Help - Cracked hull!!

[JoeVacs]

...and he still wants over $8000 for it !

corsair, my offer still holds, if your interested

[Corsair II]

corsair, my offer still holds, if your interested

If I were to take you up on it, what are your thoughts about the current trailer configuaration? Will it make the trip (600-800 miles, depending on which Hickory, NC you're in) without aggravating the damage even moreso, or do I need to have the trailer reconfigured? The bottom isn't resting on anything while all of the weight is on the bunks.

[ChockFullOnuts22]

That is one big hole on that ebay boat...

Corsair--

Towing it on those bunks could conceivably make the damage worse, yes. It depends on how far you're going, and what the roads are like on the way there. Too much bouncing around is what will further hurt the boat more than anything.

[Boblee]

Corsair
Mate I would be getting the trailer fixed before doing the cracks or at least moving it any distance and definitely don't tighten the hold downs too much.

[Sumner]

Corsair
Mate I would be getting the trailer fixed before doing the cracks or at least moving it any distance..............

Yep the trailer has to be fixed, so it makes no sense to haul it on the trailer in its present condition and especially after it is fixed,

Sum

Our Trips to..

Our Mac Pages

MacGregor Venture Links

[Corsair II]

I'm in total agreement; in fact, the crack looks worse to me just from hauling it around to get estimates. I'll revisit the trailer comments in this post and will begin 'PHASE I - Modifying the trailer.'

Let me ask those who have personally removed their Mac26 off of their own trailer some questions about their recommended method. I recently purchased an investment property that has a 36'x72' pole barn on it about 20 min. from my house. I am currently cleaning it out, getting rid of the trash and rubbish and will have a perfect place to off load the boat. It has 12' side walls and a nice high peak and a solid concrete floor. It also has large 12' wide sliding doors on each end. Would it be best to use jackstands (and if so, how many per side, placement, 1 for the bow?) or to build a structure out of 4x4's and use slings (can't find anything about anyone having done so)? I've got great pictures on how to set the trailer up once it is empty, but need a 'K.I.S.S. - keep it simple stupic' solution for removing the boat in my pole barn. From what I've seen on the net, the jackstands appear to be the simples, most straight forward method, but I might be missing something since I've never done this before.

[Doug91mac26s]

Corsair, when you see boats resting on stands they were set on them, likely after the boat was lifted with slings. Sum and myself have made craddles for the stern, Sum's design much better than mine. I suggest you take a look at his pic's. If you put the stern in the craddle, you can simply rest the front of the boat on a single point under the keel, maybe some large blocks of wood, or a stack of wood. Just in front of the pivot point for the swing centerboard, is a good place to do that. Maybe in your pole barn you can rig sligs to help with this process. Sounds like a perfect place to work!

Considering the state of your hull, I'd be real careful! Try to analyze the situation the best you can before applying pressure to the hull in other spots, you don't want to make it worse. For that reason I don't like the jack stands idea, I'd use a craddle, where good solid pressure is at the keel.



http://s33.photobucket.com/albums/d64/d ... s/Craddle/

[JoeVacs]

Corsair, definately fix the trailer before you move it around much more. What I would do is use those big ol straps you've got, and hook them up to your pole barn. Slide a long 4x4 post above several of your rafters to disperse the weight. One forward and one aft. Connect the straps under the boat and crank it up off the trailer. As soon as it's clear, pull the trailer out. Make some cradles to lower it back onto. Get your trailer fixed and drag it down here.
BTW, there's only one Hickory, NC that I'm aware of.

[Corsair II]

If you put the stern in the craddle, you can simply rest the front of the boat on a single point under the keel, maybe some large blocks of wood, or a stack of wood. Just in front of the pivot point for the swing centerboard, is a good place to do that. Maybe in your pole barn you can rig sligs to help with this process.

VERY HELPFUL PICS! I went to your other pics and was greatly helped. I think that I will build a similar cradle to yours for the stern - and then use a sling on the front so that I can remove the trailer without having to constantly remove the jacks and blocks on the front. Once the trailer is out of the way, I will then block the front or perhaps even make a front cradle for more stability, depending on how much more work I might do in that position. After I get it off the trailer, then I'll be back with questions that are trailer-specific.

[Corsair II]

there's only one Hickory, NC that I'm aware of.

Mapquest has 1 in Catawba County and another in Nash County.

[Sumner]

Doug's support looks great to me.

Here is mine, with the orginal in the background, and a second one in the foreground. ....



...I've had the boat off the trailer while working on the trailer adding the second axle. I made the second one as I didn't want the boat only sitting on the back one for an extended period. So I used the back one at the back and the other one further forward and then had the boat blocked under the keel a couple places forward.

I made a support for a sling......



......also and attached it to the wall (right arrow in next picture) so that it couldn't teeter fore or aft. I made it out of some 2 X 8's I had left over from building the house.



The bracket (middle arrow ) comes off when taking the boat in and out of the shop and on or off the trailer. Then the bracket goes on when the trailer is gone. It and one like it on the other side go up against the bottom of one of the side stanchions on the boat where the cutouts are (left arrow) and just give me a better feeling that the boat won't move side to side or tip. I've set this up for permanent winter storage, so I can get the trailer outside and make it easier to get around the boat. I only use the sling while pulling the boat off the trailer andhave the boat on the back support then. I also pull the wheel/tires off at that point to make it easier to pull the trailer out.

Here is a picture of the left support that shows how it is attached at the top (arrow) to the door track to keep it vertical.

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner ... upport.jpg

See next post of mine about the trailer mods,

Sum

Our Trips to..

Our Mac Pages

Mac Links

[Sumner]

Personally I wouldn't pull the boat off and then work on the trailer. I would think it would be easier to put Doug's bunk system on with the boat on the trailer and then cut the other one off. You might have to do it in pieces if the old one is in the way, but you would have the boat on there and could fit it to the bottom of the boat instead of making templates or trying to use measurements and such.

I just extended our trailer so I could put on an aft bunk like Doug has about where the laz bulkhead is and I put the boat back on the trailer to do this. My bunks are not adjustable, except for changing the thickness of those aluminum spacer, so I needed the boat on the trailer to position the new rear bunks.



I jacked the boat slightly (bottom arrow) and supported the bunk where I wanted it (top arrows) and then....



....cut and welded in uprights under it. Just did this yesterday, so I'm not done yet. This would of been very hard to do with the trailer one place and the boat another.

If you didn't find the pictures of my rear support they are here......

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner ... ide-3.html

Sum

Our Trips to ..

Our Mac Pages

MacGregor Links

[Corsair II]

Personally I wouldn't pull the boat off and then work on the trailer. I would think it would be easier to put Doug's bunk system on with the boat on the trailer and then cut the other one off. You might have to do it in pieces if the old one is in the way, but you would have the boat on there and could fit it to the bottom of the boat instead of making templates or trying to use measurements and such.

That makes alot of sense to me; thanks for the pics as well.

As a side question, I noticed that your boat and Doug's don't have anti-fouling paint but just regular paint or gelcoat. Is anti-fouling paint only if the boat is going to be left in the water all the time and no need for it if its going to be trailered? How long is the maximum time to keep a boat in the water without adding the bottom paint? I was planning (before this fiasco) of renting a slip and keeping it in the water all summer. Would I need to paint the bottom if its going to be in a slip that long? While I'm going through the hull repair, it makes sense to deal with repainting the bottom, one way or another.

[Sumner]

..........As a side question, I noticed that your boat and Doug's don't have anti-fouling paint but just regular paint or gelcoat. Is anti-fouling paint only if the boat is going to be left in the water all the time and no need for it if its going to be trailered? How long is the maximum time to keep a boat in the water without adding the bottom paint? I was planning (before this fiasco) of renting a slip and keeping it in the water all summer. Would I need to paint the bottom if its going to be in a slip that long? While I'm going through the hull repair, it makes sense to deal with repainting the bottom, one way or another.

I don't think there is a set answer to your questions about bottom paint. It is going to depend on how long the boat is in the water and some places the growth is worst than others.

If we continued to just have the boat in the water on lakes in the west for less than a month at a time I wouldn't put bottom paint on our boat. We hope to be in the water in Florida next fall and maybe the following spring for 2-4 months and I wanted to put bottom paint on before that. Also we have no blisters on the hull now, but worried about the possibility of that happening with the boat in the water longer. I could just add bottom paint, but that wouldn't do anything to prevent blisters and if I put the bottom paint on it would be a bigger job in the future to take it off and put on a barrier paint and deal with blisters. For that reason I'm going to put on a barrier paint this summer (Aug) and then the bottom paint. The barrier paint was only $120 and will just add a day to the paint job, so I'll do it.

Since you have bottom paint on now the time might be good to repaint it. See if you can find what brand it is from the previous owner so you put on something that is compatible. Also they have bottom paints that work better on trailered boats and also inland waters. I'd check with local boaters/marinas and see what they are using in your area.

On a final note the way the bunks are on your trailer it would be very easy to mount bunks like Doug's or mine and then remove those. They look to be well out of the way of where the bunks should be located,

Sum

Our Trips to..

Our Mac Pages

MacGregor Links

[Doug91mac26s]

I agree with Sumners recommendation of building new v-bunks while the boat is on the trailer. When I did my trailer I had both senarios. The middle two bunks I had to make without the boat on the trailer. I made templates following the angle of the hull, I mentioned that in a previous post. It's not all that hard to do. Once I had the two middle bunks I put the boat on the trailer, then I made the front and rear bunks, which indeed were much easier to do, because all I had to do was fit them right to the bottom of the boat. I lifted the boat a little bit, like a half inch, so there would be good pressure applied, adjusted the bunks up to the hull, then let it down. Make sure you have clearance for the fenders.

But I don't know if you can make new v-bunks with your boat on the trailer. It looks like those bunks you have are too high, the keel of the boat is too high, they might need to be removed to get them out of the way. Hard to say. If you can find a way to make the new v-bunks with the boat on the trailer, it would be easier.