CHEAPEST WAY TO BUILD LOADING RAMPS

[jaxs]

Glad to hear it,thanks Wag.You da man

 

[dragoneggs]

Just got off the phone with the NSW Police, who gave Aussiebushman a call.

He's OK and will pop back on in a while.

Nice work, Wag!

 

[aczlan]

It's a 'stealth poster' and I've already reported it.

They've been happening over the last few months: usually a weird 'tractor' listed and a nonsensical posting. It will add some advertising links into its signature block after the third posting in order to defeat the "no posting of links for newbies until after a certain number (I guess 3) of postings".

Yep, please dont quote them though, the spam removal tool will remove their posts, but wont remove when someone has quoted them.

Aaron Z

 

[Aussiebushman]

Yes Zing - agree with all you said, except that 3" treated pine round logs are so cheap here it is not worth the trouble of cutting and peeling your own. The same applies to heavy planks - sold as "sleepers" 250mm X 55mm and 3 m long for only $19 each - I just purchased two

Got two very large tractor inner tubes in used good condition as per earlier posts, these will go under the boat deck close to the stern where they will have little trouble lifting the aft ends of the hulls to regular floating level. Then the ramps will go under the bows.

The diver's dry suit I purchased went from the seller in country NSW to the mail exchange in Sydney, then back to the seller because "the scanners read the bottom line of the address first" Ain't technology wonderful?

 

[Aussiebushman]

Sincere thanks to all who got concerned. I have sent a PM to Wagtail.

It was mostly a matter of not having the various bits needed to go the the next stage that meant I did not check for new posts. I now have the ramp materials and heavy tractor inner tubes - just waiting for the diver's dry suit to arrive plus the arrival of a neighbor to assist. Positioning the tubes, ramps, starting the generator and compressor, then pumping air into the tubes could be done by me alone, but a lot safer and easier with a helper.

When all the components are in place and the stern lifted, the boat can be slowly pulled up the ramps. Because the trailer will be attached to a car on the center line, I suspect 2 4WD vehicles (one on each side of the trailer) will give better control over the direction of the pull.

 

[jaxs]

Good hear from you bushman,I could almost invision you all blue,chilled,caughing and shaking from the dip in your "dam". I have a suggestion that might let you do most of it from topside and save time spent in the water. Here's the materials and method,you should have spare stuff laying around that can be adapted to your cause. 2 truck axles minus break drums,back plate,shoes and other unnecessary parts,but including hub,lugs and wheel(no tire). xx feet of oilfield pipe and 2 come-a-long cable pullers. If water isn't much deeper than axle lingeth,drop them in so they rest on wheels and slip pipes over axles. Drop puller hook over top of pipe,other hook to sunken boat then ratchet-ratchet-ratchet. If water is much deeper than axles you'll need to attach a bouy and rope to wheel before dropping into water so they can be retrived afterwards. Water should drain as pontoons come up but if bottom of "dam"is mushy,I'd take it slow to limit weight wheels must support and avoid driving wheels deeper in mud than necessary.

 

[jaxs]

By the way bushman,us yanks will barrack for you until you reach the bitumen but a shellacking is waiting when it's over.:drink:

 

[Aussiebushman]

By the way bushman,us yanks will barrack for you until you reach the bitumen but a shellacking is waiting when it's over.:drink:

I admit I'll deserve what we Ockers would call a bollocking. Remember what Churchill said about the British and the Americans "two nations separated by a common language"

Made the ramps today - opted for greased slides instead of rollers due to far less work - think they will be OK because the angle is not very steep - or will not be when the stern rises. As noted earlier. two 4WD vehicles, one on either side of the trailer will have more than enough grunt. Note the raised sides on each ramp - to keep the keels from slipping sideways. A cross beam bolted between the two ramps will also stop any unwanted sideways movement

Here is a picture of the rig - The struts at the extreme rear end (seen here folded flat) are raised with a hydraulic jack to level the boat on the trailer rollers. The high roller in the center supports the deck when travelling. It does not affect the loading or unloading.

 

[bard]

Is there going to be a third person there so somebody can be an observer and keep the pull in synch?

The two vehicles will be put into forward gear for the pull or will they serve each serve as an anchor point for a come along or winch to do the pull?

 

[Aussiebushman]

There is already a winch on the center-line of the trailer but it is only a hand winch designed to work when the boat FLOATS onto the trailer It will not be strong enough to do this job. I considered a come-along or chain block but the pull needs to be along BOTH sides of the boat via ropes running from the aft sheet winches along the sides to get it lined up with the ramps and stay that way as it comes up.

It might be possible to use TWO chain blocks but the use of two vehicles seems more practical. I propose to have both of the "pull" vehicles FACING the boat.and pulling in reverse gear. That way both drivers can see what is happening and adjust accordingly.