Turning The Boat - Stage 3

 One good idea suggested was that we slide the boat out onto the drive on planks, roll it over, and slide it back in. This would work except for the fact that my drive is on a steep slope - visions of toboggans comes to mind.

I've watched lots of videos on turning the boat over and they all call for lots of lifting power - usually men, jacks and ropes - and/or lots of space. I have none of those facilities and so I think I have come up with my own way, which I expect has been used many times over the years.

It occurred to me that if I could suspend the boat by two ropes: one  attached the outside of the front of the boat - about mid-way down the stem - and the other mid-way down the outside of the transom  (back)... then the boat could be rotated within its own length beam (width).

It would be naive of me to believe the boat would turn nice and gently. Once I got it towards 90 deg of turning (halfway) it would probably need raising, as the side would hit the floor. Therefore it might be better if the ropes holding the the boat were block and tackles. To my amazement I could buy two sets off Amazon UK for £25 (US$36) total; they are light weight each capable of lifting 184 kgs, that's 368 kgs. between them ... or approx 800 pounds. The design says that the weight of the boat should be about 400 pounds, which gives me a lot of leeway.  

The next problem would be that the boat would run away with me once I passed the 90 deg point, and could swing about wildly and get damaged. Therefore I intend to add a couple of ropes with which I could control the rate of descent (I'm back with flying aeroplanes again).

Stage Three is all about building a structure from which the blocks & tackles and restraining ropes could could be attached. There is no roof structure I could use, so I began by fitting one upright at the front, braced against lateral movement by 2 x 1 inch battens (Picture 1)

PICTURE 1 - showing the forward lifting upright and £10 block and tackle

 The upright is bolted to a 4" x 2" spar that runs the length of the boat to the aft lifting arrangement at Picture 2.

PICTURE 2 - The longitudinal spar connected to the aft lifting arrangement

From picture 2 (ignore all the metal parts which are the garage door system) you can see there are two wooden uprights (scaffold planks) which act as lifting uprights. These are bolted to the transverse 4" x 2"beam. The longitudinal spar from the forward upright is bolted, above the centre (center) line of the boat, to the transverse beam.

That's as far as I've got ... but watch this space.

Turning The Boat - Stage 2

The weather got warmer for a short while, so I took the opportunity to get the third, and final, coat of red anti-fouling paint done.

I then needed to dismantle all but three of the moulds (molds) in preparation for turning Seagull.

To remind you how the moulds are constructed:

1. The mould is cut from particle board, then sawn in half down its centre line (for easy extraction!) and then rejoined by screwing to three pieces of 2" x 1":

2.  The Moulds are screwed to vertical uprights, and braced by diagonal struts.

3. The vertical uprights are fixed to the building-jig by two bolts

TIP: Cover the bolts and nuts in masking tape to protect them from glue: they take 30 seconds to undo ... but ... if glue falls on them and sets (as it did on many of mine) it can take 15 - 30 minutes to get each bolt unfastened.

DISMANTLING  THE MOULDS (MOLDS).

The idea is to leave three moulds in place: one forward, one aft and one midships - to support the boat whilst rigging her for turning. To remove the other 10 see below:

a. Undo and remove the bolts at 3 (above).
b. Unscrew and remove diagonal bracing struts at 2 (above).
c. Unscrew and remove the three 2" x 1" pieces holding the two          halves together at 1 (above).
d. Unscrew and remove the vertical supports at 2 (above). Pull out      and store the verticals 
e. The two halves of the moulds will need to be pulled to & fro            until they come free.


Seeing inside the boat without moulds, is like seeing the boat for the first time. In the picture below, the pieces of tape are where the moulds were. The tape stops the moulds getting glued to the boat, which is something I worried about. 

Inside The Boat

So far the tape has worked, but there is still that moment of anxiety when you first try to pull the moulds free ... they really don't want to be pulled out of the comfort of Seagull and into the cruel world, and then dumped in a pile.

I have been watching videos of boats being turned - 12 strong men is favourite, with elaborate lifting gear coming a close second. All I have is me and a hot mug of steaming Assam tea! Can't wait to see what I do.... but 'do it' I will :)

Turning The Boat - Stage 1. (Does my Bottom Look Big in This?)

Reasons for loooooong delay in posting: 3 months away in Australia, Christmas, and daughter's Wedding!

I've got to the point when I need to turn the boat 'right-way-up'.  However, there remains the outstanding task of applying the final (third) coat of the red anti-fouling. With temperatures hovering around freezing I'm putting off painting as it's outside the temperature range of limits for the paint's application.

There remains many stages to turning Seagull over, not least a cradle for it to sit in. As she has a rounded bottom! Without the cradle she will roll about as I work inside, and the paint will get scratched.

I used the two off-cuts from the moulds (molds) '9' and '4' for the 

The moulds (molds)

ends of the cradle.

CRADLE ENDS from off-cuts from Moulds 4 & 9  (9 is nearest)

Next, strips of carpet were cut and nailed to the edges of the cradle 
ends, to stop the cradle scratching the paintwork. I used felting 

Carpet nailed to edges of cradle.

nails as they have large flat heads which wouldn't pull through the carpet. (TIP: Convince wife that carpet in utility room is dangerous).

To keep the ends in place, as sides I used old tongue and grooved planks I had left over from building my workshop. These needed bracing to keep cradle rigid.

That is the first stage completed, but doesn't answer the question of how I will turn the boat over on my own ... I'm interested to know how I'm going to do it, remembering the small space I have.