Question for a storage cradle pads over winter

[nathan007]

Hello!
I am in the process of getting ready to haul out the boat for winterizing (northern NY state)

The cradle pads are kinda old and I wanted to give them a little freshening , my plan was to reuse the old padding but recover them with an old faux-leather I have laying around.

Idea seemed great until I figured out the material is black, so it will definitely become a hot spot under the sun, even tough temps will be way below zero..

Do you think it would cause issues for the almost 7 months it will be parked there?

Last thing I would want is to have hull issues..

[Orion Jim]

Originally Posted by nathan007

Hello!
Do you think it would cause issues for the almost 7 months it will be parked there?.Attachment 177264Attachment 177265

No.

[Mike OReilly]

I’ve never seen pad become a “hot spot” on a cradled boat, but you are way down south compared to me (Canada). I guess it would depend on the material. I’ve always used old carpet as covering for my pads.

Be careful that the bolt heads are well set into the wood pads. Otherwise they can indent the hull.

[mike d.]

As Orion said no ! The reason as I see it is because the plstic/vinyl you have covering the pads will actually hold more rain and swet,etc., than the plywood pads ! Remember the plywood will absorb most over the moisture, and then it will evaporate through the wood pores! The plastic covers won't allow this !

[antoha]

most poppet head "padding" I see around here is a cut of carpeting material, attached much less neatly than in your photos.

[John_Trusty]

Pretty upholstery work, but I would be concerned with longevity, and the chemical interaction of your material with gelcoat. Artificial leather is basically cloth impregnated with a flexible plastic, generally PVC (like plumbing pipes). PVC is UV-sensitive, and your imitation leather for interior use probably has no UV-stabilizers added. I have seen staining on auto paints when various plastic products are set on them over time (PVC, vinyl stickers, polyurethanes, etc.), but I do not know if gelcoat is as susceptible. Before you experiment with the hull of your boat, perhaps you should see if this stuff is stable, and will stain your boat. Otherwise, I would do what everyone around you is doing, use plain wood or cover with indoor-outdoor low-nap carpeting.

Also, these pads do not support much weight, they are only there to stabilize the boat on the keel. The keel should bear the great majority of the weight. Don't make your pads so thick that they begin to carry much weight, or you could indent the hull.

[Tetepare]

One of my neighbors used an innovative solution, he screwed two sections of garden hose to the wood pad. That gives a softer buffer to the hull, while allowing access to the hull for painting.

[anchorman]

My cradle came with nice fluffy indoor carpeting on the pads and after about 5 years I needed to replace the carpeting and I found that the carpet had held the moister and the plywood pads underneath had rotted out.
I replaced indoor carpet with outdoor carpet (plastic) and have had no problems since. (15 years)

[nathan007]

Thanks for your replies!
I did not think about material interaction, I must admit. It does hold below the water line on the antifouling.

The way is is wrapped limits water intrusion, but if there is condensation there will be no escape either.. D'oh!

The bolts head are recessed and I have a layer of padding material above them, there should be no issues with it

[billknny]

If the pads are moving in relation to the hull you have a big problem, so make sure they can't.

If they are not moving against the hull, then why even bother with padding? Every yard I have ever been in uses plain plywood pads. If pads are put against a freshly painted surface, they put a piece of paper between the plywood and the hull to keep the not yet fully dry paint from sticking to the pad.

I have never seen a scratch on my boat from properly set plywood pads. I would be far more worried about scratches from dirt and grit trapped in a carpet cover than from clean plywood.

[nathan007]

The pads do not move once the boat is set , they were already padded , but not fully covered.
There are 4 bolt heads per pad which are kinda flush with the surface, this why I want to keep them padded, in case the wood compresses over time and cause the bolts heads to contact the hull

[Mike OReilly]

It’s common for older pads to deteriorate, creating a rough surface, and start showing their bolt heads. It’s true the pads don’t (or shouldn’t) move much once the boat is set, but the setting process can sometimes produce friction. And protruding fastener heads can be a problem.

This is why it’s common to see older pads covered in some sort of cushiony cloth. The most common thing I’ve seen is old rug.

[SteveofGRACEII]

There are some very good responses here! However, Carpet over plywoodm or for that matter, over any material will hold moisture and dirt longer than just the plywood alone. Both moisture and dirt can and will, over time, affect the gel coat/fiberglass ... OSMOSIS!
I have used 3/4" plywood EPOXY COVERED with great success. Epoxy will over time degrade, but you can get several good years from it. i presently use 3/4" TREX (composite decking) and find that it is excellent. a) it doesn't hold water or dirt and b) it is somewhat flexible so that there are no rigid corners or surfaces.


Very important to let the full weight of the boat to sit on the keel, not the pads!

[john61ct]

So 100% of the weight is borne by the keel's bottom edge?

And these pads just exert lateral contact to keep the hull from falling over?

[John_Trusty]

Originally Posted by john61ct

So 100% of the weight is borne by the keel's bottom edge?

And these pads just exert lateral contact to keep the hull from falling over?

I don't know if it is 100% (never measured it), but it's certainly well above 90%. The pads are adjusted to just touch, so you can't push a piece of paper between pad and boat, for example. BTW: As an aid for your dock workers, you may want to add a center stripe to where your keel rests at the bottom. They try to hit the middle so that it's all even, and having a stripe painted helps when they're doing it fast in Fall.