Boat handling during restoration HELP!!

[brownies]

17 to 20' bass boats are a chore to manhandle off of the trailer. Turning them upside down, back rightside up, etc.<br /> I have a "v" stand built out of 2x4's that works great to set them on "like portable bunks with casters".<br /> When upside down I just use jackstands with casters.<br /> I recently got this idea to build something that looks similar to a car engine stand. (cept LOTS BIGGER).<br />Rather than bolting an engine to the stand by the bellhousing bolts......I'd just bolt the boat to the stand using the motor mount holes at the transom.<br /> I guess the question is: Do MOST later model bass boats have a transom strong enough to hold the boats weight? OR, has anybody done this before?

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Boat handling during restoration HELP!!

i personally think you'll be replacing a transom. that's a lot of leverage on a transom.

 

[surlyjoe]

Re: Boat handling during restoration HELP!!

ya, the transom wont take that kind of leverage, but if you built 2 and bolted one to the transom and one to the bow eye hole you could probably safely rottiserie it like they do when they restore high end antique cars. my dad has one he built for doing bodywork on the underside of his Healey's, attatches to the f/r bumper mounts... works great!

 

[brownies]

Re: Boat handling during restoration HELP!!

New plan. Using an auto engine "cherry picker".<br />Shorten the arm, and re-design the arm with a large u-joint and then a "hub/bearing" on the end of the arm. Then a plate to bolt to the transom.<br /> Transom can be raised. Boat can pivot and spin at that mounting point.<br /> Now....for the bow. Not sure what to do there?<br /><br />Having a boat, setting in the shop with no trailer, is pretty much a REAL PAIN to flip upside down and back again without any of it touching the floor. Even with several people, theres just no place to hang on to it halfway through the "flipping" process.

 

[JasonJ]

Re: Boat handling during restoration HELP!!

Do the same thing for the bow. Make some sort of rig that can affix to the bow, maybe by the bow eye. You could get some steel stock and build some sort of roticery(sp?) like they use for car bodies when they do those full on restorations. They hook it up, and can spin the whole body so they can paint everything, makes life a whole bunch easier.

 

[epresutti]

Re: Boat handling during restoration HELP!!

Brownies,<br /><br />Like jasonJ said, you can spin the whole thing.<br /><br />A buddy of mine has a 35ft aquatic harvesting barge that he built a "rotisserie" for. He could spin the whole thing around, 10 ft wide, 35 ft long.<br /><br />Peace.<br /><br />Ed.

 

[Cowboy1970]

Re: Boat handling during restoration HELP!!

If you figure something out that works well, send me an email and show me what you came up with.... I will have the same project coming up (restoring my grandfathers 87 procraft).. haven't figured out how to be able to paint the whole thing especially the bottom....

 

[brownies]

Re: Boat handling during restoration HELP!!

Reality strikes!<br /> I grabbed the auto engine stand. Slid the tube out of the stand, adjusted the fingers to reach the transom/motor bolts. Used washers against the hull on both sides.<br /> Resulted in a round PIPE sticking out of the back of the transom. <br /> I looped a chain around that pipe and into the cherry picker. <br /> (if you turned the boat over, that engine stand tube rotated in the chain that was looped around it.<br /> The front makes for the demise of any plan I could come up with due to "nothing on the very tip of the nose bolt to". So, I just used the rafters (could have used another cherry picker). Tied a rope around one side of the boat to the front "eye". Raised the boat up and slowly flipped it upside down.<br /> When it's painted, I'll do it all again and nothing will get scratched.<br /> (watch the chain on the back. It will try to slide off of the tube unless you have something there to stop it).

 

[brownies]

Re: Boat handling during restoration HELP!!

BTW...I think it took longer to type that than it did to flip the boat.

 

[Cowboy1970]

Re: Boat handling during restoration HELP!!

Brownies........ Awesome!!! So simple I would have never thought of it..... hahah.... very kewl..... noticed you were from AR and enjoy fishing BS..... drop me a line sometime... I fish Norfork quite often... randy@4cdg.com