Supporting E25
Steve,
I purchased a boat lift for working on my E25. I just recieved it and the plan is to install it over the boat and trailer with basically four well anchored/braced posts. The manufacturer says that they work on boats with this lift inconjucation with 2 X 6 bracing underneath the hull. I'm thinking of building a cradle out of wood though.
I thought about buying boat stands, but found two things daunting, first was the prospect of getting the boat onto the stands without a crane, etc. I understand about jacking the front and back of the trailer up, but this is a dangerous proposition in my opinion, or at least very time consuming. Second was and still is supporting the hull adequatly. The stands aren't designed to take the full weight, nor is the hull meant to be stressed this way. Sailboats are designed to be stood on there keels, and the stands are simply a type of bracing. What makes more sense to me than stands for a centerboard design is a cradle that holds the weight at strategic places (bulkheads), and then a bunker board connecting along and probably slightly above the line of lead balllast. I found one refrence on the web to a guy who did this with his centerboard boat and used two cradles of slightly different sizes to allow going over the missed areas. How long can a boat be stored at less than optimium conditions of support I'm not sure, and have looked around the web for clues but have found little information. I hope you catalog your boat lifting and handling here for future lake sailors like you and I that don't have commercial boat hauling services available. I'll also try and post an account of my boat hanging! Regards, Chris