Boat on stands for 2 years, stands have dented into hull

[Aethelwulffe]

Originally Posted by Carl-T705

Just fix the stuff that really needs attention and don't sweat the other stuff Like dents in the hull from the stands. Dorys are tough boats and a good soaking in the lake or ocean will more than likely solve the problem. You might relocate/adjust the stands if possible.

LISTEN to this ^^^ dude here. This is a non-problem. Cup-holder placement is vastly more important. Right-sizing the the tackle, simplifying the rig and getting rid of rigging friction and topside water intrusion/re-bedding hardware is the real stuff. That Dory is the perfect boat for your first go. Shamelessly forgiving hull, and will take care of you.

[abarrow]

I supported the sailing events for the Pan Am games here in Puerto Vallarta in 2011. The J24 brought in a container by the Brazilian team had to be put in the cradle at an angle to fit it into the container. When it arrived, it had a huge dent in the side.

The dent never came out. The Brazilian team got won a gold medal with that boat.

Don't worry about it. It'll come out or it wont. Have a close look at the boat, but generally it should be fine.

[mikebikeboy]

much appreciate all the comments, I'm beginning to feel that perhaps I'm like a over-worrying first time parent who freaks out about everything their baby does:

"It farted! Call the ambulance!" ??

[jakkum]

Just leave IT alone and if people critisize IT, tell Them IT was An experiment of the yard to make IT faster.
Also tell Them that IT works and that Just a few were built like this.

But if You want to use the Heat gun, be very carefull because IT gets soft and later Gardena more than the rest of the board.

[Ken Fry]

Originally Posted by mikebikeboy

much appreciate all the comments, I'm beginning to feel that perhaps I'm like a over-worrying first time parent who freaks out about everything their baby does:

"It farted! Call the ambulance!" ??

The best course probably lies in between over-worrying and under-worrying. It is worth doing a thorough inspection of the structure behind the dents, because it is possible that in slamming down back onto the cradle without its keel support, a bulkhead was cracked, the tabbing was damaged, etc. If the dent is near structure like a bulkhead, then the angle between the bulkhead and the dented area can overstress the bulkhead/hull joint. If there are similar dents at all support locations, then the supports were not likely to be at bulkheads, and that would cause a slow denting process that is largely harmless.

But all this can be checked by just looking at the hull inside where the dents are.

If you are not going to float the boat right away, then put the keel support in place, and place the stands at other locations, and with very little load on them. No point in allowing things to get worse, as they otherwise will with more time. Once the hull has oil canned, the stresses around the perimeter of the dent are higher than they were prior to the oil canning -- so you can expect the condition to worsen.

But basically: check for broken stuff, then float the boat. It will probably be fine, and may self-correct.

[thruska]

Originally Posted by mikebikeboy

Thanks to all for the replies. From what the previous owner told me, last year the Mississippi flooded real bad, and the boat floated up, pulling the cradle with it.

When the river came down, the blocking under the keel had washed away so the boat came down harder on the supports and also is slightly lopsided. They never attempted to replace the blocking or lower the stands, and a year has passed since the flood.

I inspected the interior and don't see any cracking, although there is a liner in the location of one support, and on that liner I can see some gelcoat crazing where the support is pushing inward. Bulkheads seem fine, not displaced.

The indents are not sharp, they are gradual so I believe I might be lucky. Getting the boat off the cradle this week and onto regular jack stands so I'll give an update at that point what it looks like.

You’re going in the right direction. Be sure the jack stands are positioned at the bulkheads.
Keep us posted as to your progress, as this is way more interesting than the covid-19.
Don’t over worry, heck don’t worry at all, it’s a boat. You seem to have a handle on the situation at hand. Everything is fixable, it just depends on skills, time and how much money you care to throw at it.
Judging from what you have told us, I think you’ll be fine in your endeavors.
Naz drovie!

[Island Time O25]

As was explained to me by a longtime boat yard owner the sailboat's weight should be sitting on its keel and the stands are mostly for balance not weight distribution. There should be very litle, if any, weight pressing upon the stands. The fact that this was not the case speaks volumes of the boatyard's expertise or the lack thereof.

Sometime the weight is shifted on the stands which could be from the uneven softening of the ground under the keel. I had this happen when I kept my first boat in friend's backyard which was mostly grassy ground at a slight angle. But luckily the hauler placed the stands under the bulkheads and this did not become an issue. The angle of the ground actually helped as the water did not puddle, just got a bit softer, after some real heavy storms.

At my yard, where the boats are on gravel and not on paved section they periodically check for shifting during the winter and adjust stands as needed. But I understand that even on solid pavement a boat can shift due to rains, asphalt cracking, etc. Just gotta watchout for this periodically.

[Cadence]

suggest moving the stands, attach suction cups, used to carry large plate glass, in the middle of the depression and apple slow and constant pressure they may come right back.
If not try the pressure from the inside with the boat floating. As long as they aren't huge indentation, they may pop right out. Best wishes.

[Briggers]

I had my boat on a stand for three years, when I finally got round to doing the hull I noticed that there was a distinct dent in the hull where the jack was. I used another support to take the strain, moved the original jack a bit higher and within a week the hull had returned to where it should have been.

[thomm225]

It would worry me a bit as my boat was on the hard for 5 years with no indentations.

But since you now have the boat you can launch it when you are ready and see how it goes if there are no cracks etc where the stands pushed the hull in.

Old pictures are when I found the boat in 2011 after it was put on the stands in 2006

[AndrewA2]

Any concerns for a boat being on the hard for about a year, beyond dents in hull?
Looking at a Lagoon 450 that has been on the hard for a year or so. Trying to understand if I need to be more cautious because of this, or not to worry ?

[mikebikeboy]

Sanded the bottom yesterday and took a few pics. When I lowered each stand individually to sand behind the pad, the dents did not magically "pop" out, as expected.. Here are a few pictures.



I did not notice any cracking, I'm thinking it's fine and will just splash the girl and let nature run it's course.

[Aethelwulffe]

Who expected them to pop out instantly after merely removing the stands?
Once it goes into the water, hydration of the fiberglass and equalization of pressures happen, the bias molded into the FRP will win out (over time). You think that this is the first and only time this has happened to this particular boat over the decades? Likely not.

[mikebikeboy]

I meant to say, they did not pop out, as I expected them not to, based on so many people's comments here...

[AKA-None]

And now you have a glimmer of why cradles are expensive. Just to get everything in the right place and the correct height