Nice rugged design, good especially for regular working yard. Since I already have a set of Brownell stands sized for my wing-keeled Capri 22, I used two in the rear plus one bow stand to transfer my boat while "repairing" the 1970 trailer. I have a new custom trailer coming in the next few weeks. I will do the transfer again. I have used hydraulic jacks but also have a tractor to assist with the temporary transfers. Since my old (and new) trailer had the same screw pads as the stands, I would raise my boat up to get a block between the keel and the trailer keel support. I would lower the pads to apply the bottom paint using ratchet straps to hold the boat stable relative to the trailer. Yes, the extra stands would cost about the same as your materials, but the stands were convenient AND I already had them.
Hi John, Yes the problem of lifting the boat of the trailer for work can be approached a number of different ways. Sounds like you have a great system that works for your boat and trailer. Moving to a new house in a few weeks and may set up a permanent gantry/roof over the boat parking area to be able to lift with straps and chain blocks. It will depend on how energetic I feel in setting up the 5m high posts and beam required! May just stick with my current system. Cheers Mark
Thanks Aaron. The support blocks are reasonably small. Other than that the entire boat is free to paint and work on. Once back on the trailer the 2 small patches where the support blocks were can be painted to complete the job.
The ground in the video has a slight slope. As long as each stand is leveled with wooden shims it still works fine. I live on a 100ft high hill so level ground is at a premium. :)
Hi Richard, Thought I replied to this earlier. I have lifted the boat of the trailer 4 times now with no issues. I always suspected the jacks I bought were a case of fake chinese specs. With the boat around 2000kg each jack is only lifting 500kg plus or minus with the front ones a little more so even if they are only 1500kg jacks instead of 3000kg jacks as claimed they are not even lifting 50 % of the 1500kg so I am happy enough. If you do build them take note of the position of the jack bases on the inside of the stand foot so the weight is transferred to the base of the stand making the stands very stable. At some stage I will modify the stands by drilling holes in the uprights so that I can insert a safety pin that can be moved up as the beams are lifted. At the moment I just put a pin in the upright of the jack as it is lifted. Hope your project goes well, let me know how you get on. Cheers Mark
Hi Mark, very nice job. You think of everything, its great. Just wondering if you have plans for the ramps and if these ramps can take a 30 footer and if possible, to build them a foot higher to give 1.5m ground clearance? I'd be greatful if can help with that. Cheers
Hi Alex, I don't have plans but the concept is straight forward. The most critical parts are the slots in the stands must not be more than 5mm wider than the lifting beams. The beams I used have an ultimate strength of 2200kg held at the center of the beam whilst lifting at the ends. This was calculated by and engineer. Bottom line is I wouldn't try lift a boat more than 3000kg total to allow a substantial margin for safety. The beams need to have formed lifting blocks on top of the beams to spread the load on the hull and to also spread the load on the beam meaning they can do better than 2200kg ultimate. These blocks also stabilize the boat acting like a cradle. Obviously these blocks need to be made to match your specific hull shape. I made mine out of 75mm treated pine sleepers and shaped them using cardboard templates. I cant see any issue in making them a foot higher as long as you can find high lift jacks that will lift sufficiently high enough remembering the beam and the hull blocks will add around 140mm to the jack height. If you do make the stands, make sure the high lift jacks are rated for 3 tonnes. Take careful note of their base position. It must be inside the leg of the stand and back from the edge facing the boat. This provides stability of the stands tipping towards the boat. Similarly the small angles welded to the underside of the lifting beams towards their ends are important for this inward stability. When setting up the stands they must be levelled in both directions. Without this the beams will be prone to sticking as they travel up or down. Best on reasonably level ground but the stands will work when not completely all at the same level. Love my stands and they have well paid for themselves in the number of times I have lifted my boat to work on. Hope this is of some help. Cheers Mark
I replied to your messages but they seem to have dissappeared. My trailer is a Swiftco 7.6m tandem with breakaway breaks rated to 3.5tonnes. It was one of the cheaper trailers on the market and if I was to do it again I may not have chosen it. Pluses - frame has proved durable and strong with around 40,000km of towing our RL28 with no structural problems. - adjustable to get towball pressure right. - optional ladder rollers for the keel which I would suggest is a definite for a trailer sailer. Minuses - brake unit replaced in first 12 months due to constant problems. Alko unit has been brilliant -Axle u bolts 10mm were completely inadequate and one broke nearly causing a serious accident. Replaced with 5/8" high tensile u bolts which have been great. -Brake calipers where galvanized and very quickly corroded and started having problems. Replaced with stainless calipers which have proved reliable. Useful modifications on my trailer added by me - centering bars at the rear center of the trailer (seen in some of my videos) help the boat to self center on the trailer - guide posts that again help keep the boat on the trailer and centering as pulled on - 4000lb electric winch (ebay) with a pulley block/hook to double the pull, remote control and boat loads itself. Hope this is of some help and sorry about the late response, youtube is having a few issues at the moment. Cheers Mark
@@TRAILERYACHTADVENTURES Hi, I know this is an old video but we are considering a RL 28 and wondering what size trailer is needed? I can see 6.9 metres off the shelf but larger than that they get very expensive, can you give us any advice on the size needed? I love you lifting setup.
@@UnPetitPique The RL28 is a big boat. We bought a 7.2m tandem Swiftco trailer with ladder rollers added for the keel. The most important thing is the trailer needs to be rated to 3.5t with electric brakes. It would be a very empty stripped down RL28 that could be carried on a 2 ton trailer and still come in under 2 tons. On our Kimberley trip the boat and trailer combined loaded up but not completely came in at 3.2tons including the trailer. The Swiftco trailer we bought was the cheapest we could find but has had a bit spent on it to bring it up to a standard I consider safe and reliable. It still cost just under $10,000 back in 2016. So sadly to carry the RL28 can be costly is the sort answer to be legal these days. If the 6.9 trailer is rated to 3.5tons with electric brakes then it is a possibility. I don't think the original trailer sold with the RL28 was much longer than that and in those days mechanical override brakes were still allowed for that size boat. If you buy an RL28 with an original trailer it will have mechanical override brakes. Hope this is of some help. Cheers Mark
@@TRAILERYACHTADVENTURES Thank you very much Mark. You may have saved us from an expensive mistake and I really appreciate your advice. We are still in the market for a RL 28 but I will look very closely at the trailer.Once again very appreciated.
Looking forward to spring and summer and more of you adventures. What are your thoughts on the Sunbird 25.... Their owners love them....... then some say they are slow and tubby....
Sunbirds are a boat I considered and are an incredibly seaworthy boat. They are ocean capable in my view and have done trips to tassie. On the down side the diesel inboards are old and most are in need of replacing unless they have been meticulously maintained. They are very heavy on the trailer (probably one of the heaviest for the length) and a little more award on the launch and retrieve. For these reasons I went for the RL28. If you can handle the downsides tho they are a great safe cruising boat.
Not really, the cost of excavator large enough to lift the RL28 would have covered the cost of building the stands especially if you had to keep it long enough to get the work done and put the boat back on the trailer. You would also need a large space for the operation. The beauty of these stands is they can be set up on any reasonably level drive way, they can lift and lower the boat while on the stands which is required for removal of the swing keel and the trailer can be pulled forward out and rolled back when finished. People think the stands cant be very stable but the way I have designed them they are incredibly stable and rated to 4 tons and I trust them a lot more than many of the commercial boat stands I have seen. I have had the boat lifted to 1.2m off the ground for 24 hours in gusty 30+ knot winds and the boat did not budge or even vibrate in the wind. But the main thing is commercial stands are static where my stands can change height by 1m while keeping the boat supported. And of course they are reusable with no further cost, I have lifted the boat 5 times now since building them so they have really paid for themselves. Cheers Mark
Like all lifting devices there is a level of risk and they have to be used in a very specific way which makes the risk and liability of renting them or even letting someone use them to high for me to stress over. When I get time I will be adding locking bars on each stand that will 100% back up the high lift jacks.
Hi Mark, Love your stand design. Is this stand high enough to fully lower the kiel and - did you ever have your kiel out of the boat completely using your stand? Mine is all rusty with big flakes coming off, who are scratching on the inside of the kiel housing.
Hi Manfred, its not high enough to have the keel on the RL28 vertical and clear of the boat but certainly will when the keel is horizontal. When I bought the boat the keel was great for the part of the keel that sits outside the boat when down but the rest was rusty with big flakes of rust scratching the keel case. I raised the boat enough to work under it. Lowered the keel to rest on a plank of wood on a scissor jack and used blocks of wood and a jack to support the bolt end of the keel. Removed the lifting rod from the ram and unscrewed the end. Using the scissor jack I repeatedly lifted and lowered the rear end of the keel using the scissor jack using a steel ruler to pry out flakes of rust along with hosing with water to wash out rust dust. The bolt end slowly inched out. Once free it used the scissor jack and blocks to get it resting on the ground. It was a lot of effort but clearly really needed. The keel case was scored but not too badly. The keel head was badly pitted and with a lot of wire brushing removed all the rusted material and then filled it with an epoxy filler before repainting the whole lot. Sadly many keels get to that state because they are so difficult to get out and tricky to reinstall. I have only had mine out once since buying the boat but it still operates nice and freely. Cheers Mark
@@TRAILERYACHTADVENTURES Thanks a lot for the info Mark. That'll be my next job, but I have to build those stands first. I have all the fittings off right now to prepare for painting all of the top down to the waterline. The trailer needs work too. I have bought 2 jacks so far (off Gumtree), but probably the wrong ones - 48 inch, looks like you have the 60inch jacks, right? And 3tonne per Jack when the boat only weighs less than 3t? You are definitely on the safe side there, I was chasing 1500kg jacks. Now back to the keel, my friend has a RL28 as well and he scared me that if I take the keel hinge bolt out - I'll never get in in again!! So apparently you got it back in again, how hard is it? Is that bolt below the waterline? Is there a seal that would brake and has to be replaced too? I'm glad I can ask someone how has done the job.
@@manfredhanicke1342 Hi again Manfred, The stand jacks I use are 60inch and supposedly rated to 3tonne but looking at other high lift jacks I wouldn't rely on them being more than 1.5tonne, typical Chinese exaggeration. Someone also sent me an article about the jacks I am using stating they are such and could fail with 3t on them. Having said all that they work well and I have never had an issue with them. In your RL are there 2 plastic covers attached to the lower part of the toilet compartment entry wall inside and out? Removal of these allows for the removal of the keel bolt, awkward but doable. If there are no covers you would have to cut holes in this wall to access the keel bolt. The bolt is dead center and at the bottom of the wall. Putting the bolt back in is easier than taking it out. The seal question is a bit more involved. The bolt is right on the water line in most boats, below if it is loaded up with cruising gear like mine or above the water if lightly loaded. There is no real seal other than silicone being put around the ends before doing up. If the hole is worn and elongated sealing can be tricky as the over sized hole will allow the bolt to move. If you have no leakage at the moment the chances are you will be able to seal the bolt again. In my case the bolt was leaking slightly and the hole was over sized and oval. My solution was to get 2 spigot washers made up that fit the bolt precisely with a larger diameter section to go into the keel case. I then cut the holes on the keel case to fit these washers. I then installed the bolt with washers with plenty of silcone sealant. Nearly 8 years now and no leaks so they have worked. The hard part of getting the bolt back in is lining up the keel with the hole. I manoeuvred the keel with a small stand to hold it in its horizontal position but with the head lifted around 30cm. I lined it up with the keel case and likely bolt position and lowered the boat until the keel case was holding the keel. Then placed a jack under the keel head and lifted it enough to remove the stand and replaced it with a section of log (log allowed the keel to move forward and aft). Then continued to lower the boat checking constantly inside to see if the holes were lining up. I used a long lever around the keel to slide it small amounts back and forward until the holes lined up. Tricky and fiddly but can be done. Without the stands the only way would to have it lifted in a boat yard high enough to slide the keel standing vertically back in but would still take a lot of mucking about to line the holes up. Hope this is of some help. Cheers Mark
@@TRAILERYACHTADVENTURES Thanks for the long write up. Yes, my keel bolt and nut is freely visible, no covers, and I can see silicone around it. So once the keel is supported and the nut off, can I just hammer the bolt through? Don't know if it is leaking, I didn't look when I did one test sail before buying the boat early last year and I'm still working on it so far. Bigger project than I thought.🤨 Is that bolt with all the weight of the keel just sitting in a fiber glass casing or is there a steel box of some sort inside? What would stop the bolt from spinning and grinding in the keel case, if it was rusted seized in the keel? And that whole keel looks really shocking! Cheers Manfred
It is important to release any pressure in the hydraulic ram when removing the keel bolt. It is a strange arrangement, if the ram is supporting the keel and the bolt is removed the front end of the keel that the bolt holds will swing upwards not down. With no pressure on the ram it will move down with the bolt removed. The keel case is definitely only fibreglass and not especially thick. Most RL28's I have looked at tend to have a keel that has never been removed due to the difficulty and as such tend to be in pretty bad condition as you describe. On the plus side taking it out, removing all the rusted material, filling with an epoxy filler and then recoating with a rust inhibitor paint and then epoxy will see many more years of good service. Support the head of the keel from below with a jack before removing the bolt. Also free the bolt up by turning it with a spanner or socket before hammering or you may damage the keel case. If hammering it out take care as it is very easy to destroy the threads. Once the bolt is level with the keel case you can usually screw it out the rest of the way by rotating with a spanner. Nothing stops the bolt turning but the hole in the keel is oversized and a very loose fit on the bolt so is unlikely to be seized in the keel. Having said that I replaced my bolt with a new 316 grade stainless bolt and also made a plate that screwed to the wall of the toilet compartment that holds the bolt from turning once in place. Hope this helps. Cheers Mark
Hi Mark , nice work you did.I was thinking why don't you just go to a yacht club say mine and put it up , then I read all the other comments and replies so yes I see where you are coming from. I am selling my yacht so I can buy a bigger one to sail around the world.
Hi Mark Its the convenience of having the boat outside my backdoor to work on. The closest club yard is over an hour's drive away not to mention the mess I made taking 30 years worth of antifouling off. Would not be popular in a yard with that. What boat are you looking at for the world trip? Something I would love to do although not to keen on increasing problems with piracy in many places. Still looking at doing a half or full navigation of Australia in 5 years time when I retire.
HI Mark, looking around 40/45 feet yacht. If you go to www.noonsite.com/General/Piracy there is a lot of info there about where not to go because of piracy. When I get my yacht I will let you know.
Something I have always liked the idea of doing. Noonsite makes many of the classic passages sound pretty dodgy. The ocean and sailing part of the trip wouldn't worry me at all but the piracy aspect in desperate parts of the world still would. Maybe going by the 2 capes instead of the 2 canals would be safer and more of a sailing challenge. If you get a chance look up a online book called shrimpy. Story of a guy who sailed an 18ft bilge keeler around the world in the 80,s. Maybe you dont need a bigger boat???
Hi James. You're talking to Mark, Tony is one of my subscribers. Don't have plans for the stands but they are pretty straight forward. You can email me mdedman1962@gmail.com and I can give you some ideas how to proceed. Cheers Mark
Yes I did design the stands but being old school a few rough sketches and details worked out in my head. The basic concept is pretty straight forward if you use the dimensions given at the end of the video along with the materials used.Things to look out for are using a spacer when welding the stands as the slot has to be just wide enough to let the H beam slide up and down. The other is that the high lift jack base transfers it weight onto the stand. Having only 3 base legs the weight of the boat gives each lifting stand its stability. In other words the jack sits in the outward facing base leg. Positioning of the beams was largely dictated by the trailer and boat shape. Ideally they would be spaced evenly to create equal weights back and front. The trick is that one has to be able to be positioned with the boat on the trailer. Once that one is in place and the weight is taken on that beam, the front of the boat can be raised with a bottle jack to allow the second beam to be positioned. I found with one beam in position and the weight taken up on it the boat is very stable allowing the temporary jack lift to position the other beam. Obviously once both are in place the boat lifts easily. The weight distribution on my set up is 40% rear 60% forward beam. The most each jack lifts is around 400kg which for a 3 ton rated jack gives a good safety margin. The H beams will fail at around 2200kg and the most load they have is around 800kg. The computations were done by my engineer son. Sorry there are no CAD drawings, hope some of this helps.
These jacks, which may be similar to yours are subject to an ACCC product safety recall, www.productsafety.gov.au/recall/ebay-seller-eastbayauto-x-bull-professional-4wd-accessories-high-lift-lever-vehicle-jack-3000kg
Hi Richard, Thanks for this information. They are the jacks I use and I have always had my doubts about the capacity claims made on the label when comparing them to other jacks I have owned. I use them to under 50% of capacity on this stand and cautiously and they have shown no signs of problems. When at full height I strap 4 timber posts under the beams as a safety backup to the jacks whilst working under the boat. Like so many chinese products they exaggerate their specs. May look for replacements when funds allow. Cheers Mark
Nice rugged design, good especially for regular working yard.
Since I already have a set of Brownell stands sized for my wing-keeled Capri 22, I used two in the rear plus one bow stand to transfer my boat while "repairing" the 1970 trailer. I have a new custom trailer coming in the next few weeks. I will do the transfer again.
I have used hydraulic jacks but also have a tractor to assist with the temporary transfers. Since my old (and new) trailer had the same screw pads as the stands, I would raise my boat up to get a block between the keel and the trailer keel support. I would lower the pads to apply the bottom paint using ratchet straps to hold the boat stable relative to the trailer.
Yes, the extra stands would cost about the same as your materials, but the stands were convenient AND I already had them.
Hi John,
Yes the problem of lifting the boat of the trailer for work can be approached a number of different ways. Sounds like you have a great system that works for your boat and trailer. Moving to a new house in a few weeks and may set up a permanent gantry/roof over the boat parking area to be able to lift with straps and chain blocks. It will depend on how energetic I feel in setting up the 5m high posts and beam required! May just stick with my current system. Cheers Mark
Nice work Mark! Lots of position flexibility for coatings and great for trailer maintenance.
Thanks Aaron. The support blocks are reasonably small. Other than that the entire boat is free to paint and work on. Once back on the trailer the 2 small patches where the support blocks were can be painted to complete the job.
Brilliant work Mark! Now, I need a flat block of land.
The ground in the video has a slight slope. As long as each stand is leveled with wooden shims it still works fine. I live on a 100ft high hill so level ground is at a premium. :)
Thanks for taking the trouble to make this video - a great design idea which I am about to copy. Appreciate it very much. Cheers.
Hi Richard, Thought I replied to this earlier. I have lifted the boat of the trailer 4 times now with no issues. I always suspected the jacks I bought were a case of fake chinese specs. With the boat around 2000kg each jack is only lifting 500kg plus or minus with the front ones a little more so even if they are only 1500kg jacks instead of 3000kg jacks as claimed they are not even lifting 50 % of the 1500kg so I am happy enough. If you do build them take note of the position of the jack bases on the inside of the stand foot so the weight is transferred to the base of the stand making the stands very stable. At some stage I will modify the stands by drilling holes in the uprights so that I can insert a safety pin that can be moved up as the beams are lifted. At the moment I just put a pin in the upright of the jack as it is lifted. Hope your project goes well, let me know how you get on. Cheers Mark
Thanks for the reply, you've said everything I wanted to hear.
Hi Mark, very nice job. You think of everything, its great. Just wondering if you have plans for the ramps and if these ramps can take a 30 footer and if possible, to build them a foot higher to give 1.5m ground clearance? I'd be greatful if can help with that.
Cheers
Hi Alex, I don't have plans but the concept is straight forward. The most critical parts are the slots in the stands must not be more than 5mm wider than the lifting beams. The beams I used have an ultimate strength of 2200kg held at the center of the beam whilst lifting at the ends. This was calculated by and engineer. Bottom line is I wouldn't try lift a boat more than 3000kg total to allow a substantial margin for safety. The beams need to have formed lifting blocks on top of the beams to spread the load on the hull and to also spread the load on the beam meaning they can do better than 2200kg ultimate. These blocks also stabilize the boat acting like a cradle. Obviously these blocks need to be made to match your specific hull shape. I made mine out of 75mm treated pine sleepers and shaped them using cardboard templates. I cant see any issue in making them a foot higher as long as you can find high lift jacks that will lift sufficiently high enough remembering the beam and the hull blocks will add around 140mm to the jack height.
If you do make the stands, make sure the high lift jacks are rated for 3 tonnes. Take careful note of their base position. It must be inside the leg of the stand and back from the edge facing the boat. This provides stability of the stands tipping towards the boat. Similarly the small angles welded to the underside of the lifting beams towards their ends are important for this inward stability. When setting up the stands they must be levelled in both directions. Without this the beams will be prone to sticking as they travel up or down. Best on reasonably level ground but the stands will work when not completely all at the same level. Love my stands and they have well paid for themselves in the number of times I have lifted my boat to work on. Hope this is of some help. Cheers Mark
I'd love to know what sort of trailer it is
I replied to your messages but they seem to have dissappeared.
My trailer is a Swiftco 7.6m tandem with breakaway breaks rated to 3.5tonnes. It was one of the cheaper trailers on the market and if I was to do it again I may not have chosen it.
Pluses
- frame has proved durable and strong with around 40,000km of towing our RL28 with no structural problems.
- adjustable to get towball pressure right.
- optional ladder rollers for the keel which I would suggest is a definite for a trailer sailer.
Minuses
- brake unit replaced in first 12 months due to constant problems. Alko unit has been brilliant
-Axle u bolts 10mm were completely inadequate and one broke nearly causing a serious accident. Replaced with 5/8" high tensile u bolts which have been great.
-Brake calipers where galvanized and very quickly corroded and started having problems. Replaced with stainless calipers which have proved reliable.
Useful modifications on my trailer added by me
- centering bars at the rear center of the trailer (seen in some of my videos) help the boat to self center on the trailer
- guide posts that again help keep the boat on the trailer and centering as pulled on
- 4000lb electric winch (ebay) with a pulley block/hook to double the pull, remote control and boat loads itself.
Hope this is of some help and sorry about the late response, youtube is having a few issues at the moment.
Cheers Mark
@@TRAILERYACHTADVENTURES Hi, I know this is an old video but we are considering a RL 28 and wondering what size trailer is needed? I can see 6.9 metres off the shelf but larger than that they get very expensive, can you give us any advice on the size needed? I love you lifting setup.
@@UnPetitPique The RL28 is a big boat. We bought a 7.2m tandem Swiftco trailer with ladder rollers added for the keel. The most important thing is the trailer needs to be rated to 3.5t with electric brakes. It would be a very empty stripped down RL28 that could be carried on a 2 ton trailer and still come in under 2 tons.
On our Kimberley trip the boat and trailer combined loaded up but not completely came in at 3.2tons including the trailer. The Swiftco trailer we bought was the cheapest we could find but has had a bit spent on it to bring it up to a standard I consider safe and reliable. It still cost just under $10,000 back in 2016. So sadly to carry the RL28 can be costly is the sort answer to be legal these days. If the 6.9 trailer is rated to 3.5tons with electric brakes then it is a possibility. I don't think the original trailer sold with the RL28 was much longer than that and in those days mechanical override brakes were still allowed for that size boat. If you buy an RL28 with an original trailer it will have mechanical override brakes. Hope this is of some help. Cheers Mark
@@TRAILERYACHTADVENTURES Thank you very much Mark. You may have saved us from an expensive mistake and I really appreciate your advice. We are still in the market for a RL 28 but I will look very closely at the trailer.Once again very appreciated.
Looking forward to spring and summer and more of you adventures. What are your thoughts on the Sunbird 25....
Their owners love them....... then some say they are slow and tubby....
Sunbirds are a boat I considered and are an incredibly seaworthy boat. They are ocean capable in my view and have done trips to tassie. On the down side the diesel inboards are old and most are in need of replacing unless they have been meticulously maintained. They are very heavy on the trailer (probably one of the heaviest for the length) and a little more award on the launch and retrieve. For these reasons I went for the RL28. If you can handle the downsides tho they are a great safe cruising boat.
Another great vid Mark! Curious, did you consider renting an excavator and sitting the boat on shop bought stands ?
Not really, the cost of excavator large enough to lift the RL28 would have covered the cost of building the stands especially if you had to keep it long enough to get the work done and put the boat back on the trailer. You would also need a large space for the operation. The beauty of these stands is they can be set up on any reasonably level drive way, they can lift and lower the boat while on the stands which is required for removal of the swing keel and the trailer can be pulled forward out and rolled back when finished.
People think the stands cant be very stable but the way I have designed them they are incredibly stable and rated to 4 tons and I trust them a lot more than many of the commercial boat stands I have seen. I have had the boat lifted to 1.2m off the ground for 24 hours in gusty 30+ knot winds and the boat did not budge or even vibrate in the wind. But the main thing is commercial stands are static where my stands can change height by 1m while keeping the boat supported. And of course they are reusable with no further cost, I have lifted the boat 5 times now since building them so they have really paid for themselves. Cheers Mark
@@TRAILERYACHTADVENTURES Oh wow.. You really have got your money for them then. Especially if you have done 5 lifts.. Thanks for the replies.. :)
These are great..!! Are you renting them out??
Like all lifting devices there is a level of risk and they have to be used in a very specific way which makes the risk and liability of renting them or even letting someone use them to high for me to stress over. When I get time I will be adding locking bars on each stand that will 100% back up the high lift jacks.
Hi Mark, Love your stand design. Is this stand high enough to fully lower the kiel and - did you ever have your kiel out of the boat completely using your stand? Mine is all rusty with big flakes coming off, who are scratching on the inside of the kiel housing.
Hi Manfred, its not high enough to have the keel on the RL28 vertical and clear of the boat but certainly will when the keel is horizontal. When I bought the boat the keel was great for the part of the keel that sits outside the boat when down but the rest was rusty with big flakes of rust scratching the keel case. I raised the boat enough to work under it. Lowered the keel to rest on a plank of wood on a scissor jack and used blocks of wood and a jack to support the bolt end of the keel. Removed the lifting rod from the ram and unscrewed the end. Using the scissor jack I repeatedly lifted and lowered the rear end of the keel using the scissor jack using a steel ruler to pry out flakes of rust along with hosing with water to wash out rust dust. The bolt end slowly inched out. Once free it used the scissor jack and blocks to get it resting on the ground. It was a lot of effort but clearly really needed. The keel case was scored but not too badly. The keel head was badly pitted and with a lot of wire brushing removed all the rusted material and then filled it with an epoxy filler before repainting the whole lot. Sadly many keels get to that state because they are so difficult to get out and tricky to reinstall. I have only had mine out once since buying the boat but it still operates nice and freely. Cheers Mark
@@TRAILERYACHTADVENTURES Thanks a lot for the info Mark. That'll be my next job, but I have to build those stands first. I have all the fittings off right now to prepare for painting all of the top down to the waterline. The trailer needs work too. I have bought 2 jacks so far (off Gumtree), but probably the wrong ones - 48 inch, looks like you have the 60inch jacks, right? And 3tonne per Jack when the boat only weighs less than 3t? You are definitely on the safe side there, I was chasing 1500kg jacks. Now back to the keel, my friend has a RL28 as well and he scared me that if I take the keel hinge bolt out - I'll never get in in again!! So apparently you got it back in again, how hard is it? Is that bolt below the waterline? Is there a seal that would brake and has to be replaced too? I'm glad I can ask someone how has done the job.
@@manfredhanicke1342 Hi again Manfred, The stand jacks I use are 60inch and supposedly rated to 3tonne but looking at other high lift jacks I wouldn't rely on them being more than 1.5tonne, typical Chinese exaggeration. Someone also sent me an article about the jacks I am using stating they are such and could fail with 3t on them. Having said all that they work well and I have never had an issue with them.
In your RL are there 2 plastic covers attached to the lower part of the toilet compartment entry wall inside and out? Removal of these allows for the removal of the keel bolt, awkward but doable. If there are no covers you would have to cut holes in this wall to access the keel bolt. The bolt is dead center and at the bottom of the wall. Putting the bolt back in is easier than taking it out. The seal question is a bit more involved. The bolt is right on the water line in most boats, below if it is loaded up with cruising gear like mine or above the water if lightly loaded. There is no real seal other than silicone being put around the ends before doing up. If the hole is worn and elongated sealing can be tricky as the over sized hole will allow the bolt to move. If you have no leakage at the moment the chances are you will be able to seal the bolt again. In my case the bolt was leaking slightly and the hole was over sized and oval. My solution was to get 2 spigot washers made up that fit the bolt precisely with a larger diameter section to go into the keel case. I then cut the holes on the keel case to fit these washers. I then installed the bolt with washers with plenty of silcone sealant. Nearly 8 years now and no leaks so they have worked. The hard part of getting the bolt back in is lining up the keel with the hole. I manoeuvred the keel with a small stand to hold it in its horizontal position but with the head lifted around 30cm. I lined it up with the keel case and likely bolt position and lowered the boat until the keel case was holding the keel. Then placed a jack under the keel head and lifted it enough to remove the stand and replaced it with a section of log (log allowed the keel to move forward and aft). Then continued to lower the boat checking constantly inside to see if the holes were lining up. I used a long lever around the keel to slide it small amounts back and forward until the holes lined up. Tricky and fiddly but can be done. Without the stands the only way would to have it lifted in a boat yard high enough to slide the keel standing vertically back in but would still take a lot of mucking about to line the holes up. Hope this is of some help. Cheers Mark
@@TRAILERYACHTADVENTURES Thanks for the long write up. Yes, my keel bolt and nut is freely visible, no covers, and I can see silicone around it. So once the keel is supported and the nut off, can I just hammer the bolt through? Don't know if it is leaking, I didn't look when I did one test sail before buying the boat early last year and I'm still working on it so far. Bigger project than I thought.🤨 Is that bolt with all the weight of the keel just sitting in a fiber glass casing or is there a steel box of some sort inside? What would stop the bolt from spinning and grinding in the keel case, if it was rusted seized in the keel? And that whole keel looks really shocking! Cheers Manfred
It is important to release any pressure in the hydraulic ram when removing the keel bolt. It is a strange arrangement, if the ram is supporting the keel and the bolt is removed the front end of the keel that the bolt holds will swing upwards not down. With no pressure on the ram it will move down with the bolt removed. The keel case is definitely only fibreglass and not especially thick. Most RL28's I have looked at tend to have a keel that has never been removed due to the difficulty and as such tend to be in pretty bad condition as you describe. On the plus side taking it out, removing all the rusted material, filling with an epoxy filler and then recoating with a rust inhibitor paint and then epoxy will see many more years of good service. Support the head of the keel from below with a jack before removing the bolt. Also free the bolt up by turning it with a spanner or socket before hammering or you may damage the keel case. If hammering it out take care as it is very easy to destroy the threads. Once the bolt is level with the keel case you can usually screw it out the rest of the way by rotating with a spanner. Nothing stops the bolt turning but the hole in the keel is oversized and a very loose fit on the bolt so is unlikely to be seized in the keel. Having said that I replaced my bolt with a new 316 grade stainless bolt and also made a plate that screwed to the wall of the toilet compartment that holds the bolt from turning once in place. Hope this helps. Cheers Mark
Hi Mark , nice work you did.I was thinking why don't you just go to a yacht club say mine and put it up , then I read all the other comments and replies so yes I see where you are coming from. I am selling my yacht so I can buy a bigger one to sail around the world.
Hi Mark Its the convenience of having the boat outside my backdoor to work on. The closest club yard is over an hour's drive away not to mention the mess I made taking 30 years worth of antifouling off. Would not be popular in a yard with that.
What boat are you looking at for the world trip? Something I would love to do although not to keen on increasing problems with piracy in many places. Still looking at doing a half or full navigation of Australia in 5 years time when I retire.
HI Mark, looking around 40/45 feet yacht. If you go to www.noonsite.com/General/Piracy there is a lot of info there about where not to go because of piracy. When I get my yacht I will let you know.
Something I have always liked the idea of doing. Noonsite makes many of the classic passages sound pretty dodgy. The ocean and sailing part of the trip wouldn't worry me at all but the piracy aspect in desperate parts of the world still would. Maybe going by the 2 capes instead of the 2 canals would be safer and more of a sailing challenge. If you get a chance look up a online book called shrimpy. Story of a guy who sailed an 18ft bilge keeler around the world in the 80,s. Maybe you dont need a bigger boat???
Tony, do you offer plans for these boat lift stands. I would very much like to build some.... how can I contact you....
Hi James. You're talking to Mark, Tony is one of my subscribers. Don't have plans for the stands but they are pretty straight forward. You can email me mdedman1962@gmail.com and I can give you some ideas how to proceed. Cheers Mark
Did you design the stands and where to put the brackets on the beams, using a CAD program? Are there copies available?
Yes I did design the stands but being old school a few rough sketches and details worked out in my head. The basic concept is pretty straight forward if you use the dimensions given at the end of the video along with the materials used.Things to look out for are using a spacer when welding the stands as the slot has to be just wide enough to let the H beam slide up and down. The other is that the high lift jack base transfers it weight onto the stand. Having only 3 base legs the weight of the boat gives each lifting stand its stability. In other words the jack sits in the outward facing base leg. Positioning of the beams was largely dictated by the trailer and boat shape. Ideally they would be spaced evenly to create equal weights back and front. The trick is that one has to be able to be positioned with the boat on the trailer. Once that one is in place and the weight is taken on that beam, the front of the boat can be raised with a bottle jack to allow the second beam to be positioned. I found with one beam in position and the weight taken up on it the boat is very stable allowing the temporary jack lift to position the other beam. Obviously once both are in place the boat lifts easily.
The weight distribution on my set up is 40% rear 60% forward beam. The most each jack lifts is around 400kg which for a 3 ton rated jack gives a good safety margin. The H beams will fail at around 2200kg and the most load they have is around 800kg. The computations were done by my engineer son.
Sorry there are no CAD drawings, hope some of this helps.
These jacks, which may be similar to yours are subject to an ACCC product safety recall, www.productsafety.gov.au/recall/ebay-seller-eastbayauto-x-bull-professional-4wd-accessories-high-lift-lever-vehicle-jack-3000kg
Hi Richard, Thanks for this information. They are the jacks I use and I have always had my doubts about the capacity claims made on the label when comparing them to other jacks I have owned. I use them to under 50% of capacity on this stand and cautiously and they have shown no signs of problems. When at full height I strap 4 timber posts under the beams as a safety backup to the jacks whilst working under the boat. Like so many chinese products they exaggerate their specs. May look for replacements when funds allow. Cheers Mark