I have had so much trouble with marinas/Boatyards that i’m swearing them off.
Time to become self-sufficient.
this
winter, I was supposed to stay at a marina. However, they decided not to take me after i arrived in the harbor.
I checked every marina in the area and none would take me. Who cares? Their loss. I saved $5000 by not getting a
dock this
winter. and you know what? It was much better. I don’t even like docks. I just thought you needed them in the winter because that was the common sentiment.
The next thing to
work on being self-sufficient with is doing bottom
maintenance and fixing
hurricane damage on the topsides.
yes, you can find a sand bar or a mud flat that dries out and put the
boat on that. However, you can’t really reach everything. Franziska ran into this problem as well and tried to solve it with the underwater
bottom paint that got all stuck in her hair. no I don’t think I’ll be trying that. Much respect to her for taking one for the team and trying that.
To do the bottom, i need to raise the boat’s waterline by about 30 inches (less than a meter)
to do the topsides
work, i need to raise about 12 inches to keep
paint from getting wet at the waterline when painting.
First, i was considering these and almost bought them. I was supposed to get them this week. 4000lbs
lift each.
however, I had some concerns about
rigging them up. I was going to tie them together and inflate but I don’t think that would get the bottom of the
boat out of the
water. I confirmed this with the company that manufactures them. They suggested a different shape. Some round cylinders. But the round cylinders are very expensive. they would also have blocked 5 feet of the work area. Not ideal.
I canceled this
purchase to keep thinking about it because there is no rush.
I have been thinking this spring I will just go to a sandbar and do everything. But I will still miss that spot on the bottom that touches the ground. on my boat, that spot is right where the
dagger boards exit the
hull. that is assuming it balances perfectly. What are the odds? It probably wouldn’t anyway. It would probably tip back toward the stern and a very large section will be on the ground. Not ideal for applying
bottom paint.
SO… some new ideas have been coming to mind. I was thinking about some kind of cradles. but the requirement is whatever I have have to be demountable, broken down and stored in a locker and it can’t weigh much at all.
what I was thinking of is putting the bows on a beach and propping up the sterns with a pair of cradles. alternatively, I could also use 4 cradles on my
lift points and go all the way up evenly if i found somewhere nice and flat to do this. however, the local topology is pretty much a sand beach and a drop off in many places.
so I began to wonder if I shouldn’t get some of these. (pic attached)
they break down. They don’t weigh very much. But they also seem incredibly difficult to work with as the boat is coming down with the tide. Not sure how I would work them to get them in the right spot and keep the boat in the right spot as well.
this problem has to be
solved. I have wasted tremendous time dealing with
marinas only to get nothing. still haven’t been able to do my bottom
paint in years. it’s time. it’s time to do this without
marinas.
any other outside the box ideas? It’s a brainstorming thread. Those are my ideas. Even some ideas on how to work with the jackstands a little better as the tide goes out would be good. I am picturing using ropes to hold them in place under the boat but I don’t know. still might come down crooked.
I was also thinking you could make 4 very long pole gantries and use load tie down straps around the hulls.
Anyway, any thoughts?