I'm close to buying a 34 ft Hunter sailboat out of state. I've only had trailerable boats in the past. The boat comes with a nice cradle. The boat will be sailed to it's new location. I have no way to move the cradle so would have to hire out moving it. What's the value of the cradle vs renting stands at the marina for the winter haul out. How much would you be willing to pay to maintain access of the cradle.
What's cradle worth
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Depends. If you are going to store at a commercial marina, winter storage charges generally include the use of stands. If you have your own cradle they will probably let you use it but still charge you the same. If you store at a yacht club that can handle cradles then you don't have to buy one or a set of stands.
Not sure I agree so far.
Where I'm at, you pay for the boat storage by square footage, PLUS stand rental.
Stand rental for a 30 footer is $84 for a winter.
Cradle is likely worth about $300, unless it's a 6 pad folder, in which case value could go as high as $750... hope that helps.
Andy
Where I'm at, you pay for the boat storage by square footage, PLUS stand rental.
Stand rental for a 30 footer is $84 for a winter.
Cradle is likely worth about $300, unless it's a 6 pad folder, in which case value could go as high as $750... hope that helps.
Andy
Cradles for a 34' boat cost from 500 right close to 2 grand depending on the design, shape, four post, six post, etc.
Moving it may cost just as much as they are are heavy and cumbersome to load.
However, renting posts aren't cheap, check with your marina and do the math, over the years you may be better off with the cradle.
I bought a boat without a cradle and it was a struggle to find one that could fit the design. It was getting expensive to always rent out the stands. I finally found a somewhat overbuilt one that I had to pay more than I thought it was worth, but the choices were few and I hide behind the fact that it will pay for itself on the long run.
Think about it before discarding or selling it - this is a custom thing and it is not any that will fit your boat - you may eventually decide to want one.
Moving it may cost just as much as they are are heavy and cumbersome to load.
However, renting posts aren't cheap, check with your marina and do the math, over the years you may be better off with the cradle.
I bought a boat without a cradle and it was a struggle to find one that could fit the design. It was getting expensive to always rent out the stands. I finally found a somewhat overbuilt one that I had to pay more than I thought it was worth, but the choices were few and I hide behind the fact that it will pay for itself on the long run.
Think about it before discarding or selling it - this is a custom thing and it is not any that will fit your boat - you may eventually decide to want one.
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My yard required a cradle. It makes it possible to move boats around a bit if one needs to get out to launch early. At other yards in my area, I would be charged for stand rental. Cradle storage is also included in the price for summer storage. I have a 27' boat and bought my cradle a few hundred miles away. I rented a flatbed u-haul trailer and towed it back. The guy I bought it from had large equipment to get it on the trailer. When we got to the yard, we just tied it to something solid, and yanked it off.
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I moved this cradle about 40 miles on a U-Haul "car carrier" trailer and a mid-size SUV.
The cradle came with the boat (like yours), and I had to get it to my winter haulout location. It was a beast to get on the trailer. I did it with one other guy and a come-along winch, but it was not easy at all. Luckily the car carrier trailer is very low to the ground and had the ramps which come down to load a car. Otherwise, not sure we could have done it. At the other end, the yard used a forklift to pick it up and drop it off. Make sure to measure the width of the cradle before selecting a trailer as mine almost didn't fit with the protruding fenders over the wheels on each side.
I don't know how far your drive is, but I think the cost of a cradle (around here ~$500 give or take) made it well worthwhile to move it especially if it's in good shape. Plus, you already know that it is the right size cradle for the boat (or at least should be).
Lastly, I have no rational basis for saying this, but the cradle makes me feel a whole heck of a lot better when I am on board and working around the boat (such as painting the bottom this spring). The stands just don't look right to my eye on a sailboat so high up in the air. (I am sure someone will tell me that stands are actually safer or some such.)
The cradle came with the boat (like yours), and I had to get it to my winter haulout location. It was a beast to get on the trailer. I did it with one other guy and a come-along winch, but it was not easy at all. Luckily the car carrier trailer is very low to the ground and had the ramps which come down to load a car. Otherwise, not sure we could have done it. At the other end, the yard used a forklift to pick it up and drop it off. Make sure to measure the width of the cradle before selecting a trailer as mine almost didn't fit with the protruding fenders over the wheels on each side.
I don't know how far your drive is, but I think the cost of a cradle (around here ~$500 give or take) made it well worthwhile to move it especially if it's in good shape. Plus, you already know that it is the right size cradle for the boat (or at least should be).
Lastly, I have no rational basis for saying this, but the cradle makes me feel a whole heck of a lot better when I am on board and working around the boat (such as painting the bottom this spring). The stands just don't look right to my eye on a sailboat so high up in the air. (I am sure someone will tell me that stands are actually safer or some such.)
+1 the last sentence is important.
+ 1 - Yes, if the chains move or get slack....
I have seen some cradles made with some pretty sketchy welding. If they are well made they likely are marginally stronger than stands, but stands are made in a more controlled environment, so the wields are likely to be good and looked at by some sort of QC. Most cradles are made with angle iron that is just sloppily wielded together, so those give me no warm and fuzzy at all.
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Well
I have by far seen the most boats fall over from being stored with the mast UP and in a cradle as the base is always narrow
I have also seen boats with the mast UP fall with jack-stands
i have only seen boats on jack-stands fall over from FLOATING away in crazy high water
I am involved in moving a 29' and 35' boats every spring and fall and they are quite stable in tripod mode and are just NOT falling in 7 jack-stand mode and you can do a much better bottom paint job
I have by far seen the most boats fall over from being stored with the mast UP and in a cradle as the base is always narrow
I have also seen boats with the mast UP fall with jack-stands
i have only seen boats on jack-stands fall over from FLOATING away in crazy high water
I am involved in moving a 29' and 35' boats every spring and fall and they are quite stable in tripod mode and are just NOT falling in 7 jack-stand mode and you can do a much better bottom paint job
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One thing to think about is how your boat gets hauled and launched. My club uses a hydraulic trailer (just like boat transport companies use) and could not put my boat into a cradle if I had one.
If your yard uses a sling type 'Travel Lift', they could put you into a cradle.
Also, will your yard store the cradle all summer? My club uses the parking lot for boat storage and piles up the stands behind the shed. No room for a cradle.
I don't think any boat owner is going to transport a cradle to and from the yard twice a year.
Ken
If your yard uses a sling type 'Travel Lift', they could put you into a cradle.
Also, will your yard store the cradle all summer? My club uses the parking lot for boat storage and piles up the stands behind the shed. No room for a cradle.
I don't think any boat owner is going to transport a cradle to and from the yard twice a year.
Ken
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Tommays,I am involved in moving a 29' and 35' boats every spring and fall and they are quite stable in tripod mode and are just NOT falling in 7 jack-stand mode and you can do a much better bottom paint job
It looks like you have a lot of experience moving 29' and 35' boats! Do you have a recommendation for how to make it more affordable? I have a 28', 7300 lb boat (10' beam). I would like to bring it home over the winter to work on it, but trucking quotes have been in the $2k range for each trip! So, it would be $4k to bring the boat home, then take it back. I am considering getting updated quotes with the haulout happening at a closer marina. I'm also considering buying a trailer. None of the options so far seem comparable to the $1k storage fee.
I would look into buying/having a trailer made, especially if you are going to be moving it back and forth every year. It might be worth the expense over a few years.
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This is at the upper edge of comfortably trailering in my opinion. Once in and once out might work and, therefore, a trailer could be cost effective over time. The tow vehicle and geometry of the available ramp is critical too. If you still need to pay the marina to crane the boat out of the water onto the trailer, I doubt it will pay back very quickly. I'd be inclined to just store at the closest yard that allowed DIY work, if you can make the grand work.
Another thought is whether your neighbors want to see your boat in your yard or lawn. You may not care. My Father didn't and we did all the bottom work in the driveway as a kid, using screw and scissor jacks to lift quarters off the trailer, one section at a time. No doubt, dangerous. It's almost impossible to think of my 80 something year old Father being in his 30s back then. We were all a bit more brave (or stupid) at that age.
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