Boat Forum / Building / September 2005

Hi all, just bought and older 76 starcraft fiberglass boat with a ford 302
sterndrive. I want to get this boat into my garage to work on it over the
winter but if it stays on the trailer it's going to be impossible to move
around plus I'd have to cut the tongue off the trailer so I could shut the
garage door. I'd like to try and get it on a cradle of some type and had a
thought.

The idea that I had was to build two dual frames about 1.5 ft deep made from
2x10's with 2x4's for spacing that would go from the keel to the edge of the
next hull ridge( this is a tri-hull) so would probably bee about 38-42" wide
total. I'd use two of these frames one for the back of the hull near the
transom and one a little more than mid hull. The wood frames would be shaped
to the contour of the hull and shimmable if needed. On each of the wood
frames I'd like to put 4 heavy duty caster (5" tall, 800 lb capacity each)
so that the boat can be moved around slightly to increase my work space
depending on the area I'm working on. I didn't plan on painting the boat
because of it being on a trailer but I just might if it's on a cradle setup
like this and I can get to most of the hull.  It's currently on a roller
trailer so it shouldn't be too bad to use the winch and slowly roll it off
onto the frames while moving the trailer forward. Should be able to crank it
back on in a similar fashion.

So being my first time attempting anything like this, just wondering if I'm
going to kill myself while painting the hull underneath? Bad idea, good
idea? Any advice?

Thanks,

Mark