To date Oi Oi has wintered on a cradle. However, Dolphin boatyard, Galmpton, have now purchased MDL boatyard on opposite side of Galmpton creek and have inherited their health&safety/Insurance policies and owners cradles can no longer be used. I presume they will set jackstands as necessary but I wonder is there an optimum place to place chocks as they will take the weight. And, should the keel be partially deployed to lower centre of gravity? Thanks Paul.

Paul

For the superseal there is a cradle spec in the handbook.

The forward support is positioned just in front of the keel and the rear support 2.16m overall supports aft of this. The item gives details of the hull shape for the bearers. I would expect the 275 to be similar.

The "table support frame" I made for rascal follows theses dimensions, except that I used flat timbers (faced with offcuts of vinyl flooring) to sit on and then made shaped timber wedges which I tap into place each side on each bearer. If the hull is not dead center on the cradle is does not matter, the wedges always fit.

The higher the hull is supported off the ground the easier for hull maintenance, mine's about 700mm. I always lower the keel on to a block for the winter.

Philip

Thanks for reply Phillip, esp advice on keel. I'll see how the yard set her up and if its not acceptable I'll ask they revert to Oi Oi cradle inspite of their H&Safety procedures. Paul.

Paul, ask the yard to use three railway sleeper style chunky blocks so you can lower the keel to clean it. You should find that hardly any cleaning is necessary if you store the keel up on your mooring. The top half of the keel seems to remain totally clean.

Do lower the keel onto the ground or onto a small block of wood. This will reduce strain on the hull. You can also prepare a stick that holds up the keel when fully retracted. The length should allow to top to enter to keel box so the support cannot move laterally. By resting the keel in this stick, you are free to slacken your lifting gear to perform maintenance on the tackle at the top of the keel.

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