Hi all, I am looking to do some bottom painting and i am too cheap to rent
the "Lift" at the marina. The boat is on the trailer now and the areas that
need painting the most is the area under the bunks. I got a plan in my head
that should work but I have never been accused of being very smart so I
thought I would bounce it off a couple of people on this list that I know to
be smarter than the average bear. Assuming I can procure 4 stands I planned
to lower the nose wheel of the trailer its full range thus putting the
stearn in the air. Place a couple stands under the stearn and raise the
nose wheel all the way place a couple more stands under the bow and then
lower the nose wheel and viola I should have enought clearance to fit a
paint brush. Sanding might be a little difficult though. If anyone has
tried this or has aonther meathod .... I am alll ears.
Bob Weber
22 Feb 2003
Not bad, depending on the form of the trailer, two stands in the back.
tilled down, then using a 2 ton+ floor jack with a peice of wood bolted
on the match the keel should work, remember to chain the rear jacks
together and make sure they do not shink into the ground(like 2x12x2 wood
peices/pads), also watch the angles you only need enought room to get
the roller in(i.e do not till to much), 6 inches +clearance, you wnat to
make sure the boat does not move during the seond lift and if something
goes wrong the trailer will chace it, not get crushed by it, remember to
pad the floorjack(heavy wood and cinderblocks). BTW do not leave the boat
like this longer then you need, not great for it, like paint what you can,
wait a day,, then lift for the area under the bucks/keel, let dry(1/2 day)
and get is back on the trailer.
MJM
22 Feb 2003
Your idea works great. I built a stand that fits
under the stern and supports the full width but two
stands well placed will do the same thing. You may
find it difficult to get under the bunk boards without
removing them. If they need replaced or recovered now
is a good time to do it. Working around the trailer
and painting the bottom without painting the trailer
as well is a major PITA but do-able. Good luck, we
haven't had a dry day in two weeks. I can't imagine
yours being any better.
Brad Haslett
22 Feb 2003
I use the jack stand method, and it works like a charm. It's safe, and
easy.
I use three jack stands: two with flat pads, one V shaped.
The screws on the jack stands will lift the boat.
Try to get stands with tubes that are open on the bottom. Then, if you want
to be truly lazy, get three hydraulic jacks. Place the jacks under the
posts attached to the pads. Raise or lower the boat to suit. (Obviously,
you could do this with a single jack, but they only cost about $20.00
apiece, they're useful in other applications, and placing a jack under each
post makes the process ridiculously simple.)
Move the position of the handle on the screw of the jack stand every time
you move the post. This will ensure the jack stand remains stable. It also
allows you to reset the hydraulic jack.
Put cinder blocks, bricks, and pieces of wood snugly under the keel after
each lift.
Around here, boats much larger than ours are left on three jack stands,
sitting on their keels, for half the year. Personally, I'm much more
comfortable once my boat is safely back on its trailer, but, at the same
time, it's nice to know you can safely work under it whenever you need to.
This jack stand method can also be used to position the boat exactly where
you want it for trailering.
Bill Effros
22 Feb 2003
Rather than investing in the separate jacks to lift your boat off the
trailer, you might consider modifying your boat trailer like I did in the
enclosed picture links:
http://www.rhodes22.org/rhodes/pics/jack1.jpg
http://www.rhodes22.org/rhodes/pics/jack1.jpg
http://www.rhodes22.org/rhodes/pics/jack3.jpg
The below enclosed article was originally posted to the Rhodes List back on
09/03/01. It discusses how to build my rear trailer jacks. This
modification to your boat trailer will enable you to raise up the whole boat
& trailer. Then, if you put jack stands in place or blocked up the boat
with cribbing, you could lower the trailer out from under the boat. No
muss, no fuss. Read the article below & you'll find other uses for these
rear trailer jacks. I really like them.
Roger Pihlaja
S/V Dynamic Equilibrium
25 Feb 2003
