by GreenLake » Sat Jun 07, 2014 3:26 pm
The DS is in that weight class where it's not too heavy to be manhandled. @rnlivingston's method works singlehanded. Have done that myself, but you need space for it, because with the mast down, the careened boat will effectively be 25' wide. (In bringing the boat back on the trailer I needed to limit the "tilt" - there was a definite optimum that was not to shallow and not too steep. Easily done with a couple turns of rope around the tilt joint).
On another occasion, with three people we were able to turn the boat inside a double garage and set it (upside-down on blocks) after dry-launching from a tilt-trailer first.
With a couple additional bodies we would have been able to carry it off/on the trailer instead of launching I expect.
In other words, the best strategy depends on the available space and manpower.
If you have strong overhead points, a few spare pulleys and rope, you can rig a block and tackle to lift the boat in two slings. If the slings are free to rotate through pulleys, then you can rotate the DS on its side before lowering it again. I did that single handed in a very small garage. Lifted it off the trailer, pulled the trailer out, rotated an lowered it sitting on its side. I wasn't sure whether it would be too "stable" if fully up-side-down, so I didn't go all the way.
For the pulleys that the slings ride in, you can use the main-sheet blocks, for example. And the sheets would make good rope slings. Then you would need some block and tackle to lift each sling. They need to be rated for 3-400lbs better 500lbs, and you need two of them. Takes a bit to set up, but if you need/want to be indoors and work alone, that setup has worked for me.
~ green ~ lake ~ ~