Roll Over

Sun, Dec 18, 2022

• candlefish
• builds

This weekend we rolled the boat right side up. This is a major milestone in the build!

A timelapse video of the process.

Before we rolled her over, we painted the bottom. This is a lot easier than working overhead, on your back under a trailer. We’re using TotalBoat Spartan bottom paint here, which can be applied long before the boat goes in the water; many bottom paints need to be applied within a short window of splashing, so we wouldn’t be able to get ahead of it like this.

The first step was to prep the strongback to roll. Our cranes are too big to set up in the garage bay, so we have to roll her outside, flip her over, and roll her back in. This means wheels.

To do this we temporarily added a cross brace that we could put a small bottle jack under. First we lifted up the front of the strongback and installed a pair of wheel, then the same for the back. These are just small wheelbarrow tires from Harbor Freight with built in bearings; the axles are just 5/8" bolts. We only have to move her about 20 feet.

We set up the cranes just outside the shop. The cranes are mobile boat hoists from GoHoist. They are designed to lift boats on and off trailers for painting or maintenance, and are perfect for rolling boats as well.

Once the straps were under the hull and we lifted just enough for them to take the weight, we detached the strongback and rolled it back inside.

Once the strongback was out of the way, we started the roll. Many builders do this step with a crew of friends, a case of beer, and brute force. That works for a boat this size, as the hull doesn’t weigh that much yet, although it becomes untenable for larger hulls. But we really liked the way using the hoists let us do the roll in a controlled, methodical way.

Meanwhile, back in the bay, we repurposed the strongback as a low trailer.

Then we lowered her down and rolled her back into the shop.