The Boat Stand
Saturday, October 04, 2008
I started doing some research on boat stands and how to build one. I didn’t find any good instructions. Everybody kept complaining about how out of level their garage floors were. Homebuilders don’t design a garage for boat building. They design them to drain out toward the door in the event a hot-water tank leaks or worse; a car looses all its fuel.
To overcome this people must make a boat stand that is level and then work upon this surface. Everyone was simply making a stationary stand. This is not to user friendly in a two-car garage. One person suggested hanging the stand from the ceiling. That’s just what I need, a boat hanging from the ceiling for the next 5 years. At the rate I’m going it will probably be more like 10.
So I started doing some brainstorming on how to make a stand that can be micro-adjusted in 6 different locations. I also want it to be able to cradle the boat like a trailer. This will aid in working on the interior and the deck. It also needs to hold four sheets of plywood perfectly level to allow the hull to be made upside down over the bulkheads and stringers. And don’t for get the wheels. It needs to roll so I can push it and the boat into a busy intersection when I dump the whole project out of frustration.
The second level of the boat stand, the part that holds the boat similar to a trailer or flat on a level surface has not been constructed yet. You should be able to tell from the pictures where I’m headed with the leveling concept. The threaded shaft will receive a galvanized rod that will rest on the washer. Simply rotate the nut up and down to micro adjust the level of the stand.
At this stage we had to disassemble it to move to Texas. The good-looking fellow in the picture is my dad, Glenn. He is the greatest father one could ask for (and the world’s best architect).
Notice the poling platform in the garage? My father is also leaning on it. That was one sweet buy. That particular make runs around $1,050 delivered. I picked that unit up for $99 on eBay and only paid $56 in shipping via Greyhound. What a deal!
To overcome this people must make a boat stand that is level and then work upon this surface. Everyone was simply making a stationary stand. This is not to user friendly in a two-car garage. One person suggested hanging the stand from the ceiling. That’s just what I need, a boat hanging from the ceiling for the next 5 years. At the rate I’m going it will probably be more like 10.
So I started doing some brainstorming on how to make a stand that can be micro-adjusted in 6 different locations. I also want it to be able to cradle the boat like a trailer. This will aid in working on the interior and the deck. It also needs to hold four sheets of plywood perfectly level to allow the hull to be made upside down over the bulkheads and stringers. And don’t for get the wheels. It needs to roll so I can push it and the boat into a busy intersection when I dump the whole project out of frustration.
The second level of the boat stand, the part that holds the boat similar to a trailer or flat on a level surface has not been constructed yet. You should be able to tell from the pictures where I’m headed with the leveling concept. The threaded shaft will receive a galvanized rod that will rest on the washer. Simply rotate the nut up and down to micro adjust the level of the stand.
At this stage we had to disassemble it to move to Texas. The good-looking fellow in the picture is my dad, Glenn. He is the greatest father one could ask for (and the world’s best architect).
Notice the poling platform in the garage? My father is also leaning on it. That was one sweet buy. That particular make runs around $1,050 delivered. I picked that unit up for $99 on eBay and only paid $56 in shipping via Greyhound. What a deal!
Nice boat stand!