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I plan on taking my Venture 2-22 off of her trailor for bottom paint. The plan so far is to bring her into the backyard (driveway is really steep, like 10 degree angle steep...) and park it with the bow slightly past my laundry poles, and then jack up the rear of the trailer and block up under the transom area with 6x6's, or a box frame structure with diagonal inner supports. Then run a strap under the front section (maybe under the window section) and attach that to my metal laundryy poles and lift it that way (come-along on either side to evenly raise it), pull the trailer, then block it up. Does this appear to be a sound way to do this? I plan on digging up one of the laundry poles and moving it closer to the other (cementing it in) just for this purpose. Also, in case this method doesn't work, is there a secure area near the bow to hold the weight of the boat (from a tree for example) until I could block it up that way? I'd hate to rip out the bow eye or oil can it, obviously. Any input would be great! Thank you!

So have you done anything yet. Photos?

I just bought a 25M that I'd like to paint

NavySailor wrote:So have you done anything yet. Photos?

I just bought a 25M that I'd like to paint

Not yet, I'm now considering dropping the trailer tongue to the ground, lifting the rear, and then using a backhoe and a lifting strap to bring up the bow and then support it in front of the keel. I'm kind of hesitant as i don't want it to "oil can" during the lift, so I'm checking my strap placement before hand.

If you know what you are doing, the description you gave is totally doable and safe from the viewpoint of the boat's ability to take the load at those points. The M can be supported by the bow U bolt if the force is uniformly applied and in an upward-only direction. That is probably the single strongest connection point anywhere on the, or a, boat in this size range.

Though I'm unfamiliar with them,I would expect that the Venture would not be significantly different, but I would want to check (check visually from inside the boat, and apply force to the U with a bar and inspect for deflection to be sure of security on an older boat. If a weighted centreboard (as opposed to a hollow daggerboard) is present, that weight might need to be addressed separately.

Then the stern can be safely supported at the bulkhead that is the transom (I used two points about 1 – 1/2” in diameter, maybe 24” apart or so), and everything in between these three points will stay in the air even if someone boards it. I did this and there was no creaking or flexing detectable – it was dead silent. I boarded it and bounced around inside to confirm it, but it's obviously better to keep unnecessary weight inside to a minimum (I left the batteries and everything else in, though). The high freeboard design of the hull provides extra structural strength in the vertical direction.

Note that you do not need anything other than the jack already supplied with the trailer to provide the lifting force. Once the boat was off the trailer I had about 3” of space above the trailer, which you could just roll back a few inches without stopping for full uninterrupted paint coverage.

The following thread link will give you some more details if you haven't already seen it. I used 4X4's that worked like pawls on a ratchet that pivoted inward by gravity to support the boat continuously as it was jacked up, and a chain around them for extra safety once at height (which I found I did not need for a stone driveway)...

http://www.macgregorsailors.com/forum/v ... ch#p279795

Good luck- Brian.

We put some blocks and a couple of old rims/tires under the rear of our 26x and then I used a tractor with a front end loader with fork lift attachment under the bow to lift the front of the boat. Then we pulled the trailer out from under it and placed some of those square concrete blocks that are shaped and have a slot for a 4x4" board or 2"x4" board (like is used under a porch ) and placed a 2"x6"x8' long board on them upright. One on each side of the keel, maybe 8" to 1' on either side of keel and then set that boat back down on those boards. We then put a bracer board on each side anchored to the ground to hold the boat steady so we could work inside and outside of it.

The rear of the boat was too heavy to pick up with the tractor, but the front was very light. If I were going to hold the front up with a strap I would want to do something to insure that the strap wouldn't slide forward out from under the bow. Maybe run a rope straight under the boat all the way to the back and tie it to the strap to keep it from sliding forward as you lift.