Dolly
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At some point during the construction processes it becomes easier to work on the Weekender if the boat is sitting in a proper cradle. Swivel caster wheels located on all four corners converts the cradle into a dolly makeing it easy to roll the boat around in the garage.
I made my cradle from two sheets of plywood, a left-over 10 foot long 4x4 cedar fence post, and a couple of stock 2x4's. The base of the cradle is a full sheet of half inch plywood centered lengthwise on the 4x4 cedar fence post and attached with screws.
The four 2ft by 4ft panels for the uprights were cut from a single ¼ inch plywood sheet. The clearance slots for the keel are 4 inches wide and 1ft deep. The 2x4 framing was marked off live and cut to fit. The upper frame member of each upright was installed as one piece, spanning the keel slot opening to ensure a level surface, and then trimmed later to clear the slot. The plywood panels were glued and screwed to the 2x4 framing on ~4in centers.
Each upright is bolted to the base with five lag screws including a massive screw that bolts upwards through the 4x4 backbone and plywood base, and into the center 2x4 spacer. The resulting assembly has proved to be very stiff and easily supports my partially completed hull. I had originally envisioned a 1ft high plywood webbing connecting the uprights right below the keel for added stiffness, but so far this has proved unnecessary and the resulting flat base is a handy place to store tools between building sessions.
The top surface of each upright was capped with a length of extension-cord anti-trip safety cover. The vinyl extrusion has a flattened "D" shape and the base just happens to be the same width as a 2x4. The weight of the boat squashes the vinyl extrusion a little and spreads the load out, eliminating any hard points on the hull.
I salvaged my swiveling articulated-suspension caster wheel set from an old VAX 6500 computer cabinet. The 4in diameter solid rubber wheels were designed to support about 1500 lbs. The suspension is probably over-kill, but it does help ease the cradle over the lip between the cement garage floor and the asphalt driveway.
A lanyard attached via a snap hook to an eye-bolt in either end of the center 4x4 backbone facilitates pulling the boat around the garage. The center backbone extends downwards within an inch of the pavement. A wedge driven between the backbone and the ground acts as a brake to prevent the boat from moving around.
Downloads
| cradle.fbm | 29kb DELFTship drawing |
| cradle.dxf | 507kbAutocad .DXF (Sketchup import) |