Lifting eyes

[Emma1956]

The Hess cutter that iam building, Shows a pair of lifting eyes on the drawing . My qustion is are lifting eyes still used in morden boat yards for moving boats ?

[Jay Greer]

The travel lift has more or less supersceded lifting eyes. However, Lyle Hess well knew that not all yards have them. Lifting eyes will help to avoid cracked frames that are oten caused by lifing straps pinching the hull.
Jay

[Emma1956]

Thanks Jay CW

[htom]

I think they're more unused because boats don't have them, than because of any desire for boatyards not to use them.

[JayInOz]

While on the topic, do you fellers think that the stem eye bolt on my sixteen foot Hartley would be OK to use to suspend the front of the boat while I paint the hull? Was planning on a rope at the front and a couple of triangular frames supporting the stern. I'll spray the hull so it won't be suspended for very long. Thanks. JayInOz

[htom]

JayInOz -- I wouldn't. That eyebolt is out where there's a pile of leverage working to bend or break or loosen it. It's designed and installed to withstand a pull along its length, not at a right angle to that. The stem, itself, is not always designed for such a torque, either.

[JayInOz]

Thanks mate:) I'll manufacture a plan B:) JayInOz

[Ian McColgin]

Presumably this is a boat you can pick the bow up a bit by the painter tied to that towing loop. I don't see a problem with hanging the boat from the towing eye if the eye is backed through. It's not uncommon for such a fitting to have an eye bolt on the inside. The only problem is that if really old and made of cheap over zincy metal it might crumble.

[Breakaway]

FYI if this is a task you will be doing regularly: There is also a kit you can buy--Its a trunion with oversized back plate that bolts on to the backing plate for the eye inside the boatThis fitting is threaded. Threaded rod runs vertically from the trunion on the back of the eye to the bow cleat. The one pictured is a "pop-up" cleat, but I have seen the setup with traditional patterns as well.
http://www.acconmarine.com/images/PRODUCT/medium/18.jpg

ETA: Here's a pic of the type Ive most commonly seen. I had this one on a 22=foot, 2500 lb glass power boat, actually.

http://www.foreandaftmarine.com/50-30241.jpg
http://www.foreandaftmarine.com/50-30201.jpghttp://www.foreandaftmarine.com/50-30201.jpg
Kevin

[mcdenny]

Lifted my 25' electric launch and 24' V-8 powerboat with their bow eyes - no problems.

[Typhoon]

I used to have a ship's launch that had two massive lifting eyes, wish I had more photos of it. The rear eye was on the rear engine room bulkhead with three galvanised straps running out across the bulkhead from it and the forward eye was a similar design on the forward watertight bulkhead. I guess the thing is to spread the load out. I personally think they're a great idea, when I bought the boat and moved it, the crane operator used them, the boat was hooked up in minutes.

[mike hanyi]

corsair's tender, A Herreshoff has huge lifting eyes.

Are lifting eyes necessary?
No
but if you have a bright finished hull, or a very special rubrail they are very nice to have, We built a 32ft launch 2 years ago and it has lifting eyes, it protects the paint, and in an emergency any capable crane can lift her out

[paladin]

My 31 had lifting eyes and I carried a home made cable that was the right size and length for lifting and found it most convenient. I assume the Hess cutter that you are working on is the 30-32. Make sure the bulkheads are wll tabbed to the hull.

[Bill Huson]

Standard Operating Procedure at the marina where I worked. Need to switch trailers or load a boat on a trailer - drag the boat a couple feet aft (if on a trailer), block the stern, tie sturdy rope to bow eye and hook it over fork lift fork - then lift the bow. One could then slide trailer out/in.

Course on an older boat (wood?) I would have to examine the bow eye inside and outside and make sure it is up to the task. Not all boats are created equal.

[Alerion Sailor]

I saw picture of Alerion 111 being weighed it looked as if it was hanging from inside the cockpit. I wounder how big of a lifting eye one would need to hold up 6000 lbs securly. Would it 1 or 2 fastening points. I will be casting the keel this summer and would like to add this option to the my boat.

Rufus

[Canoeyawl]

I have made simple bronze blocks with two cross drilled holes, one for the lifting shackle the other for keel bolts. It is good practice I think to pick up two keel bolts for each eye.
(not always practical, but depending on the size of your keel bolts, you can use an eye nut and just screw it onto the keel bolt. I use 25kpsi as an average tensile strength for bronze bolts. Of course stainless, aquamet, monel etc are much higher.).

The cheapest 1/2" steel bolt you can buy is rated at 10,000 lbs tensile, 7800 proof.

Here is a chart -

http://www.westcoastboltandsupply.com/tensile-strength.html

[Emma1956]

My 31 had lifting eyes and I carried a home made cable that was the right size and length for lifting and found it most convenient. I assume the Hess cutter that you are working on is the 30-32. Make sure the bulkheads are wll tabbed to the hull.
Mr. Paladin can you describe the cable gage and the hardware that you used . I'm building a Hess 30 cutter
:) thank you C. Wessel

[Rich Jones]

I used to crew on a J-22. Although a modern boat, it had a lifting eye on the keel down in the bilge. This fleet was drysailed and the marina had a crane just for this fleet. Every Thursday evening the skippers would back their trailers in place, hook up the crane cable to the lifting eye and plop their boats in the water.
I don't know if other dry-sailed modern boats have the same. I don't know if J-24's have it or not.
This skipper also had a J-41 for the Wednesday night races. Now that thing was a wild ride on a breezy night! Especially the night we launched the spinnaker sideways!

[Don Kurylko]

I recently did a survey on a J-29 and it had a heavy bar connected between two keel bolts for a lifting strap. Great idea.