Tornado Damage

[bljones]

tornadoes seem to love attacking pontoon boats- they are like the marine equivalent of mobile homes.

[Lake Superior Sailor]

Air bag jacks and air rollers you fill them with a vaccuum exhaust , would make this easy!........Dale

[CatMan22]

I'm in Mooresville, not far from Lake Lemon, would be glad to help this weekend if you need it. I have access to a couple of 5 ton jacks and plenty of lumber and foam if it helps.

[bobmcgov]

Bummer. That's a pretty little HH design. $300 or so will rent you a variable reach forklift for the afternoon.



They go up to about 10,000lb, tho lifting strength does go down with extension. You shouldn't need to fork out that far for a 22'er. Big long forks on those suckers. You can buy heavy duty recovery straps from Harbor Freight for $30 each, 9000# working load.

This combo offer you a very controllable way to lift the boat, set it back down if required, sort out the trailer, and get everything lined up just right. You may or may not want to make some 2x8 spreader bars, or to jam a length of lumber in the companionway hatch to keep it from compressing. 3000# is not all that much weight for a short lift like this. We hoisted our fixed-keel Ballad (5' draft, 8500# loaded) off the transport trailer with HF slings and a big front loader. Just walk everything thru and stay out from under it.

Best of luck & keep us updated, okay? We're pulling for you. Glad everyone is safe.

[CarpeAquam]

Originally Posted by CatMan22

I'm in Mooresville, not far from Lake Lemon, would be glad to help this weekend if you need it. I have access to a couple of 5 ton jacks and plenty of lumber and foam if it helps.

Thanks for the offer! I'm supposed to hear from the insurance company tomorrow to see if they will pay for it. If not, we have a few of us that are going to get together and have a few work days. We should be good on manpower, but I appreciate the offer!

Originally Posted by bobmcgov

Bummer. That's a pretty little HH design. $300 or so will rent you a variable reach forklift for the afternoon....

Not a bad idea! I'm waiting on a quote from a recovery company, but this would be cheap considering there are three of us who need it. I will definitely keep this thread updated with anything that happens. Everyone has been very helpful!

[miatapaul]

Originally Posted by bljones

two jeeps, two winches, a couple of snatch blocks, soft recovery straps and one cameraman to capture it for youtube and the boat will be back on the trailer in no time.

Yup, and don't forget the 30 pack cube of Milwaukee's best!

Sounds like the best plan of attack. I have been to a few parties in that neck of the woods, back in my college days. You might want to check for member Bubb2, he has a place near there. Not sure if he is down there or here in New York. He seems like the kind of level headed guy I would want to advise in such a case! I don't think letting it sit for a day or two is going to hurt anything, best to get a good plan of attack before starting to winch things around.

[mad_machine]

Originally Posted by bobmcgov

Best of luck & keep us updated, okay? We're pulling for you. Glad everyone is safe.

Indeed! Lots of luck.. if I were not in NJ, I would consider giving you a hand.. so all I can do is offer you lots of luck and wait for you to tell us of your success

[CarpeAquam]

Well, the day after the tornado came snow, then an ice storm, and now single-digit temperatures. The lake is frozen over again so that isn't an option right now. The good news is that the insurance company said there is a chance it will be covered. Now I'm just waiting to hear back from insurance and hoping for warmer days.

[mad_machine]

sadly, that trailer looks pretty bent

[CarpeAquam]

Well, the lake thawed out and the water came up and I was ready to finally get the boat back up, and then the recovery company backed out. They said that it wasn't covered by their insurance. At that point, I decided I was just going to do it myself and hope for the best!

We cradled it with a few tow straps and chained an electric winch to a tree on one side and a come along winch on the other. I pulled it closer to the tree to pull weight off the trailer, and used a pulley and truck to pull the trailer out. Next we began letting out on the winch to roll it back and placed styrofoam blocks underneath to help it upright. Between the winchs, foam, and a few other straps to keep it from sliding, it came up on the blocks and was upright in a few hours! After that we used a 3 ton floor jack on the back to lift it up and get more blocks underneath. Right now it is sitting with the back raised (we have blocks to lift it more) and the front is cradled and just waiting for a backhoe to come to lift the front so that we can back the trailer under it. If all goes as planned, it will be back in the water in no time!



We also used the electric winch to pull the stern pulpit 90% back to where it should be. I don't think it will go any further, but I'm just happy that there was no other major damage.