Cradle for a CS 17

[John C]

Hello, I live in Hendersonville, Tennessee. I am new to the wonderful world of boat building. I am about to embark on an adventure that I am a little hesitant but at the same time I am a little excited. Having said this, I received my plans for #167 and I have the plywood enroute to start the building of the boat. I have read several forum entries and I have heard that certain type cradles were not supporting the boat properly and others looked extemely sophisticated to say the least for just supporting the boat and giving way to maneurvability. I was wondering if there is a basic guide to building a cradle that would lend support in all the correct spots that wasnt as elaborate as the boat itself. I am ready to build it(cradle) before the boat so that I am ready to proceed once the plywood is here. Can anyone give some information or point to the key parts to do or maybe an example of a good cradle. Thanks for any replys ahead of time.

John

[Charlie Jones]

Herer's what the one looked like under the CS 17 I built. It's now under the CS 20 I'm working on. Front casters swivel rear ones don't.

Both ends fitted to hull, rear support notched for keel, so is the front one but not as deeply.

[Tim]

Welcome aboard John. You can also build the boat without a cradle if you don't need to move it in and out of the shop to work. The process of stitch & glue brings it into the proper shape. Just be sure to do the alignment and twist checks after stitching it. After stitching it I just put the aft end corners up on blocks (actually some sturdy buckets) to keep it from rocking. The hull is still light enough to move it a few feet if you need to get it away from the wall to work. I occasionally had to slide it away from the wall to get to the transom.

[Tom Lathrop]

Welcome aboard John. You can also build the boat without a cradle if you don't need to move it in and out of the shop to work. The process of stitch & glue brings it into the proper shape. Just be sure to do the alignment and twist checks after stitching it. After stitching it I just put the aft end corners up on blocks (actually some sturdy buckets) to keep it from rocking. The hull is still light enough to move it a few feet if you need to get it away from the wall to work. I occasionally had to slide it away from the wall to get to the transom.

Tim, this can work if you are careful and know what the pitfalls are. S&G boats are still pretty limber until most of the interior is installed. Unless the boat is in alignment for each major interior addition, you can build in a permanent twist. Several of the students in Graham's class have come to a degree of grief over this, including me many years ago.

A cradle like the one Charlie shows gives you a steady reference base to work from. It still needs to be checked for level if it is to be moved around on an uneven surface though.