Fork Lift use on a Typhoon Senior

[markb]

Having my TYS Sr hauled for a bottom job in Feburary. Local yard says it will save $s if he can use his forklift instead of a large travel lift. Weight is no problem, but he has never done a Cape Dory style keel. Looking for anyone with tips I can pass onto the yard. Bow first, stern first, width between forks, etc.?
Thanks, Mark

[Tod Mills]

on a sailboat hull I get the willies.

I know it has been done many times, but just the same, I can't help but think about the amount of concentration of the force on the rounded hull of a sailboat (small contact area) compared to the large flat panels found on most smaller powerboat hulls (large contact area).

Personally, I'd stick with the slings, even if it does cost more. If a forklift were the only option, I think I'd look into a pair of custom slings that fit on the forks.

[Jim Walsh]

The reason you are asking the opinion of others is because your common sense is telling you it doesn't make sense. Your vessel may come through unscathed....the operative word is may. Keep in mind the forks were not designed to safely cradle your boat and a fork lift was not designed to lift boats out of the water or off a cradle/trailer. If the boat was in a cradle which had a solid framed base with pockets for the forks then you could safely move the vessel, as long as the manufacturers capacity label which is affixed to the fork lift by the manufacturer showed it was capable of handling the load and the weight distribution of the load was known. In other words the further away from the base of the forks the load is then the less weight can be lifted.

If you were in the third world and had no alternative I could understand giving it a try but if it's a matter of saving a buck my advice is to do it properly when you can afford it. I don't pat people on the back for using the wrong equipment and saving a buck or time, I fire them.

[Dave Brandt]

The first year we had our CD-25, the marina we were at used a forklift to launch and haul our boat. It seemed to work fine, I did not see any problems with it.

Dave

[novotny]

Whenever I have seen a forklift used to lift a sailboat in my marina (including my boat) slings hanging off the forks were used. At no time did I see the actual forks touch a boat. Are you sure thats not the plan?

[Sea Hunt]

The way Novotny described it is the way it was done on S/V Tadpole when she was hauled for survey, later put on transport truck, then removed from transport truck and later gently placed in Biscayne Bay.

You want to make very, very sure that the marina personnel secure the two slings together to prevent the front sling from slipping up and out. Very embarrassing. At one marina I used, the employees were reluctant to attach the straps. The marina manager came out and told them they must be strapped together. As in all democratic capitalistic societies, he who signs the payroll checks gets the last word.

[Oswego John]

So should I use a fork lift or a travel lift to raise my Ty Sr?

Well, given the limited amount of information to answer properly, I'll give you a politician's Mickey Mouse , coverall answer. "It all depends".

A boat yard large enough to have a travel lift probably has other equipment, too. Is it possible for some people to have a preconceived notion that a forklift is a small, mobile, vehicle used in a warehouse to empty trailers and store pallets of canned soup or move bulk merchandise around. They also come in much larger sizes. Sizes suitable for use in boatyards. Sizes that can reach high enough to place boats multi storied high in dry storage.

So, I have to agree with Tod, Jim and Dave. Everybody is correct. The thing that might puzzle some is how do you get the forklift's tongues under a hull with a full keel to maintain an even position while lifting and also keep it from leaning over on one side or the other. The answer is using lifting straps passed under the hull and the eyes placed around the tongues.

I prefer to use a crane to lift hulls. In my area, a forklift is used for the local J-24 fleet's weekly races as well as a pedestal pivot crane. Always used with lifting straps. As Jim mentioned, never have the tongues press against the hull proper. If not using straps, use a designed cradle or customized pallet.

Jim is also correct in lifting capacity and balance. Most marine forklifts have builtin counterweights to compensate for the hull's weight magnified by its leverage out over the water.

I feel sure that an experienced shipyard operator does the math and figures in the needed lift distance at a given tide along with the sling length needed to keep the hull free and clear.

Remember, longer sling to the rear. Shorter sling foreward. Center of hull gravity aft of mast, slightly fore of rear porthole. Tie slings together to prevent skating on sloped fore keel.

Or use travel lift.

Good luck,
O J

[mgphl52]

And... Absolutely, positively make sure they KNOW where your rudder is !!! I have seen an inexperienced operator, start lifting a boat, put it back down and adjust pitch of forks only to start lifting the stern by the rudder...

Show them the diagram of the hull and make double sure the slings are positioned correctly! At our "high-n-dry" facility, them have lifted up to a CD25D with no problems. The could handle a CD28, if the lift truck had enough ballast weight.

-michael

[Oswego John]

Michael,

You are soooo right. I included that item in my rough draft and forgot to include it in the post. It is maybe the most important item to mention.

How do I know? I used to build and/or repair rudders. I can tell some horror stories.

Relax everyone. This isn't an ad. I'M RETIRED.

Yeah, hoorah for me.
O J

[markb]

Thanks for all your comments on the forklift question.
Here's how it went:
I printed out a line drawing of the TYS and gave it to the boat yard.
They attached slings to the forklift arms, placing the the rear sling just forward of the rudder and the front sling inline with the mast.
They then tied the slings together on each side.
As the boat broke the surface they adjusted the tilt of the forklift to keep the bow and stern level.
After a few days on the stands, the bottom was all done. The forklift then reversed the procedure, leaving the boat in the slings for a awhile in order to paint the areas where the stands were placed.
If I can figure it out, I will post some photos.
Thanks again, Mark "Winward" TYS

[drysuit2]

I worked at a Marina on Manhasset Bay for close to 20 years. They "drysailed" their boats using a modified forklift. It was a very efficiant use of space. When your boat was not in the water they had racks where they could stack em' three boats high.

The largest boat I ever saw them lift was a Farr 40. But most boats were in the 20 to 30 foot range. A lot of patrons didn't even use anti fouling bottom paint. You would call at least a half hour before you went to the yard...and your boat was at the dock by the time you arrived.

Only one rule. You had to leave your keys in the ignition, in your car. If not; and you were in the way of a boat to be launched; they would move your car with the forklift!

I'm not saying I didn't see them drop or damage the occasional boat. But I have seen every boat yard I have ever worked for or been around...Travel lift, crane, specialized trailer lift, etc do that.