Get boat off trailer?

[low_pro]

Maybe a dumb question, but what would be the easiest way to get a 14' ft fiberglass boat off of the trailer so I can paint the trailer.  Also, while the boat is off I would like to repair the bottom of the boat.  Any suggestions would be appreciated.  Thanks!

[senile1]

It's not a dumb question but it's a tough one if you don't want to spend money.  I was going to suggest renting a slip for the boat while you paint the trailer, but then I read the second sentence.  Without using a lift of some sort I don't see it happening.  I'm sure boat fiberglass repair shops have one.  That's where I would take it.

[CFFF 1.5]

when my dad had to repair our boat that is parked under a carport he fabricated out of wood two jack stand type stands for the stern of the boat and used a come a long attached to the support braces of the carport to the bow of the boat and just slightly lifted the boat so the trailer could be pulled out from under the boat. This worked really well but if i was going to be working under the boat I would make a couple extra braces for the boat or use a couple extra come a longs attached to the stern eyes of the boat.

[TommyBass]

Ya will probably need some sort of lift.  If it was alluminum that would be a different story.  How much does it weigh?

[tntitans21399]

I just painted my boat trailer and I just lifted the trailer up with my car jack and put jack stands under it and had them as high has they go to give me some clearance under it.  That is the cheapest way.  You have to lay under it and I put it on with a brush, but some areas are tough.  My suggestion with the trailer is try to find some (a friend or someone at a dock), maybe even ask a manager of a marina if it is ok to park the boat for 1-2 days in a slit or in one of the open areas.  They might work with you if they are nice.  But since the boating season is about to open for for a lot of people, I would say the slits are going fast.  But you can ask a friend that has a dock if you can keep the boat their for a couple of days.  

I have read once where a guy hooked up a chain to the rear of the boat and a poll (something solid) and put hay bails under the trailer and slowly pulled out and the boat slowly came off the trailer and rested on the hay.  Then he had a friend with a tow truck help light the front of the boat as he backed up to the boat to load it back on.

Now the boat, I'm not sure.  I am thinking about repainting my boat and the top part will be easy, but the under part I am curious on the best way.

[BigBassGuy]

A few buddies with strong backs and a case of beer!!  

Seriously, how heavy can said 14 foot boat be?

[jb_adams]

A few buddies with strong backs and a case of beer!!

Seriously, how heavy can said 14 foot boat be?

You don't know how heavy these old boats are obviously. ;D

Mine is a 15.2ft and it's about 800-900lbs easy according to Iboats.com. It's a heavy little boat even though it's short. That may not sound like a lot of weight but trust me, it's heavier than you think.

I have to do the same thing to my boat.  My advice is to take it to a boat mechanic that might let you keep your boat in dri-storage for a few days in his lot.  I have a guy that I hope will let me do that with mine.  If he has a lift that is.  If not, I'll find a local shop that has one and see how much they would charge for 1-weeks rent and allow me to polish the hull and paint/re-wire my trailer.

[CGH]

Pull, back the trailer tires on top of wooden blocks/bricks or any suitable objects.

Brace the boat up with either wood or straps. (Home made a Frame and a couple of {coma longs} Harbor freight has 1200# for about 22 dollars) Let some of the air out of the tires. When the boat is free of the trailer remove the blocks/bricks and slowly pull trailer from under neath the boat.

or

Borrow friends trailer place the boat on spare trailer.

Here are some pics of a de-trailering using Mod Saw horses

http://forums.sbo.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?t=107159

Here is a A frame type of lift

http://whalercentral.com/forum/viewthread.php?forum_id=14&thread_id=1511&pid=6680#post_6680

pick from a different lift

[fishfordollars]

Get you some old auto or truck tires and lay them out behind the boat. Lock up the boat with a winch strap and slowly pull away sliding the tires up under the boatas it slides off the back of the trailer. It will be easy to tilt the boat from sise to side to repair the bottom this way.

To put it back on just winch the front up in the air and back the trailer up under the front of the boat. When the nose is touching, use the winch strap to tighten up on the bow. Lift up on the rear of the boat and using the truck to back along with tightening up the winch strap the boat will slide right up on the trailer. We have unloaded and loaded 21' Skeeters, Basscats, and a few Rangers this way and never damaged a one.

You are taking your life in your own hands if you crawl under one being held in the air by anything other than a factory lift.

[tntitans21399]

Hey CGH, when you made that or something like that, how did you keep it from moving and falling over?  I like the idea, and it seems not to hard to make.

[SammyLee]

When I needed to work on the trailer for my 16 foot Larson a friend who had worked in marina came over and we set the boat on soft grass.  We kicked the outboard up/back as far as it would go to avoid prop damage.  As I recall, there was some type of hinge about midway on the trailer or we just picked up the front of the trailer and slowly un-winched it until the stern was on the grass, then pulled the trailer out from under it.  

We did our trailer work, pushed the trailer up to the bow with the trailer tongue up high, then winched it back onto the trailer.  That's as I recall because it was in 1981.

[tntitans21399]

my boat is only 16ft long but being built in 1972 it was built solid and not very light but maybe a couple of buddies could pick the front up.

[moloch16]

Take it to the lake and put the boat in the lake.  Paint trailer.  Take boat out of lake and go home.

[tntitans21399]

Moloch if he did that, I thought about that, but if he uses a certain type of paint then he would have to let the trailer sit over night to dry and cure and I don't think a lot of people would want to keep their boat just sitting at the dock over night.  

But I say maybe talk to a couple of the people with house boats and see if you can work out something that you could unload the boat in the water and drive it over to their house boat and just tie it to the back for one night.  Some people use their house boat and others just seem to sit iin the dock all the time.

[VA-Cal]

I have a 1974 Shakespeare Wonder Craft 14' FG boat (made by Moody).  I don't know how much it weighs empty, but it's heavy.  I had my neighbor sit on the tongue of my trailer, while I tugged the boat backwards off the trailer.  When I had about 1/3 of the boat hanging off the back roller, I had him ease the tongue of the trailer up in the air 'til the end of the hull rested on the ground.  Then we pulled the trailer out from under the boat almost all the way.  We lifted the bow enough so that we could push the trailer clear of the boat and esed her down to the ground.  I then rolled her over to do some hull repairs.  I intend to roll her back upright for some interior repair work, then I think we can lift her onto the first roller, and I can winch her back on to the trailer.

Sounds like a cluster&^$, I know, but I didn't have any other way to do it!

There's another guy on this board (Btech) who has the same boat as me, and he did similar repairs, and a complete hull paint job, but I don't know how he handled getting it off the trailer.

Hope this helps . . .

Cal