Hauling out with a Fork Lift ?

[Maid Marian]

I am wondering if anyone here has had their 31 TE hauled with a fork lift. My boat club recently purchased a Taylor 120 fork lift. We have lifted boats up to 31 ft , but they are older boats with solid glass hulls. I was concerned about possibly damaging the cored hull and the possibility of center of gravity being too far out on the forks.

[jcollins]

Not to worry. Check out page 2 of this post. viewtopic.php?f=5&t=2930&start=15

[Maid Marian]

Thanks John,
The boat stays in the water year round. I will be hauling in the spring one way or another. I feel more confident after seeing the pictures. The only question now is will the Taylor 120 (20,000# capactily) be able to get the 31 footer close enough to the machine. The fork lift is rated 20,000# @ 96 inches from the mast.

Steve

[RicM]

Steve,

That's my boat, Time after Time on the forklift in Jensen Beach. As you can see, they lift from the chines on the outside edge of the hull, where the weight will be distributed over a long area down both sides. Probably better than the weight on the keel when blocked on the hard. The jack stands they use when blocking boats don't really carry much weight, it's all pretty much on the keel. The hauler (who was excellent BTW) told me that it was a very sturdy boat, no flex in the hull at all. Compared to some other newer boats (he mentioned Luhrs) that have fiberglass skins like balloons, the Albin was a bit of a challenge to loadl because of the keel, but once on the trailer it traveled very well. The hauler did a lot of experimenting on salvage boats on the Gulf Coast after the hurricane. Boats that they were removing under contract for insurance co's that were total losses they experimented with to see how they could break them on the trailer. He was a fountain of knowledge.

At Four Fishes Marina the biggest they will lift with the forklift (20 Ton) is a 31 center console, but that had outboards (3) that brought a lot of the weight back toward the stern. If the forklift is new you might want to have them experiment on someone else's boat (the manager's) first!

[RicM]

Steve,

That's my boat, Time after Time on the forklift in Jensen Beach. As you can see, they lift from the chines on the outside edge of the hull, where the weight will be distributed over a long area down both sides. Probably better than the weight on the keel when blocked on the hard. The jack stands they use when blocking boats don't really carry much weight, it's all pretty much on the keel. The hauler (who was excellent BTW) told me that it was a very sturdy boat, no flex in the hull at all. Compared to some other newer boats (he mentioned Luhrs) that have fiberglass skins like balloons, the Albin was a bit of a challenge to load because of the keel, but once on the trailer it traveled very well. The hauler did a lot of experimenting on salvage boats on the Gulf Coast after the hurricane. Boats that they were removing under contract for insurance co's that were total losses they experimented with to see how they could break them on the trailer. He was a fountain of knowledge.

At Four Fishes Marina the biggest they will lift with the forklift (20 Ton) is a 31 center console, but that had outboards (3) that brought a lot of the weight back toward the stern. If the forklift is new you might want to have them experiment on someone else's boat (the manager's) first!

[RobS]

...it was a very sturdy boat, no flex in the hull at all.

My 28 TE was on blocks when we dropped my engine/tranny back in a few seasons ago. Everyone I spoke to and from what I read said that the engine alignment will change when she splashes due to flexing of the hull when blocked. The alignment was set on the blocks. When checked after she splashed - it was exact, no change whatsoever. Rock solid boats we have here...