PocketShip.net

A big part of my decision to build the Pocketship has to do with the necessity to turn the hull upside down during the construction process. I will be working in a two-car garage and I don't want to evict my wife's car for a long period of time. (I know I'll have to get it out of there once in a while, but only for a few days at a time I would think.) Perhaps if I can get enough friends together we can roll it over and then move it back where it was. Not sure how heavy it will be at that point, but it looks like at least four or five-hundred pounds. Another idea is to build a contraption similar to the one Robert Myer built for his Peeler Skiff beta build, shown here http://www.clcboats.com/forum/clcforum/thread/20150.html. It would have to be a lot heftier of course and I would have to devise a way for the support straps to move with the boat while turning it so as not to mar the paint. Has anyone done anything similar? Any thoughts?

I built in a 1 car garage, so I had to walk the boat out of the garage, roll it, and walk it back in. I did it with five guys total...six would have been better. But, totally doable.

Thanks. I forgot to mention I only have a couple friends who could do the lifting--all the rest are too old and decrepit. Seriously, if the lifting frame idea won't work I'm sure I can find enough folks, even if I have to enlist some from work.

I'm now thinking of doing something even more elaborate: That is, I would build the support cradles out of plywood instead of particle board and make them large enough to draw a semi-circle about 6 inches larger in diameter than the beam of the boat. I would then cut along this circle and add some cleats on the lower part to keep the two parts mated to each other so the boat can rotate. Roller bearings would be nice, but I don't want to go that far. Some grease would allow me to rotate the boat with the help of a block and tackle. When the deck is finished I would add a top part to the cradle that mates to the deck and completes the circle. This part would be temporarily attached to the bottom cradle with straps. That way I could rotate the boat at will and work on the bottom or top as needed. Any leveling could be done down at the bottom of the cradle.

If I actually go through with this crazy scheme I'll be sure to document with plenty of photos. Please reply with any thoughts.

Wait a minute--the PocketShip beam is 6'3". Where am I going to get a sheet of plywood that big? I'd have to splice two sheets together somehow. Maybe this was not such a good idea after all.

I think it might work to make gussets to hold the sheets together, but I have to make sure all this will be strong enough. Back to the drawing board!

It takes two people to lift and one to move a saw horse and cusions around to roll a Pocketship over. You've probably spent more time trying to figure out a different way then it actually takes to do. You're only talking around 350 lbs at that stage and half of that is supported by the floor of the garage. Once it's over place a $20 furniture dolly under the cabin roof and one person can move the boat around alone.

Chris

Thanks Chris--this is a great help. I'm a lot less worried now than I was. Still trying to make up my mind, but getting closer.

Kilderkin II is presently upside-down, hoping to finish sanding today, start painting tomorrow. I used a bunch of people (we hosted a party for another reason - give them beer, then give them the job!). We walked her out, rotated, walked back in, placing her on tires. I jacked her up, then built 8' wide saw horses in place such that her keel was level, to make the laser line for the water line easy.

Here's what I am debating doing. I have an open rafted ceiling at about 10'. I would put a long beam over the rafters, over the boat, to spread the load. With two substantial pulleys hung under the beam, I would jack her up, pass ropes around the hull, through the pulleys, tied tight, knots close to the pulleys. If I then lower her so the ropes take the weight, I remove the saw horses, jacks, etc., and she's ready to rotate. My biggest concern is that once she is over center, the righting moment from the lead in the keel will start to win - a good thing on the water, less good in my garage! So, I'll need a couple of bystanders ready.

I really would appreciate comments on this potentially lunatic approach!

Thanks

SteveW
Kilderkin II

My thought, and this is just a guess not having done it before, is that you would want a block and tackle (maybe double pulleys to give more mechanical advantage) attached somewhere on the gunwale and to one of the ceiling joists. That should give you a lot more control, and if the attach point on the ceiling is near the center, then the block and tackle can be used both for lifting it 90 deg., then lowering it the other 90 deg. The question is: How do you attach it without marring the gunwale? A little planning and engineering ought to give you a solution. I assume you will be using webbing straps to support the boat. How will you keep them from marring the finish as you slide the boat around? One idea might be to put smooth storage box tape on the webbing to protect the boat, but I don't know if it would stay in place with all that rubbing.

(I've been thinking of something similar, except using a sturdily built box frame--don't think my garage ceiling can safely support the weight.)

The block and tackle is a good idea - might put a 2x4 inside the companionway as a fastening point.

I wasn't planning on using webbing straps to support the hull, but rope. The rope then runs through the blocks, and does not rub on the boat. That's why the knot needs to be up at the block to start, then, as the boat rotates, the rope feeds through the block, with the knot traveling away from the block.

Still a little frightening.......

SteveW