The following was written by SBYC's Dan Meade...
It is that time of year again to put ours boats away for the season. If you are new to this process or, maybe in need of a refresher. Here are a few things to do to your boat before you show up at the crane.
Is your mast going to be lowered by the crane or are you going to lower by yourself? If you are lowering by hand get help from some of the older hands around the club. It isn’t a bad idea to lower your mast at the club before you head down the lake. Trying to lower your mast by hand the day of crane out does not work, so have it done before hand.
If you are using the crane to lower your mast, a slightly different approach is required. Your boom has to be off the mast and all halyards removed from any blocks or cleats on the deck and wrapped around the mast and secured. Flag halyards should be removed if possible. The idea is to have as little clutter on, and around the mast as possible. If you have a dodger it will have to be removed as well. If you have wood blocks or devices to support the mast they have to be handy. This doesn’t mean running to your car to grab them. You have to have the appropriate tools to undo your stays as they will have to come off once the crane has the weight of the mast. Have something to support the bottom of your roller furling to your mast once it is down. The last thing to have with you when the mast comes down is HELP it usually takes four to five people to do the job efficiently. 1 person for each side of the spreaders, 1 at the back stay, usually someone large, because they are catching the mast and will have the weight of the mast to deal with. 1 person at the forestay to deal with the furler to keep it from flopping around the last 2 people that is you and the other person who you would like to have experience at this to hook up the crane sling and make sure all electrics going up the mast are disconnected and safe for most boats the lifting point is the bottom of the spreaders. For double spreader rigs the lifting point is the bottom of the upper spreader. To insure the sling does not hook up on the mast light on double spreader rigs, leave the fore halyard loose, then while the sling is going up the mast tension the forestay halyard to help the sling slide above the mast light. Have something to tie the mast to the boat handy.
Okay that is masts taken care of. Now we will deal with the boat. Do you have a knot meter sticking out the bottom of your boat, and do you have a plug for it? If so take it out and install the plug before you get to the crane. If you can’t , or don’t have a plug, make note of where all the through hulls are on your boat to insure the crane sling don’t end up on them. One further note on knot meters. If you don’t remove the knot meter tape the paddle on it before you leave at the end of the day. It won’t hurt it when you leave the crane site to park, but going sixty down the highway can mess them up pretty good. Trust me on that one.
Now we come to getting the boat itself ready for haul out. The boat has to be level in the slings when it comes out of the water. So make sure any holding tanks are empty and all your gear inside is distributed evenly so the boat sits in the slings on a level plane when it is lifted.
For the next part refer to the attached sketch
Take a thinner line, and make sure it is long enough to pass around the bottom of your boat tie a weight to it and feed it down until it is at your lift point. Take extra care doing the stern, so you make sure the line is not hung up on your motor rudder or prop shaft, if you have an inboard. For a weight I use a box wrench or an adjustable with a hole in the handle.
It is that time of year again to put ours boats away for the season. If you are new to this process or, maybe in need of a refresher. Here are a few things to do to your boat before you show up at the crane.
Is your mast going to be lowered by the crane or are you going to lower by yourself? If you are lowering by hand get help from some of the older hands around the club. It isn’t a bad idea to lower your mast at the club before you head down the lake. Trying to lower your mast by hand the day of crane out does not work, so have it done before hand.
If you are using the crane to lower your mast, a slightly different approach is required. Your boom has to be off the mast and all halyards removed from any blocks or cleats on the deck and wrapped around the mast and secured. Flag halyards should be removed if possible. The idea is to have as little clutter on, and around the mast as possible. If you have a dodger it will have to be removed as well. If you have wood blocks or devices to support the mast they have to be handy. This doesn’t mean running to your car to grab them. You have to have the appropriate tools to undo your stays as they will have to come off once the crane has the weight of the mast. Have something to support the bottom of your roller furling to your mast once it is down. The last thing to have with you when the mast comes down is HELP it usually takes four to five people to do the job efficiently. 1 person for each side of the spreaders, 1 at the back stay, usually someone large, because they are catching the mast and will have the weight of the mast to deal with. 1 person at the forestay to deal with the furler to keep it from flopping around the last 2 people that is you and the other person who you would like to have experience at this to hook up the crane sling and make sure all electrics going up the mast are disconnected and safe for most boats the lifting point is the bottom of the spreaders. For double spreader rigs the lifting point is the bottom of the upper spreader. To insure the sling does not hook up on the mast light on double spreader rigs, leave the fore halyard loose, then while the sling is going up the mast tension the forestay halyard to help the sling slide above the mast light. Have something to tie the mast to the boat handy.
Okay that is masts taken care of. Now we will deal with the boat. Do you have a knot meter sticking out the bottom of your boat, and do you have a plug for it? If so take it out and install the plug before you get to the crane. If you can’t , or don’t have a plug, make note of where all the through hulls are on your boat to insure the crane sling don’t end up on them. One further note on knot meters. If you don’t remove the knot meter tape the paddle on it before you leave at the end of the day. It won’t hurt it when you leave the crane site to park, but going sixty down the highway can mess them up pretty good. Trust me on that one.
Now we come to getting the boat itself ready for haul out. The boat has to be level in the slings when it comes out of the water. So make sure any holding tanks are empty and all your gear inside is distributed evenly so the boat sits in the slings on a level plane when it is lifted.
For the next part refer to the attached sketch
- At the for and stern you need a tag line on starboard side of your boat they have to be 30 to 50 feet long
- You need a line going under your boat tied to your life lines at the lift points on the boat. Most boats are marked where this is. If it is not then get help from someone who is familiar with the type of boat to show you and then mark the boat so the crane out guys can make sure without having to ask. How do I get a line under my boat you ask?
Take a thinner line, and make sure it is long enough to pass around the bottom of your boat tie a weight to it and feed it down until it is at your lift point. Take extra care doing the stern, so you make sure the line is not hung up on your motor rudder or prop shaft, if you have an inboard. For a weight I use a box wrench or an adjustable with a hole in the handle.
Now it is your turn. By helping other boats before you, you will have picked up a few things on the process. You get on the boat with a helper and each of you tie the line that goes under your boat on the port side to the sling you stay there until the slings are around the boat and attached. Now you and your helper get off the boat if the slings are moving around and don’t seem to want to stay in place, grab the line (small one), and the crew will tie the sling together to keep them from jumping around. I usually have the line ready to go and it near where number three is on the drawing. It is important that nobody has their hands on the boat as the slings tighten and take the weight of the boat. People always want to push the boat out from the shore wall which is okay, but have them do it once the boat starts to come up. Have someone who has done this allot stand at the bow and look to see if the boat is level in the slings. I always stop the lift for a second when the boat is about two feet up, then if it is crooked we can drop it and resettle it in the slings. This is critical as it is almost impossible to straighten the boat in the cradle. Have one person on the bow tag line and one person on the stern tag line. You want a good scope on the tag lines pulling straight down is hard, and dangerous. Oh one more thing. Did you have someone back your trailer in? If you have pads one person should be at each pad to hold it in position. Center the boat and check level try not to have the sling between a pad and the boat. Sometimes this is unavoidable. And the experienced people will help. throw the tag lines back up on the boat and pull the boat back to the parking lot and then come back and help with other boats.
Extra; putting a boat on a trailer with pads the racers way;
I always show up with my pad screws greased and lowered. We get the boat where we want on the trailer then I stand beside the crane operator, and ask him when he only has ten percent of the weight of the boat left hanging from the crane. Then I have everyone just snug up the pads and because they are greased, they spin up real easy then we are done and gone.
I hope this helps everyone and if you have a question ask someone before you show up at the crane.
Extra; putting a boat on a trailer with pads the racers way;
I always show up with my pad screws greased and lowered. We get the boat where we want on the trailer then I stand beside the crane operator, and ask him when he only has ten percent of the weight of the boat left hanging from the crane. Then I have everyone just snug up the pads and because they are greased, they spin up real easy then we are done and gone.
I hope this helps everyone and if you have a question ask someone before you show up at the crane.