Boat Stands for Winter Storage

RhythmDoctor · #1 (**permalink**) 10-15-2010

I have made a last-minute decision to join a local boat club. They have a much more secure boat yard, and a much nicer facility than the place I was going to use for winter storage. However, because they are a smaller, less commercial operation they said that I will have to provide my own boat stands. This puts me in a situation where I need to buy something quickly at the time of year where everyone else is buying them too. And these things are expensive, and not easy to ship either!

Do any of you have any suggestions on where I might buy/rent some nice used ones? (Any marina going out of business and liquidating?)

SailingWebGuy · #2 (**permalink**) 10-15-2010

I just built a set of 5. I used 1-1/2" steel angle, 3/4" schedule 40 oil line, a tiny bit of 2" angle, and scaffold jacks.

Everything was pretty inexpensive. The 1-1/2" angle was about $1.00 per foot. The scaffold jacks were $21.50 each.

I had all the tools already which made it easy. Once I got everything together it was just a matter of cutting and welding.

In the end I saved hundreds.

sailingdog · #3 (**permalink**) 10-15-2010

Making them is an option, but if they fail during winter storage and the boat gets damaged, I seriously doubt the insurance will pay out.

SailingWebGuy · #4 (**permalink**) 10-15-2010

All the more reason to build em big and beefy. These ones won't fail...I'll bet my boat on it...haha!

tommays · #5 (**permalink**) 10-15-2010

I am a thrift guy who builds a LOT of stuff from scratch

Your NOT gonna save money doing DIY copy's of Brownell Boat Stands and i was NOT gonna risk having and 8000# boat fall over and kill somebody

The 1k (7 stands) was painful BUT the piece of mind IS priceless cause its blowing 45 knots gusts outside right now

Like MY J24 trailer the ROI compared to a yard bill was about 1/2 a season

SailingWebGuy · #6 (**permalink**) 10-15-2010

Alright, alright..I concede. My stands are guaranteed to fail no matter how heavily they're built.

Anyone else have suggestions for the OP? Maybe try calling some local marinas to see if they can part with a set. If you get lucky it would save the shipping cost and lead time.

AboardIndigo · #7 (**permalink**) 10-15-2010

Don't give up on places like Craigslist just because it's a seller's market. You may find that somebody has sold or scrapped their boat now that the season is over and has some stands left over that weren't needed by the buyer or no longer needed by the scrapper.

It seems like everytime I scan our local Craigslist-like buy/sell site that somebody has a set for sale.

Want ads are sometimes a good option when you can't find what you need in the for sale section (some people are just too lazy to put their stuff up for sale, but will happily respond to a specific request for something they have that they no longer need).

RhythmDoctor · #8 (**permalink**) 10-15-2010

Thanks for the advice - I'll scour Craigslist a little more thoroughly tonight, and post a want ad.

No way I would consider making something myself for such a critical application. Angle iron is very risky IMHO. It is strong in tension or pure compression, but a little shear in the wrong direction and it will buckle easily. When you build a shelf with angle iron you have four legs oriented 90 degrees from each other, which gives it shear strength in all directions. But you can't rely on one or two pieces to give you shear strength in all directions. And one look at any sailboat on the hard and you can see that there is A LOT of shear - that's why you need chains connecting them together.

I would like your opinions on the link below. I called for info today and some of the stuff is backordered, but is coming on the boat (from China) in a few weeks. The new shipment will include V-tops. They are fully zinc coated inside and out, including the threads. Free shipping on orders over $600, which means it may actually be cheaper to order a couple extra. Have you guys heard of this company? Naturally I am concerned with Chinese quality, especially around long-term corrosion due to cheaper alloys and/or weld quality. But I can save a lot of money and pick up a couple extras for my next boat.

Boat or Yacht Stand

CalebD · #9 (**permalink**) 10-15-2010

Have you considered buying a used cradle for you boat?
I'm not sure your new yard can handle a cradle or not. If they have a hydraulic trailer they probably can.
A used cradle can go for as much as all those new jack stands but storing it in the 'off' season is a bit of a PITA. Cradles that can be dis-assembled into parts are a lot easier to move and store then solid welded ones.

rikhall · #10 (**permalink**) 10-15-2010

If you can't find good used ones, look at Defender, at your local West Marine - and depending upon where you live, Bacons or other big big used boat supplies places.

Rik