Wooden Cradle For Sailboat

[Tanbark Spanker]

There is a very good chance I will be working on a 30' hull in a windy area. I have a good supply of dunnage lumber lying about in lengths of 4x4 and some 2x4 and 6x6's. Once I get the boat on the ground, I'd like to bolt together a wooden cradle to hold the boat for the next six to eight months. Any suggestions on cradle design and suitability?

I have a welder but limited metal on hand. Besides, I weld like Voltron the Destroyer of Worlds. Hull is full keel with cutaway forefoot, about 4'7" draft, 22' lwl, 8'4" beam, #9500.

[outofthenorm]

What's the underwater shape? Fin or keel? Will it stand on it's ballast keel? Overhangs short or long?

[JimConlin]

You might also consider using steel boat stands. They're reliable if used properly, surprisingly inexpensive, easier to store and moveable when you want to get to a particular spot on the boat.
In these parts, they've pretty much replaced cradles.

[Ian McColgin]

I'm with Jim. Get the rig down, of course, but six poppetts, three on each side, and one more under the bow will keep her up. Use some of your timber under the keel - that's where the real weight will lay. Be sure the poppet pairs are chained so that leeward units can't slip away allowing for the wiggle that might lead to a topple.

If you want to save money you can make the moral equivalent of poppets. Balks a bit longer than the boat's beam under two parts of the keel. Near the ends uprights of two hefty planks that are bolted through on either side of the balks. These should be high enough that the units on each side can be connected over the boat. Inclining up from gussetts on the balks but just a bit away from the keel on each side some balks that come up and may lay on pins through the upright planks. Wedge it all to hold the hull tightly. This you'll see is the typical marine railway cradle.

The value of a cradle only really comes in when you're transporting a boat.

G'luck

[rbgarr]

What... the boat won't balance on her keel? ;)

http://i30.tinypic.com/35kvatu.jpg

[Tanbark Spanker]

Thanks. I just found some more steel. I like the idea of the wooden stands. I remember the Kettenberg yard in San Diego had a marine railway with wooden cradles like that.

The boat hull form is that of a later Malabar, Jr.

[StevenBauer]

Lots of articles in WB about building cradles. Use the Online Index.

Steven

[Dan McCosh]

It's not too difficult to make a wooden cradle or stands, but without an adjustable pad it is difficult to move it out of the way to work on that area of the hull. Most boatyards will rent jackstands reasonably.

[Bruce Hooke]

Wooden cradles made sense in the days when boats were skidded around the yard in the cradle and launched on a marine railroad. These days, poppets are really much easier to use in most situations.

[Flitch]

This is what I have done...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kootenayman/sets/72157603828504868/
and it's working great.
Flitch

[Dan McCosh]

This is what I have done...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kootenayman/sets/72157603828504868/
and it's working great.
Flitch

That looks good, although personally I would have angled the uprights inwards a bit so that they have no lateral loads. The tricky part is getting the lengths exactly right the first time.