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Flipping the boat


Jan Williamson

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I have an opportunity to have a couple of extra hands to flip the boat tomorrow night. I wonder if three strong, and one reasonably strong (for a woman that is) is going to be able to handle the flip. I have thought about building a frame and strapping it on to the top of the boat so that it rests on the deck, so when it is flipped the boat rests on the frame not the cabin top. But the frame would add 20 or 30 pounds to the lift which is maximum heavy anyway for four people. Any thoughts from anyone how the best, and safest way to to this?

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Pullies and rope; rig up some points for and aft to hoist her up a bit. Then so the rolly thing, it will not want to go; but once she does, be PREPARED!! It may have been the anchor points that I chose that caused me problems. Others here have done it with ropes and pullys with no problem, just beware. :)

Yes, make a cradle to rest her upon once flipped over, no need to attach it, jest be ready when the time comes. Seems I used some saw horses and 2x4's for this.

You are into the next stage!! Have fun! :)

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Ken, very good!! I will use the mast box idea, simple too!!

I have pulleys and rope but my garage is finished on the ceiling. Just with sheetrock but none the less covered. Maybe a couple lag screws into the rafters? I am not clear how to flip it once it is hoisted up anyway. What do you have padded ropes surrounding the boat? Any pictures Captn?

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Nope, sorry, no pictures, too busy guiding things then. I poked some holes through the sheetrock to wrap a rop around the joists. Little holes, easily patched. :)

Tom Nelson has a few pictures, but they don't really depict what is happening. You need a dedicated photographer at this point. AHH!! Another person you need; yes!! :)

Dang, I broke 1000 and didn't notice other than I am renamed as a 'Re-patriated Officer'!! :) Thanks Frank!!!!

Repatriated! I feel all rejuvinated! :);):)

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I don't have easy access to the yard, it is up a rocky hill from the driveway. I liked the soft ground idea too. I do have 2 come-alongs. I think I might try hoisting it. Maybe line the garage with camper foam just in case. I just don't want to see the thing on its side, my luck the toe rail will break.

Captn, I wish I could have seen your boat!! :( I know I would have been truely inspired to go back home and sand ten times longer than I planned. :D

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Jan

I rolled my weekender Sanddragon with one person helping me. We had no problem turning it over. I put a furnature dolly under the stem and a milk crate under the stern. I had no problems with it and it kept the cabin roof from laying on the concrete. After I had done the glassing and paint I raised it up on 4' tall sawhorses and was able to paint the interior standing up there was no problems painting this way. I had not painted before the sides went on.

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on the Weekender I built, a friend and I just picked it up and turned it over. His wife shoved a blanket under the rail when we sat the boat down. For glass work I laid it on one side, worked on the up side, then flipped it over to the other side. Just the two of us, plus as I said - his wife shoving a blanket under where we needed it.

The Weekender isn't that heavy.

By the way- we were both 60 years old at the time :)

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It really isn't that hard to roll it over. My daughter and son-in-law helped me to roll mine a couple times. Just put a couple cardboard boxes (flat) under the rail and over she went. we even shifted it about 5 ft by sliding it sideways on the rail and one side with the boxes under it. Like Charlie said, it isn't that heavy and there really isn't any need to worry about the rail breaking. On the curve like it is it is incredibly strong.

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Jan,

Four folks will be plenty. I had a few more, but they were mostly slackards :P I have some pics of the dolly I use for wheeling my weekender around on my website:

http://www.arsc.edu/~jlm/AsYouWish/over.html

Once the hull was off of it, I added a couple of 2x4 braces cut to fit around the toerails and we just plopped it back into place. The dolly has worked out great for both upright and inverted work.

--John M.

Fairbanks, AK.

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I used Pat's idea and put our Weekender on a couple of saw horses (I used standard height.) I hadn't intended on painting the interior while it was upside down, but it turned out to be incredibly easy. I also rigged the steering while it was inverted.

To roll our weekender over we (myself and two kids 7 & 9) hung a few pulleys from our flimsy tube and tarp weather shelter (the kind you find at Sam's clubs etc. for a hundred and fifty bucks or so.) Then we used the pulleys and ropes to roll it over. it was simple and safe. We even stopped halfway through to take a few photos. Nothing to it.

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These boats are not that heavy, and really are strong. Three of us turned my vacationer (though I should point out that my 19 yr old is a 6-6 265 lb groceries pit). Due to hull curvature, actually only a portion comes in contact with the ground, and folded blankets or a couple of tires protect the rails well. For my pocket cruiser, which could fit in the garage, I used simple block and tackle (two of the blocks were also used later on the boom) at each end run up to the rafters, pulled her about 4 feet up, and turned her myself, lowering it back down on milk cartons. Used the same tackle to lift her up to slide the trailer under. Don't forget, the more people turning, the more beer you have to buy.

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Thanks for everyones ideas and encouragement. I'll let you know how it goes.

John, thanks for the link, what a pretty red boat :) I am using 5.7 oz plain weave. Still trying to decide on the hull color. White or royal blue.

Jake, I am inspired to sand more just looking at your pics!!! :D:D:D. Very beautiful work! I really missed out on a treat.

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Flipping a weekender is a POC (piece of cake). Two people can do it but three is ideal. Put some carpet scraps under the rail and then have some building foam (1" thick styrofoam) sheets for the cabin to sit on. After it is flipped over, you just lift one end at a time and block it up to whatever height you want. Then lift the other end and block that up.

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I decided to try ratcheting tie downs to lift the boat and flip her by myself. I knew the tricky part would be letting her back down because I'd have to release the ratchet with one hand and support the boat with the other. Before I went any further, I tried lifting first the stem then the stern with one hand. I'm no 98 lb weakling but I'm no muscleman either so I was surprised how manageable it was. You're only lifting part of the boat's total weight, so it's really quite easy.

I hooked one tie down to the lower rudder eyebolt and the other to a looong eyebolt through the stem that I'll use as a bow eye. Leave the bolts loose enough to rotate as the boat rolls over. To keep things really simple, I attached the upper ends of the tie downs to the brackets that hold the garage door guide rails. In my case, each bracket has two long lag bolts holding it into 2x6 rafters and since the boat weighs less than the double garage door, I was confident the weight wouldn't be a problem, but I was cautious none the less. With the door closed, (no weight on the rails) I hoisted the boat an inch or so off the dolly and then slowly added my weight to the rig by holding the overhead rail and lifting my feet off the ground. If anything was going to fail, I wanted it to be now.

Everything was good and solid, so I hoisted the boat to clear the dolly, held my breath as I moved the dolly from under the boat, and rolled her over. She was so well balanced, I rolled her with one hand. I padded the dolly with carpeting foam, moved it back in place and lowered the stem back down easy as could be. I added some supports to the back of the dolly so the boat would be supported under the keel and eased her back in place.

Start to finish, an hour and thirty five minutes. It was amazingly easy.

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Hey Jan, you're back. Haven't heard from you in awhile. Glad you're so far along. I've been finishing the inside of my new workshop so I haven't worked on the boat for quite awhile. I have been thinking about it though. In fact I've been thinking of going back to my original idea of making a rounded hull with cedar strips and adding the centerboard like the original only weighted on the end so that it drops down automatically in the water and folds up when it is beached. I wouldn't have the rope coming up through the hull like the original plan showed. I know it is a big departure from the plans but I feel confident I could make it work. Anyway, I'm going to start moving into the shop tonight and get things set up so I can continue on the boat. Congratulations to you and all your hard work. Good luck in your turning project.

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