Bottom Paint
Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2010 8:52 pm
Hi,
I know this has been discussed before, but I got a PM tonight regarding how to get the boat off the bunks, to paint the bottom of the hull. It always seems to be a topic of interest, so for what it’s worth, I thought I would post my reply.
The front of the boat is very light as it sits on the trailer. I used a small 2-ton floor jack and set it on the trailer tongue, under the boat, in front of the front bunk. I used a thin piece of wood between the jack and the hull to protect the hull from scratching. Jack the boat up a few inches.
Once you jack up the boat a little bit, you will be able to slide a beam between the hull and top of the trailer frame. This way, the boat is supported in case the jack slips. As you jack the boat higher and gain clearance between the trailer and the hull, slide the beam aft to maintain contact with the hull.
Because the floor jack is sitting on the trailer frame, it can’t roll to maintain it’s relative position under the boat, so at some point you’ll have to lower it, let the boat rest on the beam, and slide the jack back a little.
As I recall, after I raised it as far as I could with the small jack, I switched to a larger jack and raised it until the hull was only in contact with the rear-most bunks (making sure to keep the beam in a good position in case anything slipped). Once you get it in this position, you can sand and paint everything, except where it contacts the rear bunks and the support beam.
When I finished painting all that, I removed the support beam, lowered the boat onto the bunks and removed the floor jack.
Next, you need to get the boat clear of the rear bunks. To do this, I lowered the trailer-tongue-jack as far as it would go. I cut three supports out of firewood logs to fit under the rear of the hull. These supports don’t have to be a perfect fit, just cut them close, and use some shims to fit the curve of the hull.
Now, raise the front of the trailer using the trailer jack. As you raise the front, the rear of the trailer pivots down and the hull stays in place supported by the logs. Now you have access to paint where the boat sits on the rear bunks.
BR
I know this has been discussed before, but I got a PM tonight regarding how to get the boat off the bunks, to paint the bottom of the hull. It always seems to be a topic of interest, so for what it’s worth, I thought I would post my reply.
The front of the boat is very light as it sits on the trailer. I used a small 2-ton floor jack and set it on the trailer tongue, under the boat, in front of the front bunk. I used a thin piece of wood between the jack and the hull to protect the hull from scratching. Jack the boat up a few inches.
Once you jack up the boat a little bit, you will be able to slide a beam between the hull and top of the trailer frame. This way, the boat is supported in case the jack slips. As you jack the boat higher and gain clearance between the trailer and the hull, slide the beam aft to maintain contact with the hull.
Because the floor jack is sitting on the trailer frame, it can’t roll to maintain it’s relative position under the boat, so at some point you’ll have to lower it, let the boat rest on the beam, and slide the jack back a little.
As I recall, after I raised it as far as I could with the small jack, I switched to a larger jack and raised it until the hull was only in contact with the rear-most bunks (making sure to keep the beam in a good position in case anything slipped). Once you get it in this position, you can sand and paint everything, except where it contacts the rear bunks and the support beam.
When I finished painting all that, I removed the support beam, lowered the boat onto the bunks and removed the floor jack.
Next, you need to get the boat clear of the rear bunks. To do this, I lowered the trailer-tongue-jack as far as it would go. I cut three supports out of firewood logs to fit under the rear of the hull. These supports don’t have to be a perfect fit, just cut them close, and use some shims to fit the curve of the hull.
Now, raise the front of the trailer using the trailer jack. As you raise the front, the rear of the trailer pivots down and the hull stays in place supported by the logs. Now you have access to paint where the boat sits on the rear bunks.
BR