Boat off trailer

[SquamInboards]

Don't get me wrong, if you're crawling around under the boat, you should have at least 4 stands - 2 at transom and 2 farther forward, where the hull curves up so that it supports the boat front-to-back, and at least one keel block; and it should be on solid, level ground. This is how we support boats all the time at the marina and never, ever have we seen a boat move even a fraction of an inch supported this way. Just getting a trailer out from under a boat, and working under it, are a little different. Also we're using steel stands on the transom and sides, blocks are only used on the keel.

[chris young]

@ Squaminboards. We didn't use the support and pull away method as you described because the final resting place needed to be the cradle for the railway and I wasn't getting the trailer with the boat. (see the photo I posted in the '84 rider questions thread) Now that it's on the cradle it's never coming off onto a trailer again. If I ever want it on a trailer, I'll launch it from the railway and pull it out on a trailer from a boat ramp. In hindsight, I should have used your method and just pulled the cradle under it once it was supported. I just figured we'd pull it straight off the trailer onto the cradle, the bunks were wet on both the trailer and the cradle so I figured a come-along would be plenty to just pull her off the trailer. I was wrong. And rather than re-jig and try again, we just kept at it. The method I used wasn't really dangerous though, the trailer was just a bit higher than the cradle, so the boat was never more than an inch or two above either bunk. we did end up dropping the boat(in slow motion) a few times in the process, but it just landed back on the trailer or the cradle, so it was no big deal.