Getting ready to do a bottom and paint job

[hvaldezz]

Would like to know what the best way to take my boat off the trailer to do the paint jobs. I drove by a boat yard today and saw that a boat was completely off the trailer and put onto "car jacks". I'm assuming they were going to do a bottom job and it looked like it was supported pretty well.

My question is: How did they get it off and how to get it on again, once done. Anyone out there got any hints on how to get it off and secure it so it won't fall off?

Also, I heard that a boat can be lifted by the rear "eyes" and front eye. Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

Hank

[muddywater]

There were various posts, but they can be hard to find. Let me see what I can remember from memory.

A few guys used gantry cranes with straps. You have to have a pretty big gantry crane though. The one harbor freight sells is a little short so you would have to replace the cross member.
I recall from photos that Jason lifted his up on straps hanging from rafters in his garage.
I think I remember Warthog getting a wrecker to accomplish it. Others used car jacks and would lift it up, move the trailer a little, drop in on blocks, then move the jacks and move the trailer a little more, and continue until the trailer was removed.
Will used a combination of a Bobcat and a tractor with front end loader to flip his over. I am not certain on this one, but it seems like I even remember some guy tying a winch to a tree or something and then winching it off the trailer onto the grass and put it on tires (though I don't know how that helps you work on the bottom unless you flip it). His loading process was the reverse where he sprayed lubrication onto the trailer runners and then let the trailer tongue stick up in the air and winched it onto the trailer or winched the trailer under it.

Hope that helps
-Muddy

[hvaldezz]

Muddywater, thanks for the inputs. I've got a feeling that the car jacks and move the trailer a little is the easiest and probably safest as far as I can see.

I did talk to a friend of mine with a forklift and he thought that his forklist with some "extenders" on the fork might work just fine. He did move the backend for me when it was not quite on the runners by me lowering the engine and he just gently got the fork underneath the back end and then moved it over. No problem for a forklift....may try to have him lift it and set it down on blocks or car jacks. Blocks would be better because it's a wider area and the jacks are smaller at the supporting end.

Will advise how it goes. With luck I won't punch a hole(s) in the bottom. I hate it when it's like that!!

[gatorbait]

I have a 77' Seafari and was able to jack the back of my boat up with a 2 ton floor jack and a 1' wood block. I put boat stand under each rear/stern corner of the hull. Then I used a strap and a leaning oak to raise the front. At his point I pulled the trailer out and placed a few blocks under the frond and middle. I had her up like this for 4 months while I took the bottom paint off and primed it. Finally I got very tired of the work and it's now at a shop getting finished, awlcraft off-white on the bottom and ice blue sides. Sweeeet…

[NoBones]

[peterb]

Hey Ken, that's cheating. What about us poor northerners who can't afford your kind of toys?

Peter