ideas to flip a boat over

JasonAych

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Aug 10, 2008
Messages
274
My father has a 1947 Chris Craft 18' Sportsman. We want to do some work on the bottom of the hull and are going to attempt flip it over.

We have our own ideas but want to solicit other ideas before we do this.

My fathers garage is more than big enough to accommodate the boat with plenty of room on each side of the boat, at least double the width and length of the boat. It has steel I-Beams running the width of the garage space about 15? apart. The engine is out.

Anybody have any ideas how heavy this boat might be? We are thinking somewhere in the 2000 lbs range??

Our ideas:
Build a rotisserie
Use heavy duty ratchet straps hanging secured to the beams. The thought is as we ratchet from one side the boat will begin to rotate and eventually with some help, roll over. The reality is it the boat will probably just slip. We don't think this is a very good idea.
 

erikgreen

Captain
Joined
Jan 8, 2007
Messages
3,105
Re: ideas to flip a boat over

As far as weight, 2000 would be about right for a modern fiberglass hull that size. I'd suspect a runabout type would be heavier, but I'm not an expert, so I'll leave that to others.

On turning, there are plenty of ideas here, and even more on some of the boat building boards like the Bateau.com forums. I've seen rotisserie used with a harness on the transom as well as the strap method. You can stop slippage by clamping the straps at a certain point to the hull. Use through bolted attachment points with backplates, or wrap-around straps. Most cleats won't take that much weight.

The simplest way to turn a boat that size is to use a bunch of tires to avoid scuffing, and get about 8-10 friends to help you roll it on the floor. Sounds like you have the space.

Or, it sounds like your garage area has plenty of structure to use, so that should make it easy. A lot of us have to build gantries and such to do this stuff.

Rule of thumb: Take it slow. Make sure there's no fuel in the fuel tank, all your reservoirs for hydraulics and water tanks are empty, and have some kitty litter on hand to catch spills. If you can, at each step of the roll try to plan for the boat "slipping" and trying to roll the rest of the way on its own. Some tires or an extra strap to catch a runaway hull can save pain, lives, and work here.

In the spirit of helpfulness this board fosters, I'll suggest an idea no one has tried yet here: Forget turning the boat over. Instead, bungee yourself to the ceiling with a harness on your body under the boat, so the bungees hold you near the hull for easy sanding/painting :D:D:D

Erik
 

legoman67

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Oct 16, 2008
Messages
636
Re: ideas to flip a boat over

im going to assume that this is a wooden hull boat? if so, the rachet strap may just pull the hull apart. I saw on another post a guy made a crate almost around his hull, then used the straps on the crate.

Rotisserie would be a good idea, because then you could easiely flip it back and forth without too much hassle.
 

Peter Eikenberry

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Sep 3, 2007
Messages
408
Re: ideas to flip a boat over

Another (and I think a better) option. Don't roll it over. just roll it up 90 deg on it's side. I did this with a 17 foot sail boat. You build a light frame of 2 x 4's or 2 x 6 s to go on the top of the boat, with blocks that fit the shape of the boat so when it's on it's side it is supported along it's length. Otherwise there would be too much strain on any one point. You want to spread the weight along the length of the gunwale.

Try to visualize a grid with the members that go side to side long enough so that when you rotate the boat up they reach the floor and take the weight.

Attach the frame to the boat with two or three straps that go around the bottom of the boat.

Lift one side of the frame until the boat is up on its side. Do the work. Lower the boat. Lift the other side to get any areas you missed. You may have to move the straps to get the areas under the straps ( I assume you are painting the bottom.)
 

Mark42

Fleet Admiral
Joined
Oct 8, 2003
Messages
9,334
Re: ideas to flip a boat over

A few members have had to deal with flipping a boat over. There are a few good threads about it on this forum. Have you searched fthis forum for this topic?
 

oops!

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Oct 18, 2007
Messages
12,932
Re: ideas to flip a boat over

the hull extension in progress thread has detailed pics of how to flip a hull.....read the index on page 1.........

good luck

cheers
oops
 

Stoutcat

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Aug 6, 2008
Messages
180
Re: ideas to flip a boat over

Hi,

Here's one technique... http://www.duckworksmagazine.com/08/columns/nichols/index2.htm

But I saw another home-built contraption, (can't find the site now naturally) and it's really quite clever... You take boat outdoors and basically build two frames. Then you attach ply to the frames and cut into large circles. (Think of of your boat piercing the holes of two donuts.) Once the circles are secure and reinforced, it's relatively easy to roll the boat over to any degree... You can also save the circles for future work. As I remember, the builder was working on something like a 30 footer...

Alan
 

drewpster

Commander
Joined
Oct 17, 2006
Messages
2,059
Re: ideas to flip a boat over

This is hard to explain so bare with me. If you have lift beams in your shop and the clearance to hang the boat on its side, this method works great. It may seem like overkill but I have an idea we are underestimating the weight of your boat. Wood boats are heavy.

You need four lift straps. For you boat 25-30' straps should be enough. They should obviously be rated for the load and have loops at each end.
You need at least two chain falls. Four is ideal, but two will work.
You need four lengths of chain. 4-5' each heavy chain

Wrap a strap around the boat and pass the end of it through the loop in a lasso fashion. Position the strap so that it will tighten or "choke" in the direction you are lifting. Wrap one strap toward the aft end and one toward the forward end of the boat. position the choke loops at the corner of the gunnels. (where the side meets the gunnels) Lift the boat up from the side until the boat hangs on its side.
Now position two other straps in the same way on the opposite gunnels. Remember to position the loops so that they tighten in the direction you are lifting. Lift the opposite gunnels up from the bottom side of the boat choking in that direction until the boat hangs up side down.
Lower all four corners until the boat is resting on your stands.

If you are using only two chain falls (hoists) then use the 4' foot lengths of chain to secure the hanging boat while you lift the opposite straps. Four chain falls makes things go faster as there will be no need to reposition. It may be necessary to cross brace the inside of the hull with a couple of boards to keep the straps from squeezing the hull.

You can buy all the stuff you need at Harbor Freight for a couple of hundred bucks. You do not need heavy chain falls as you are splitting the weight 4 ways. The straps are about $20 bucks a piece if memory serves.

It is important that you are certain your beams will support the weight. Also be sure you have enough overhead clearance for the boat on its side and the headroom for the lifting gear. My company's body shop routinely flips semi tractor chassis using the same method in our fab area.
 

johnbell47

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Jul 1, 2008
Messages
34
Re: ideas to flip a boat over

I forgot to take pictures which would explain this easily, I will try to explain.
I hooked two big yellow tow straps to the purlins of my steel shops ceiling, to these I hooked up two pulleys made out of wheelbarrow wheels. I had to make a U channel with an axle to mount the wheels. I ran two big yellow straps aroud the pulleys and around the boat. I picked up the front with a come a long from the ceiling and the back with a cherry picker. I tighened the yellow straps around the hull till I had it hanging only from them. Then I just rolled it over. Be sure to go ahead and build cradles to support the top while it is still right side up, attach them first. These will catch the boat and keep it from continuing to roll over as they are bottom heavy and when you get the heavy side up, she wants to keep going. I took two hours to do this after I got the rigging made up. By myself. (this includes the time I had to take to roll it back right side up, cause I did not build the cradles first and it rolled too far. this was exciting and happened pretty fast, be careful!
 

drewmitch44

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Jun 26, 2005
Messages
1,749
Re: ideas to flip a boat over

Cant ya just take it and turn it over so that way the bottom of the hull is up? That way it will be upside down. Just a thought. I have to be a smart *** sometimes LOL. I know a guy that stores his 19' center console upside down. He has a rig made up that he uses to flip the boat upside down. He origionally made it up to put anti-fowl paint on the bottom. Once he had all the pullies and what not he realized that it took him 3 minutes to flip it over. It took longer for him to empty the 2 cycle oil out of the outboard then it did to flip the boat over. I wish i would have gotten some pictures of it when i saw that setup.
 

JasonAych

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Aug 10, 2008
Messages
274
Re: ideas to flip a boat over

like the one in this video??... http://www.splashvision.com/Video/14379_1947-Chris-Craft-Sportsman-U22-Odyssey.html

if so, i'd flip it very carefully...that's a beautiful boat.

what kind of shape is it in, structurally?

Yes sir. Looks just like that. All mahogany except it is a little smaller. I believe that is a 22' and my fathers is 18'

Structurally very strong. The boat has never been restored. However, it was well maintained and used in a NY lake up until about 4 years ago.

We just want to redo some of the weak planks, seal it up, and repaint it with the copper paint. We may opt to do this upright. We will then sand, replace some upper planks, then refinish the rest of the boat. Not trying to make a show winner, just a very nice usable boat.

We will then see if we can freshen the Chrysler ACE up a bit. Ran pretty good, but it is out and why not.

Thanks everyone for the wealth of ideas! What a great bunch of folks you all are here!
 
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