Transporting unfinished hull

[TomHaven12]

I may find it necessary to turn mky Haven over and transport it 300 miles on its trailer before I have time to caulk it, pay seams, paint etc. If I do so, I will install the sheerclamp before moving the boat, for added rigidity and strength. I have been told that caulking too adds strength and rigidity. Am I taking a chance by doing this?

http://www.havenbuilders.com/myhaven/longboard2.jpg

[Garrett Lowell]

I can't answer your question, but she's looking good!

[essaunders]

I asked the very same question (http://media5.hypernet.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=010070) .. but for a very different boat, so I'm not sure what you can learn from my experience. I moved a 13 foot cedar strip (and fiberglass) canoe just after the hull had been glassed but before anything else. My hull was, at that point, a monocoque structure. I did make temporary thwarts (bow, stern and center) out of 2x4s with notched to fit over the hull...

But again, very different hull.

Is there any way to move your boat on the forms/strongback?

[ 11-23-2004, 01:15 PM: Message edited by: essaunders ]

[TomHaven12]

The platform/strongback weighs a ton, and I don't have a suitable trailer. I would position temporary thwarts at about four stations to help prevent springback or pinching. Thanks for your comments. Any More out there?

[preston]

You might explore renting a suitable trailer.
But I guess my thought is it wouldn't be necessary.
Without the keel and without the stresses of
actual sailing, I expect the boat will be fine.

Preston

[Don Z.]

Perhaps (I don't assert it, mind you, I said "perhaps") shrink wrap it once it's on the trailer in order to prevent "blow drying" it as you drive down the road.

Of course, the shrink wrap comes off the minute you get there.., before you even stop to make a head call!

[Bob Cleek]

Funny you should ask! This question came up for me several years ago. Somebody had a nice little Lyle Hess "Serrafyn" sistership, all in frame with half the planking on. They wanted to move it and I asked about the job to a guy I know who has been hauling big boats with big rigs for a lot of years. His answer surprised me. Never thought of it before. He said he'd NEVER move a boat that wasn't fininshed being built. He said the stresses involved in the transport, etc, would always cause movement and throw her out of shape. Now, your boat is fully planked, but I'd sure make certain she was trued up and had all her structure well fastened before trying to move her. It may be a bit of an exaggeration, but without decking, a hull will move a surprising amount if shifted before it's finished. You can always try to true it back up after you've moved it, but it isn't going to ever be the same.

[Art Read]

For what it's worth, I was quite surprised by how much my project "wiggled" after turning the hull and setting her in the cradle. Standing at the bow and shaking the stem head, I could get her "wiggling" quite easily, with the bow twisting starboard while the transom twisted to port and vice-versa. Even with the seams caulked and payed and "clamped in" cross spalls steadying her at the shear. The hull DID seem reasuringly "solid", but it definitaly remained quite flexible until the entire structure was tied together with the decking. Each piece you add to the structure DOES help, but I'd hesitate to try moving her more than a short distance in that stage. If I were you, I'd rent a flatbed trailer and bribe a half-dozen buddies to help you load her up with that building jig intact. It ain't THAT heavy.

We turned my hull with all the molds still in place with no real problem...

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid16/pa89c6483879ccccc78b41d8817ad5caf/fdf43ac3.jpg

...and keeping 'em in while we rolled her down to the new shop space kept her shape just fine...

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid16/p2b3a8010a9d76a41c0fee88efaa4409f/fdef50bd.jpg

...but when I finally got all those molds out of her...

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid15/pf20138b16edc1cd61a6a17d4ce9374b2/fdebb417.jpg

...MAN she seemed empty... AND fragile!

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid15/p748d622059d2ca226af85d71dd69b31a/fdebb418.jpg

[maa. melee]

A boat at that stage is called "toothpicks and popsickle sticks" (according to my family at least). I suggest you throw in a cpl heavy plywood bulkheads temporarily and dive a few screws from the outside. The small holes and plywood are little to pay for security. Then run a nylon strap around these bulkheads on the outside over the planking to draw everything tight. Choose your driver well!! Godspeed.

[paul oman]

Utility type trailers don't have the 'springs and schocks' found on boat trailers etc. In other words they take a beating!

My suggestion is some sort of 'suspension' to take the 'bounce'out of the trip.

regards
paul oman
progressive epoxy polymers

[TomHaven12]

You have convinced me not to attempt moving the boat at this stage. It seems caulking and paying the seams isn't the only thing to be concerned about. Moving the boat isn't essential. It would simply give me a warmer place to work on it for the next few months. Thanks for all your thoughtful response.

Tom