boat on the trailer, disconnect from the car. It's easier to get the trailer at a good angle for winching that way.

Tip2: with the boat on its side, you can stack a block of wood where the bow would rest, That way, when you right the boat, it won't sit 100% flat, and therefore "climbs" the first roller more easily.
~ green ~ lake ~ ~
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Re: Raising a DS from trailer for Bottom Painting?

Postby GreenLake » Mon Apr 18, 2022 1:33 am

Anstigmat wrote:...I've rigged up a way to sort of lift it off the trailer using two very heavy duty ratchet straps.


I once rigged a garage with two loops of rope. Each ran as an endless loop through a block. Well, not truly endless, because of the knot that formed the loop.

The blocks were attache to some purchase I rigged up. You can get the ready-made versions from the hardware store, they're cheap but OK. I made mine from real sailing blocks (expensive). I added a cascade so I could get 8:1 or something like that.

I sling the ropes around the boat. Lift with the purchase, belay the free end, and then, with the boat in the air, I can "flip" it by rotating inside the endless loops (the loop turns with the boat and runs through the block as you do that, so make sure the knot is on the correct side when you start).

Obviously, I did the turning very close to the ground, why challenge fate: but I did not need a helper with that setup to get the boat off the trailer and on its side inside the garage.

So, yes, there's millions of ways to do this, none are truly hard, and with a bit of smarts, you can work out how to do it alone. Or get a few buddies. The DS is heavy, but not too heavy. But I've careened an O'Day Mariner to do a CB repair underway. We were four, but mainly because we needed to have people on both sides of the hull for the repair.
~ green ~ lake ~ ~
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Re: Raising a DS from trailer for Bottom Painting?

Postby JoeCapeCod » Mon Apr 18, 2022 8:15 am

These descriptions of lifting the boat in a garage are helpful and interesting-- but we don't have a garage! But we have a very big yard and I am beginning to think of getting some help, taking the trailer to a relatively flat spot in the yard, and taking the boat off the trailer and turning it upside down. Would love to hear from folks about tips for doing that-- is there a problem with resting the boat on the cuddy? Seems to me that might not be smart. But maybe there's a way to get it off the trailer, then roll it onto some large fenders-- or something similar-- so that it is the foredeck, not the cuddy, and then the stern coaming that supports the boat. (Mine is a DS II 1984 Anniversary so there is no decking at the stern...the seats run all the way back to the stern itself.) The posts on this topic so far are helpful and I hope I hear more and get more wisdom from the community about possibly doing a turn-over in my yard with a little (or a lot!) of help from my friends.
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Re: Raising a DS from trailer for Bottom Painting?

Postby jalmeida51 » Mon Apr 18, 2022 1:16 pm

There are several videos on u tube on how to remove a trailer from under a boat.

I f you can borrow 4 jack stands put 2 under under the stern jack the stern up to height you want. Slide a steel pipe through the bow eye a jack stand under each end of the pipe jack the bow up to the height you want pull the trailer from under the boat.
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Re: Raising a DS from trailer for Bottom Painting?

Postby GreenLake » Mon Apr 18, 2022 2:39 pm

I rolled the boat onto some tires. Then, instead of jack stands, I had columns of squared logs, stacked.

Two people would lift the stern a bit, and the third would slide another log onto the stack. Repeat for the bow.

Each end would be 300# more or less, and with two helpers each would lift 150# for a short distance and for a short time. Works out.

The lumber stacks ensured that the boat could never fall more than the width of a log, even if someone let go.

The technique matches those the natives in the Pacific Northwest used to raise the heavy center log that supports the roof of their buildings. Compared to that, a DS is easy :)
~ green ~ lake ~ ~
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Re: Raising a DS from trailer for Bottom Painting?

Postby JoeCapeCod » Mon Apr 18, 2022 5:49 pm

Great stuff guys! Thank you!
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