Boat stands for a 27 AC

[hetek]

Hi All -

I'm in the market for some boat stands for my Albin 27, but could use some help.

I plan on having a hauler bring the boat to my house and set her on stands next to my garage. I have to supply the stands and blocking under the keel. Because this is my first year 'on the hard' with her, I am clueless as to what size to buy. Also, I'm sure the hauler does not want me to run off to the local marine supply store to buy them while he waits with my boat on his trailer.

What are the best sizes that suit the 27? Also, what kind of blocking under the keel would be best?

TYIA

[Fortunate]

I use 2 - 28"-46" motor boat stands for the stern and 2 - 35"-52" sailboat stands about 1/3 aft of the bow. Here are the links for the items @ Hamilton Marine.

http://store.hamiltonmarine.com/browse. ... ,5807.html
http://store.hamiltonmarine.com/browse. ... ,5815.html

As far as blocking, I use 12x12x2' just forward of the skeg mount and just aft of the keel rise about 1/3 aft of the bow. I add a 2" hardwood shim on top of the foward block to ensure I have positive drainage towards the stern.

All stands and blocking are on a 3'x3'x3/4" plywood to spread the load on a 18" deep gravel pad. The last thing you want is for the blocking or a stand to sink because you have poor/ uncompacted material under the stands/blocking.

Good luck. This has worked for me for yearr with no problems.

[Veebyes2]

Not a very clear pic of my 27.



A better one of my 32



The shortest stands won't do it. They are OK for shallow draft outboards. Not for a keeled boat like the 27.

How you block depends on how low to the ground you want to be. The weight should be on the keel, preferably under stress points like below engine beds & an interior bulkhead. The 27 hull is not that thick. doesw not need to be as it does not take a beating like a planing hull. Three points is enough. Just fwd or under the shoe/keel, under the engine, & fwd under the bed area.

Put the stands, you will need 4, under the transom at the strongest point i.e. transom, side, bottom corners & fwd outboard of where the fwd keel blocks are.

Well supported like this you will not have to worry about hull warping & realighning the engine, though I did loosen the coupling for a couple of years & then did not bother.

Try to be sure that the hauler leaves you so that rain will drain off the boat , just as if it were in the water. Also take the garbord plug out. Don't forget where you put it. If you are not left in a bow up attitude, no big problem. With a bottle jack, & a steel plate to spread the load on the keel, you can lift the bow keeping inn mind where the pivot point is & adjust stands accordingly as you go. Kinda daunting the first time you do it but all perfectly safe once you get the hang of it.

[hetek]

Thanks for the replies!

I have a plan now. And a website and pictures are worth more than a thousand words. Thanks!

My only problem now is to find some 12 x 12's.

My hauler did mention once that the boat should be set "two blocks high", referring to cement blocks under the keel, with a block of wood on top to protect the fiberglass.

I'm sure there will be some tweaking the first time, considering the grade of my yard and such.

I've seen some Albin 27's on stands in the past but never thought to take a ruler to them at the time. Glad I know a website that has a few owners I can pick their brains!

[joe.baar]

Concrete or pumice blocks are not safe to use unless the load is spread evenly across each block's entire surface, and remains spread out like that during the whole time the boat is on the hard. Any "point loading" - which might be caused by uneven hardness of the ground beneath the blocks, or by the keel or a strake bearing directly on a block without sufficient "cushion" from an intermediate material such as a block of wood covering the whole surface of the concrete block - is likely to cause the concrete to fail in shear, and the boat to topple over. The October-November issue of BoatUS magazine (www.BoatUS.com/Magazine) has an excellent illustrated article starting on page 62. Find 12x12s. Take care.

[hetek]

Great info in that Boat US article!

I do have first-hand experience with cement blocks cracking. In my younger days I was a yard worker at a local marina and have seen my share of blocks crack under the weight of just the fork-lift's forks.

I also had the unpleasant experience of having my 30' Pacemaker with twin Crusader V8's getting tossed off it's boat stands and into a telephone pole by a freak tornado (in Long Island, NY, no less!). It landed on top of the stands and two punctured the hull. Not a pretty sight.

I plan on using the squares of 3/4" pressure treated plywood to distribute the weight but don't think I will be allowed to lay a gravel base, as suggested (my wife plants grass seed there every spring after the boat gets launched).

I'm off to the lumber yard for the 12x12's...

On second thought, I thnk I'll have them deliver!

[Don from Mystic]

Re 12x12's, many boat yards buy their blocking from local saw mills. When mills cut stuff to large dimensions then to length they frequently save the cutoffs, and will sell them for very little $. Beats cutting up a P/T landscape Tie -

[johnmurray]

I use pairs of 6X6 PT nailed to-gether. These are available at Home Depot and they will cut them for you.

[hetek]

I took the info the gang here gave me to my marina and they were impressed! Saved them some homework, I imagine.

They are going to buy new stands because some "walked away" during the summer and they are short of stands for the boats still to be hauled. They gave me the option to buy outright or rent them for the winter season. Nice folks!

They have blocking but I also have a "plan B" - I have some oak rounds that I can cut up with a chainsaw into some very nice 12x12's, if need be.

She's scheduled to get hauled this Saturday (after Thanksgiving). So sad. Can't wait 'til next spring!

[Don from Mystic]

I just put my boat away too. Another consideration to make is what the hauler has for a trailer. One fellow I used could get the keel no lower than more than a foot off the ground - too far to climb. The fellow I use now can place the keel on the ground (block) but cant unload it if there is even a slight slope (I wanted it more one way this year) side to side.
Ive also included a shot of my PVC system for tarping. Ive tweaked it over the last 20 or so years and it works great. 1 1/4" Pipe with 1/2" bows.I pin the bows to the center pipe with ss shingle nails so they cant "walk". Takes down bundles,and stores easily. I can remember some of the Rube Goldbergs I built from wood years ago (some should have needed a building permit),this is so much better.

Have a short winter!

[hetek]

Don - Very nice framework you have there!

My hauler actually delivered the boat earlier than expected, but all is good. I gave them the info the gang here posted and they went and got the stands, blocking and set her up next to my garage - just as planned.

She's sitting on some nice new stands as we speak (figuratively speaking)!

My thanks to all!