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I was replying to a post in another thread and it got me thinking about a problem I have with my cradle, and I was hoping someone here could give me some ideas.

The cradle that came w/ my 26' Pearson doesn't fit it. The boat sits on its keel, then each end of the cradle has a piece of plywood cut to the approximate shape of the hull for the boat to rest on. The problem is that they're too far apart and the aft one isn't shaped correctly. The one in front supports the boat properly at the front bulkhead, but the back one is about 18" aft of the back bulkhead, instead of underneath the bulkhead where it SHOULD be. The cradle is solid steel beams (at least, I think it's steel), and there are no adjustments for overall length. Other cradles in the yard all have adjustable pads, sort of like what's on top of boat jacks.

Sooo.. what's the best way to fix this?

Thanks..

Barry

 

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Thanks for the replies; I'll snap some pictures next time I go up to the boat.. hopefully tomorrow. Moving the back support to where it should be and reshaping the plywood is of course one option.. it's HOW to move the back support forward I'm not real clear on.

I don't know anything really about welding. Can it be done on site? I have a friend who does great welding work, but he uses a flux welder that needs serious current, and there's no 220 where the boat is. Can it be welded w/ oxy-acetelene? When one of you mentioned that any welding shop could do this, do they typically make "house calls," or would I need to find some way of schlepping this monster steel contraption TO them?

Thanks again... much appreciated.

Barry

 

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Yes, there are a lot of guys who have mobile units mounted on their trucks. It would be very basic fabricating. Without seeing it I would think it could be done in an hour or two.

Thanks, krazz. I just found a welding company based about 15 miles from my boat and talked to them. I'm going to send'em some pictures and they'll get back to me w/ an estimate or to schedule a time for an onsite estimate if necessary. They did say if they can get it done in less than 8 hours, it won't be more than $600. Hopefully, your timeline of an hour or two is closer... but in any case it'll get fixed somehow and I won't have to stress next winter about the oil-canning of my hull.

Thanks for the push.

Barry

 

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Seems to me that you want your hull supports to line up with the internal bulkheads. This should minimize hull distortion.

Exactly. If I wasn't clear about stating that as the problem I'm trying to correct, I apologize. The aft internal bulkhead lines up on a vertical line with the aftmost swept-back part of the keel. My cradle currently supports the boat about 18" further back than that, hence the distortion. Not good, and needs to be remedied.

Barry